When Stopped At A Light

[My Name Is Dave]

I just had a question about being stopped at a stoplight with other traffic around. I know that it's recommended to leave the bike in 1st gear so that if you need to get out of harm's way you are ready to go.

My question is: Go where? I was sitting at a light last night thinking "If a car came up behind me, I could hit the gas and go forward 6 feet and slam into the back of that car, or I could turn and gas it and get smashed at an angle between the car in front of me and the one in the next lane."

Do you all do something different when at a light? I don't feel like I could hit the gas to get out of any situation unless I was like 20 feet behind the car in front of me and on either the extreme left or right side of the lane.

:dunno:

Dave  

[RVertigo]

Exit plan...  
Another lane?  Bicycle lane?  Sidewalk?  Anywhere other than being the meat in a smash sandwich!


If you can't find somewhere to exit, then you might be too close to the car in front of you...   :dunno:

If all else fails, JUMP!

[Narcissus]

I leave almost a car length infront of me when I'm first in line at a light so if I have to I'll have some space to move forward and turn without moving out into the intersection. Where I would actually turn... probably a into a ditch knowing my luck  :lol:

[My Name Is Dave]

Yeah, I feel like if I turned and started going, I'd just clip another car and cause my own accident.   I don't know, I'm an idiot.  

Dave  

[leo]

Yeah, I feel like if I turned and started going, I'd just clip another car and cause my own accident.   I don't know, I'm an idiot.  

Dave  

I think that too, but then again if the car that was behind me does indeed have to use his brakes and would have hit me, then I'm all for looking like a fool by hitting the car next to me.

[Chuck]

I try to point my ride somewhat diagonally when I'm stopped, usually to the right of the car in front of me, and leave enough space that if I see trouble, and gun it, I'd drive right there... to the right of the car in front of me.  If that car is leaning too far to the right side of the lane, I'll switch it and point left.  Point being that my bike always points to an empty space when I'm stopped.    Sure there might develop other hazards there, but it sure will be better than when the empty space you're in becomes no longer empty.

[JetSwing]

lane position! have you forgotten everything from msf course?? don't stand in the middle of the lane (or so close the the car infront of you) like a dumbass.

if all fails, initiate the eject seat on you gs!

[Badger]

The escape route theory appears based on the fact that a motorcycle can fit in the space between two cars in adjacent lanes.  That is where I would try to go.  It seems that you can't stop in the middle of the lane and accomplish this effectively without leaving a huge space between you and the car in front of you, so I try to hedge my bet to one side or the other and hope that my brake light is still distinct from the car in front of me.

Honestly, it seems much safer to plant yourself in that space from the get-go, but lane splitting isn't legal here.

[dionysus]

Honestly, it seems much safer to plant yourself in that space from the get-go, but lane splitting isn't legal here.

Lane splittng on surface streets isn't legal anywhere in the US. Only on the Highways in CA.

As a side note, those CHP m/cs are nuts. I see them shoot by cars 20-30mph faster when the cars are going 30-40. I guess if you ride in traffic 8hrs a day you get pretty comfortable.

[Badger]

Honestly, it seems much safer to plant yourself in that space from the get-go, but lane splitting isn't legal here.

Lane splittng on surface streets isn't legal anywhere in the US. Only on the Highways in CA.

Be that as it may, people do it all the time.

Has the Texas lanesplitting deal passed?  That applied to any road with at least two lanes in the same direction, and only when traffic is moving at 20mph or less.  Sounds like any multi-lane intersection to me, right?  Or am I misunderstanding?

Edit:  And wasn't this up for debate in WA as well?  It applied to "during periods of congestion" but didn't specify highway/surface road.  :dunno:

Still seems safer to me...untill the knucklehead next to you tries to get you with his door.

[pandy]

You stop at red lights??  :dunno:

[JetSwing]

You stop at red lights??  :dunno:

bad pandy bad pandy  

[pandy]

bad pandy bad pandy  

Darnit....where's that halo emoticon?  

And to stay on topic, I try to leave a lot of room in front of me and keep an eye on my six.

[dionysus]

Honestly, it seems much safer to plant yourself in that space from the get-go, but lane splitting isn't legal here.

Lane splittng on surface streets isn't legal anywhere in the US. Only on the Highways in CA.

Be that as it may, people do it all the time.

Has the Texas lanesplitting deal passed?  That applied to any road with at least two lanes in the same direction, and only when traffic is moving at 20mph or less.  Sounds like any multi-lane intersection to me, right?  Or am I misunderstanding?

Hrm... never said I didn't There's one interesection I split every single day. If I didn't I'd never get home, one lane is full of semis turning right, the other is full of cars turning left and I'm going straight.

[RedShift]

If I noticed that I was about to be the meat in a bumper sandwich, I would not hesitate to pop the clutch and split between cars in front of me.

[roguegeek]

Lane splittng on surface streets isn't legal anywhere in the US. Only on the Highways in CA.

Hmm. What about moving through stopped traffic at an intersection with a stop light and getting to the front? I'm almost positive that's legal, yes? I see it everywhere. I do it myself. Did it right next to a cop and they didn't seem to react at all.

[My Name Is Dave]

lane position! have you forgotten everything from msf course?? don't stand in the middle of the lane (or so close the the car infront of you) like a dumbass.

if all fails, initiate the eject seat on you gs!

Let me find a shield here...

OK: I haven't taken the MSF course yet. Hence no prior training in this supposed "lane position".

I'm getting out of here before I get killed...

Dave  

[barbarella]

Lane splittng on surface streets isn't legal anywhere in the US. Only on the Highways in CA.

Hmm. What about moving through stopped traffic at an intersection with a stop light and getting to the front? I'm almost positive that's legal, yes? I see it everywhere. I do it myself. Did it right next to a cop and they didn't seem to react at all.

Around here we call that "filtering" and it's illegal, and like lane splitting, ill advised.  Toronto drivers like to pull forward into your space and block you from lane splitting just because they're vindictive

Back to the original topic, I always make sure there's some place for me to go, even if it means being about 12 feet back from the car in front of me.  I got rear-ended a couple weeks ago in the car (I was 3rd car back, guy behind me saw green and went before the guy in front of me had moved) so now I'm paranoid it'll happen again on the bike.  The space between lanes, grass, sidewalk, even the middle of the intersection can be an option.  Just know where you're gonna go.

[roguegeek]

Lane splittng on surface streets isn't legal anywhere in the US. Only on the Highways in CA.

Hmm. What about moving through stopped traffic at an intersection with a stop light and getting to the front? I'm almost positive that's legal, yes? I see it everywhere. I do it myself. Did it right next to a cop and they didn't seem to react at all.

Around here we call that "filtering" and it's illegal, and like lane splitting, ill advised.  Toronto drivers like to pull forward into your space and block you from lane splitting just because they're vindictive

Well lane splitting is definitely not illegal here in Cali. Sounds like filtering isn't either. Can anyone confirm this for me?

[AgentNitz]

Lane splitting in California is one of the few things left in the world that's made legal, simply by it not being specifically illegal. Or in other words, there's no specific law that says it's legal or illegal, hence, it's legal =)