Close encounters of the stupid kind

[luckylindy]

  I had a cage driver scare the crap out of me on my morning commute yesterday so I thought I would vent it here.  I'm rolling along about 70mph on a 2 lane state highway with no shoulder when the approaching cage starts edging over the centerline. She was probably about 70 yards away and edging more and more so I went from the left tire track to the right quickly and also kept an eye on the cage.  She was looking down, probably messing with her phone.  Both of her driver side wheels were over the yellow line and I laid on the horn(I wish I had a strebel about then) and after we passed I saw in my rear view that she jerked it back into her lane.  My co-workers think I'm crazy for riding a MC anyway and said that would prompt them to stop riding.  If I had been in my cage we probably would have collided or I would have run off the road as there was no shoulder, so in my eyes being on the MC helped me avoid a crash.  I've had several other instances where I manuevered away from a crash on a MC that would have surely resulted in a bangup in a cage.  Anyway, writing about it gets it off my mind so tell of your encounters with idiots here if you wish. I will write of another on I had last summer later.  Which comedian says "you can't fix stupid".  I'm convinced we are becoming a nation of distracted driving dimwits.

[praetorian]

Glad to hear you were paying attention.

[Bumblebee]

I'm convinced we are becoming a nation of distracted driving dimwits.

Becoming? What planet did you say you were from? I thought the only way to pass a DL test on this planet was to be completely totally absolutely incompetent.

A motorcycle is at a big disadvantage during an impact however due to it's size, it can definitely be a big advantage to avoiding impact. Yea, BTDT just like you several times. Unnerving in the extreme but survivable as long as you can avoid bumping into anything.


FWIW: Vehicle size doesn't matter in the least when it comes to cages not seeing you. I drive a 12,500 pound RV that's 8 feet wide and 9 feet tall. You'd think someone could see an opposite direction wall coming down the road with said wall lit up like a christmas tree but noooooo not a chance of that happening. The most memorable near miss was last summer. I came -->||<-- that close to turning a dinky 1500lb plastic police car that attempted to U turn in front of me at way too close separation into a speed bump. (I sooo wish he would have pulled me over after that so we could have had a discussion about energy transfer dynamics and how his plastic toy car and pink squishy body isn't up to handling the energy delivered by several not-playing-with-you steel I-beams that are attached to a lot of smashbanger inertia)

[happycommuter]

A motorcycle is at a big disadvantage during an impact however due to it's size, it can definitely be a big advantage to avoiding impact.

+1 This is the stock answer on safety.  Accelerates faster, brakes harder and fits through narrow escape paths.  Active safety prevents crashes.

I've become so jaded to 'close calls' here in the congestion state that it barely fazes me.  I'm so used to cars trying to change lanes into me that I lazily swerve and accelerate around them with utter nonchalance.  Main thing that bugs me is that I'm sure the bad driver thinks 'crazy biker' kamikazed past them instead of evading their homicidal negligence.

[luckylindy]

 "I've become so jaded to 'close calls' here in the congestion state that it barely fazes me." 
I guess because I live in a rural area and this happens so rarely that when it does it really stands out.  Even "Joe the plumber and McDonald the farmer" are now so engrossed in their phone conversations that they aren't paying attention to the road.


"FWIW: Vehicle size doesn't matter in the least when it comes to cages not seeing you. "
Tell me about it bumblebee.  I'm a teacher/coach and have driven children on 26,000 lb. buses for many years.  I've fortunately never been involved in an accident driving a bus but many close calls from careless fools trying to get to their destination 1 minute earlier.  In almost every instance in this area when a car hits a bus the car driver claims they didn't see the 13 ton yellow box.   

[niteman]

Which comedian says "you can't fix stupid".

Ron White, I LOVE that guy. And it's sooo true.
I'm just starting out, but I (since my MSF class) have made a point of driving like I am on a bike...makes you pay attention a LOT more. I think that certain portions of the MSF class should be mandatory in driver's education courses IMHO.

[ninskrillz]

I personally have no road MC experience, but ive ridden a fixed gear bicycle on the road everywhere for the past 8 monthes or so, and have MANY MANY MANY TOO MANY close calls on that. People pulling out in front of me, people speeding ahead of me just to turn right in front of me. Ive even had this crazed soccer mom speed ahead of me, get caught in traffic, then speed up ahead of me again just to merge over in the lane just so i cant pass again. Most people in cars are selfish and are just thinkin about getting to their destination the quickest. They think that nothing can hurt them in there four-wheeled wrecking balls, and thus, completely write off pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. The one thing Ive learned on a bike is that NO ONE on the road is looking out for you, NO ONE cares about you, and if you're not careful, clear headed, and precautious, you'll wind up some text-messaging, knee-driving teenage girls hood ornament.

[fishmeister]

well said. let's hope not tho.

[luckylindy]

The one thing Ive learned on a bike is that NO ONE on the road is looking out for you, NO ONE cares about you, and if you're not careful, clear headed, and precautious, you'll wind up some text-messaging, knee-driving teenage girls hood ornament.

I was careful and still wound up as a "hood ornament"(hit the side of a truck backing into the road) of a 38 year old woman who"didn't see me".  Be very careful out there.  I've also done a good bit of bicycling in the past and I think I might be through with that as I've experienced alot of the idiotic drivers like you have.   

[FAITHBIKER]

I take the mindset with me when I ride to "pretend I'm invisible."  You can never be too careful as luckylindy's experience has shown us all.  Even with that mindset, you can still get stuck in a bad situation due to the f***in idiots out there on the road.   

