Close calls and avoided crashes

[LOKi]

Stop me if there is already a thread for this but I'm interested in the crashes that never happen. What did you do to avoid a crash? There have been a few I'm sure. I noticed a lot in the accident thread but I think there are enough of these near misses to warrant their own thread. We can learn as much from the accident that didn't happen from the ones that do. So lets here it.

[LOKi]

I'll start. Yesterday on my way home from my parents house I came across a very 'slippy' part of the road. Just so happens that this slippy part was in the middle of a turn on one of the few sections of this road I'm not pushing 80 or more. I probably enter the corner around 15mph and right at the apex I hit oil. No $hit oil. The bike slipped out from under me so fast I lost my balance. I didn't think about it, and this scares the crap out of me still, but I jabbed my foot down kicking my weight back up over the bike and the bike upright. For a few turns after that I was a little freaked out. Wiggling my toes making sure I didn't actually break my leg without knowing it. Not trusting the tires in the turns and all. Then I realized my boot was very slippery on the peg. This is how I know it was oil in the turn. Even drug my foot on the ground to remove the oil so I had traction on the pegs. Not the safest practice by far but jamming my foot down saved a certain fall. Far as I can tell when I put my foot down my wight transferred to that foot, if not for but a split second. In that split second my weight was not on the bike and the bike stood right up. Then springing off my foot I was able to get my CG over the bike again and basically jump back on the bike before it got to far away from me. All this in less than a second. I must have been a ninja in my former life. 

This could have gone terribly wrong though. I could have broken my leg. My foot could have slipped when I put it down casing me to do the splits. But without doing what I did there is no way I would have been able to keep the bike upright.

[ariwhiteboy]

Way to go Loki, glad you're ok

[gammer]

Driving through the city a few years back on my 78 GS550. I had just made a right and was about to make an immediate left when the car at the intersection pulled out in front of me just as I started to make my left turn. I immediately stood up (a reaction from my motocross racing days) and jammed on the rear brake. This caused the back tire of the bike to lock and slide sideways. It allowed for a enough time for the driver to make a  face and gun it to get out of the way. The other driver new he was at fault and kind of signaled he was sorry.

[cmyers]

Loki what you described doing is how dirt riders get through most corners, it is also why motocross guys stick their inside foot out and forward as they enter turns. while it can cause injury if that foot slips out as long as you do it in a clean motion and not jam the leg into the ground it is unlikely to break your leg or do any serious injury. What you have are good strong natural instincts on a bike.

[bajakirch]

I've relayed this story a couple of times, but it's quite appropriate for this thread.

I was coming home from work and I'd just passed a couple of cars. The lead car was a big ol' land yacht. I got just over the lip of a hill and had to make a left turn. I was forced to stop in the roadway to await a break in oncoming traffic. I knew that the cars I just passed were coming up behind me so I was anxiously switching my attention between my rearview mirror and the oncoming traffic.

Sure enough, that big lead car came over the hill and, as I watched it in my mirror, it never slowed down. There was a small break between the oncoming cars, but it hadn't quite reached me yet. So I drove forward a bit, let the last oncoming car clear, then gunned it and turned hard to the left. This happened just as I heard the screech of tires from behind me.

Unfortunately by driving forward I was no longer lined up with the cross street and I was headed straight for the ditch. I hit the brakes hard and leaned hard left, causing the rear tire to slide around as it hit the gravel shoulder. Then I came to stop facing 180 degrees from my original position. I watched as the car skidded right through the spot where I'd been stopped. Then, eyes straight ahead, the driver continued on without even looking at me.

It took me the rest of my ride home to get over the shakes..

Later, I went back to the spot to see if it really was as close as I thought it was. I found the car's skid marks and there was no doubt she would have hit me had I not gotten out of the way.

The lesson I took away from this was to always pay attention to my mirrors when stopped on a roadway.

[luckylindy]

A recent one for me happened a few weeks ago.  City street, 30 speed limit, I am approaching a city park with ball fields doing 30 when a van with a mom driving her baseballer sons from a game approaches the stop sign from the park rather aggressively.  I cover the brakes and sure enough she does the rolling stop and out she comes.  At 30 a bike stops very quickly so I apply the force necessary (parking lot practice sure helps) and stop easily b4 the impact zone.  She cluelessly drives on and about a mile down the road I pull up beside her at a stop light and ask why she pulled out.  She didn't say much, only that she didn't see me so I suggested if you didn't roll through the stop you might avoid getting t-boned and if you can't see maybe you shoudn't be driving.

