<P> On the afternoon of 31 December 1984, Allen was involved in a car accident with his girlfriend Miriam Barendsen in the English countryside a few miles west of Sheffield . While trying to pass another car at a high speed, he lost control of his Corvette C4, which hit a dry stone wall and entered a field . He was thrown from the car because his seatbelt had been improperly fastened, causing his left arm to be severed, while his girlfriend suffered head injuries; she also suffered neck and spine injuries from severe whiplash . Doctors initially reattached Allen's arm, but because of an infection, it had to be re-amputated . His right shoulder was also severely broken in the accident . </P> <P> Allen has used custom - manufactured cable routing by Whirlwind . He uses four electronic pedals for his left foot to play the pieces he used to play with his left arm, which from left to right trigger sounds of a closing hi - hat, bass drum, snare drum, and a tom drum . He is ranked No. 7 on the UK website Gigwise in The Greatest Drummers of All Time list . </P> <P> On 16 October 2009, Yamaha announced the addition of Rick Allen to their artist roster . Allen plays Yamaha Oak Custom drums with a matching subkick . </P> <P> Along with Yamaha Oak Custom drums, Allen also uses Remo drumheads (usually he has coated ambassadors on his drums and a clear powerstroke 3 on his bass drum), Zildjian cymbals (mostly K customs and A customs), and a LP rock cowbell . </P>

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