[JordanA]

I take the mindset with me when I ride to "pretend I'm invisible."  You can never be too careful as luckylindy's experience has shown us all.  Even with that mindset, you can still get stuck in a bad situation due to the f***in idiots out there on the road.  

I ride the same way.  My horn on the Hawk has probably been used in the past 3 months more than my car horn will ever be.  I honk at anyone and everyone that remotely looks like they're going to pull out in front of me. 

I hate those people that ride your tail for miles while on your motorcycle.  I'm talking a car length or less behind you.  For me, it's usually ricers.

[ninskrillz]

I hate those people that ride your tail for miles while on your motorcycle.  I'm talking a car length or less behind you.  For me, it's usually ricers.

Ya thats probably cause they're tryin to egg you on to get you to race them or something. Life's a race to the "ricers"

[Bumblebee]

I hate those people that ride your tail for miles while on your motorcycle.  I'm talking a car length or less behind you.

Really bad plan. If you're allowing them to do remain within your protected space for more than a couple hundred feet at most, you're not taking proper safety precautions to insure your own survival. Never ever EVER let a cager control your environment. If they're riding on your luggage rack, that cager is totally content with the idea of murdering you..and 30 minutes after they use your body as a speed bump they'll have forgot the whole incident other than being po'd about the motorcycle scratches on their front bumper.


BTW, ditch the panzy stock horn. Cagers can't hear it anyway in their soundproof box. Install fiamm or stebel.

[mike884]

I hate those people that ride your tail for miles while on your motorcycle.  I'm talking a car length or less behind you.

BTW, ditch the panzy stock horn. Cagers can't hear it anyway in their soundproof box. Install fiamm or stebel.

I hear ya, I've used the stocker horn more this past week than ever before, and its loud, but not loud enough, I need to find a good spot on the 650 for a stebel, especially here in Akron with the college and all, no one pays attention

[Bumblebee]

I've used the stocker horn more this past week than ever before, and its loud

Ever hear a stebel go off? If you have, you'll never again believe that a stock horn is loud.
Remember that cagers are in soundproof boxes with their stereo and cellphone turned up to high in order to drown out any noise (particularly the sound of a motorcycle horn followed by the ensuing smash/grinding sound they create) that enters their prison cell.

[Old_Rider_54]

Anyone mount a stebel horn on a 91-03 750?  Got pics of the mounting?  Use stock horn relay?

[LOKi]

Those horns rock   My roommate has one on his bike and his favorite story was of an old lady that looked down the rail road tracks when he blew the horn. The other day some lady though stopping across a lane and a half on a 4 lane artery was the best way to safely let her child out at the bus stop (instead of the 4 parking spots on the side of the road). Going plenty slow enough to go around I pointed the bike (and horn) at the car and laid on the horn. The kid half way out of the car launched himself back into the passenger seat.   Hopefully only to go home to change his paints.

Do not just hook up that horn with your current horn switch. It will fry those little wires. Run it through a relay and give it a good power source. If you remove the stock horn it fits under the headlight.

My roommate also said he has had problems the horn being so loud that people don't associate it with a motorcycle. They hear this loud horn and start looking around for a mac truck or train all the while continuing the very thing that made him want to blow the horn in the first place. So don't be surprised when that car merging into your lane only looks around for a bigger object while continuing to merge right into you.

I have zip ties and safety wire holding the horn on right now. I'll make a bracket for it eventually. The zip tie on the fork is to let me know how far my forks are traveling in the front to make sure I'm not banging the horn on the finder. Just enough clearance.

[Custom82Hawk]

i got an "ooga" horn for my bike from harbor freight for $9.  sounds cool :D but i can't find anywhere to mount the massive thing.  so i'll probably put that in my gmc yukon and use the horns from the yukon on my hawk :D

[skramer360]

I had a somewhat unusual close encounter today. I came around a corner on a two lane country road about 50mph and right in the middle of the lane was an orange cone standing. No other construction or anything. I was able to stand it up just enough to get around it, but it still hit my leg.

[ninskrillz]

damn i bet that was a check your pants moment.

[LOKi]

Had a close call this morning. The entrance ramp I use has a very short merge area. Two cages had gotten in a wreck at the very end of the merge. Looks like one hit the breaks instead of speeding up and MERGING with traffic while the other car was looking at the traffic they where merging into. Anyway a cop was behind them with his lights on. There was still a little space to get around the cop and the two cars so I picked up a little speed to merge with traffic. Right as I approach the cop pulls forward partially blocking the right lane. At this point I'm probably up to about 50 or so. I get on the breaks but the back wheel breaks free and starts to slip out to the right. The cop sees me and stops moving forward and I was able to get off the breaks and back on the gas and get it under control to maneuver around him. If he had keep going there would be no way for me to stop in time. The reason I lost the rear is because the roads where still wet from the rain last night and I was running over painted stripes. What saved me was once the back let loos, and I mean as soon as it broke free I let off the back break and let up on the front. When the tire came back around to straight I gave it just a little gas and let go of the front break and steered as usual.

Watch it people, cops don't see us either and they are even more unpredictable.

[luckylindy]

It's amazing how 1 accident can start a chain reaction.  I'm thinking about getting a tank to tackle the traffic.
Glad you were able to get it under control.

[jerjohn]

There should be a device in cars to prevent all cell phone calls other than 911 if the car is traveling over 15mph...

[Custom82Hawk]

There should be a device in cars to prevent all cell phone calls other than 911 if the car is traveling over 15mph...

then people would be getting tickets for calling 911 for their stock quotes or to see if the food they're on the way to pick up on their lunch break is ready (brown bag anyone?)

[jerjohn]