Also had a similar one to Loki but instead of oil I am leaned over in a 20mph steep curve and hit loose gravel.  The rear started sliding out and I did the dirtbike leg out and my footstrike pushed the bike upright.       

[skramer360]

About two weeks ago I was traveling on a four lane hwy in the left lane. A car comes on the hwy on an on ramp. I saw him coming and started planning if he did something stupid like come strait across both lanes into me. Well, he did. I moved into the median that was paved and honked at him. He finally looked and saw me and just looked annoyed that I was in his space  and moved over in the slow lane.

[tcoop]

A few years ago when I first started riding again. I was on my XT550 on a some what busy road I see this semi truck with a huge thing on it's trailer backing into an ally. I was mesmerized by it didn't realise the traffic had stopped. with not enough room to stop I realised that I needed t react quickly. I was on the inside lane coming toward an intersection with cars in the turn lane coming from the other direction. So I swerved to the left and went between the cars in my lane and the ones in the turn lane coming at me. I have learned  to stay aleart and not allow my self to get distracted.

[bajakirch]

A few years ago when I first started riding again. I was on my XT550 on a some what busy road I see this semi truck with a huge thing on it's trailer backing into an ally. I was mesmerized by it didn't realise the traffic had stopped. with not enough room to stop I realised that I needed t react quickly. I was on the inside lane coming toward an intersection with cars in the turn lane coming from the other direction. So I swerved to the left and went between the cars in my lane and the ones in the turn lane coming at me. I have learned  to stay aleart and not allow my self to get distracted.

I'm glad you mention that because that's a battle I constantly fight. Having done the cop thing for a few years I tend to get 'swivel-head' when I'm driving. I sometimes have to consciously remind myself to stay focused on the road and surrounding traffic when I'm riding.

[mikem1968]

A few months back I was on my way home from work on RT 46 going east. 46 is basically a very old 2 lane east / 2 lane west highway which runs somewhat parallel to I-80 and goes from the Deleware water gap all the way out to the George Washington Bridge - cutting across New Jersey. I was formerly taking 80 in the car to and from work, but have not only noted that 46 is more Motorcycle friendly, it's actually a shorter commute time-wise anyway.

Well I'm still getting my highway legs at that time, as I've only been riding for a year now and didn't go out on the highway at all last summer. So I was beginning to try to get over this whole psychological thing about the highway and just do it, playing it safe and staying in the slower lane (also the lane where all on-coming traffic is merging onto the highway).

I passed through one of the more urban towns on my way home and there are a few random side streets going directly on and off the highway with no traffic lights, just a stop sign (I know because I grew up in the town it almost happened in). Mind-you I'm still fresh on the highway and still learning about slowing down quickly. I was getting "too accustomed" to ONLY downshifting to slow down at slower speeds (which is all I was doing up until that point really).

So I'm going along at about 55 or 60 mph when I see a semi tractor trailer moving out from one of these side streets to get onto the highway. I think - well this guy must see me - right?!? NOPE The idiot didn't even make the required STOP (as indicated by the stop sign which I KNOW is there - nevermind that when merging onto a major highway - common sense should dictate that one might want to stop first and maybe - umm - I dunno - look to see if someone's coming) NOPE

This monstrosity just kept on going - I Freaked, not sure if I could get over into the left lane (kinda scared to look in that fraction of a second I might be kissing the trailer end of this "thing") - So I downshifted AND applied brakes until I came to a stop. I could feel the bike lurching forward from the application of the front brake and was really freaked that I might just take a magical journey over the handlebars, but I stopped.

The moron just kept on going, not even aware what just happened. I got home and unloaded the entire story on my unsuspecting girlfriend who was waiting for me.

Since then, I've gotten more into riding in the fast lane (especially in areas where I know there will be lots of traffic merging onto the highway) - I've also learned to use those (what are they called?) brakes alot more. Now I tend to use a combo of braking and downshifting.

I think that's the most shook-up I've gotten in a while. There's still the every day cager nonsense, but I'm used to most of that BS. Like these idiots who exit the highway from the left lane (passing through the slow lanes on the way). I mean - I don't even drive my car like that.

Mike