Well I just returned from a business trip and all I could think about was going for a ride on my GS. The wife and I decided to go to lunch so we jumped on the bike and headed to Olive Garden. On our way we were cruising down the Blvd when a woman in a PT Cruiser decided to cut across the Blvd to make an illegal U-turn. I watched her carefully and slowed down, just then she decided to pull out in front of me and stopped. I pulled the clutch in and applied the rear brake. Just as I have read about the rear brake locked up and began to slide sideways so as all that was happening I let the rear brake go and the bike re-corrected itself. The woman decided to at the last minute pull completely out onto the Blvd and almost hit another car in the process, but thankfully saving us because I was able to ride right around behind her. Very, very, very upset I pulled up beside her and asked her what the hell was she thinking! She acted like she had done nothing wrong. I replied you almost killed us by not looking what you are doing and making an illegal U-turn. At that point she stated that I should learn how to ride my bike and at that point I lost it. I called her every name in the book and even made some up. She then called 911 and the operator after hearing me told her I should call 911. So I pulled over to call and make sure my wife was OK. Another car pulled over and saw the entire thing happen and managed to get her tail plate number. After checking my wife out I called and explain what happen. Long story short they could not do anything nor would they cite her because they did not see anything, even with the witness car still on the scene. The best they could do was make a report. Really? :cry:Sadly, I said thank you and rode off. The witness car couldn't believe it either and I thanked them for their help and for stopping.
I don't know what else to do but share my story with my friends here at the GS forum and pray you all ride and stay safe.
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So how was lunch?
Glad to hear that your ok.
Lunch was good and after I had a drink and my wife had three we were able to calm down. :cheers: I do have to say it has shaken me up a bit and I am overly cautious when I see cars getting ready to turn. I hope I get some confidence back, not that I was foolish before but I am a little nervous to ride now.
I am thinking of taking an advance motorcycle course now.
One other thing, when I said the forum saved me, it's from reading other ppl threads and their experiences that clued me in on what to do. You all and this forum is the BEST
You're incredibly lucky you didn't high side when you let go of the brake. 99% of the time the worst possible thing that you could do when your rear wheel is locked up is let out and reapply. The weight and the angle the bike was at when you let go of the rear brake saved you.
I've had people cut me off mid lane, I've had work trucks cut me off and THEN turn on the signal after they're in my lane. Any time you see a car that's idling more than a few seconds you need to be covering your controls and backing off the throttle. The funniest one was an old lady who kept drifting into my lane that was talking on her cell phone. At the light I rolled up as close to her driver side door and revved my engine so she couldn't hear anything on her phone. But there have been times I've had to stop myself from smashing someones rear view (mostly because I don't know the easiest way to do it without injuring my hand).
I've come to the conclusion there is a list of vehicles that cause the most problems:
- Cars with logos on them
- Work trucks
- Trucks with any sort of cargo
- Lawnworkers (most of them are illegal here, don't have insurance, and have forged licenses)
- Large vehicles towing something (like a camper).
- Cars that have accident damage that hasn't been taken care of
- Anything with a woman in it
- Anything with a woman in it and N number of children (where as N becomes higher than 0 the risk of her trying to kill you increases by 100x that).
- Vehicles with teenagers, in this sense it's usually the boys that merge without looking/turn without thinking
- Honda Civics, Integras, and anything else a ricer would drive.
- Anything with an old person in it.
- Other motorcycles. Especially squid launchers being rode by a guy without proper gear on. Gear indicates seriousness of his ride.
Note I didn't include semis. I have NEVER had a problem with a semi. Then again, I never try to pass semis unless I can do it going at least 10+ whatever they were going. One of the scariest moments of my life was when I got forced next to a semi by a tailgater and then a semi BLEW by me on my otherside. For a split second I was sandwiched between two semis trying to make a gentle curve at 65 MPH.
I'm not a fan of the rear break. I can pretty much do everything I need to do with the front break. I will kick it in for emergency stops, but after the front breaks have been applied.
Glad your okay! :cheers:
Lets remember:
ANYONE on a cell phone
ANYONE with a dog in their lap
ANYONE that likes to park on the wrong side of the street. I know nearly every city gives tickets for parking the wrong way - not Seattle "because people complain about those tickets" a traffic officer told me. Nearly hit head on many times as I pull to the right to let them pass only to have them pull across and in front of me to park. Same when they are leaving their wrong-way parking spot.
People who cut the traffic island and don't go around to the right when making a left turn
Short asian women who can't see over thesttring wheel
Old geezers who plain can't see
I think the thing that gets me the most is that she had no clue nor did she think she did anything wrong. :cookoo: That's what bothers me the most! If someone is that absent minded then why is hell are they driving. Wait I forgot, anyone with a quarter can put it into a machine and turn the knob to get a license down here in South Florida. I look forward to the day when we can relocate. But with this economy it doesn't look good anytime soon :dunno_white:
I know how you feel about Florida, Ghost. I lived in Tampa for many years, and had to drive to Lauderdale, Davie, West Palm, etc. every week for work. I think once you hit the Georgia/Florida line, most people are required to leave their common sense and driving abilities by the side of the road. The most important thing is that you and the wife are OK. Look on the bright side, at least you learned a valuable bit of knowledge out of the situation. And who could forget, 99.9% of the population if Florida are idiots, present company excluded of course. :laugh:
Quote from: ghostrider_23 on October 22, 2011, 03:19:37 PM
I think the thing that gets me the most is that she had no clue nor did she think she did anything wrong. :cookoo: That's what bothers me the most! If someone is that absent minded then why is hell are they driving. Wait I forgot, anyone with a quarter can put it into a machine and turn the knob to get a license down here in South Florida. I look forward to the day when we can relocate. But with this economy it doesn't look good anytime soon :dunno_white:
SMIDSY is an acronym for "Sorry mate, I didn't see you". It's true. Drivers always think they're in the right. I've even had someone come up and tell me "YOU NEED TO BE LOOKING OUT FOR ME BECAUSE IM BIGGER THAN YOU". Honestly it's no better anywhere else. There isn't any "safe" zone where motorcycling won't present risks. I went for a ride today and as I passed a scooter (50cc) to make a right turn, the f%$k cranked up his gas and played chicken with my left fairing. Wish a cop was there, I would've loved to watch him get a 400 dollar ticket for encroaching on my lane. My other favorite happened today too, I went to merge into a lane from a parking lot with PLENTY of space between me and the car flying at me at 45. I go to merge and midway through my turn (Im still part of the way in his lane) he stomps on his gas (probably to show me I shouldn't impede on anything 400 feet in front of him). So he ends up blowing by me at like 60 with nothing but a few inches between his bumper and my rear wheel. Just another day of motorcycling. If you can't be mad at someone with down syndrome for making a bad decision, how can you be mad a driver who makes poor decisions. They're both missing a couple chromosomes.
Down here in Vegas I get a unique blend of people making poor decisions. I'm guilty of a few myself. The truth is whether you live in the boonies or a bustling urban town you're exposed to the same risks. The only thing we as riders can do is try our best to compensate for their obvious lack of a few chromosomes with superior roadcraft.
Let me start out with: Ghost, glad to hear you and the mrs are ok.
Then finish with this: I think it's safe to say that we should just assume that we are invisible and everything on the road is there to kill us. There is no need to throw around stereotypes about work trucks, women, lawn care workers, whatever. If you would actually read the facts about all those stereotypes, you would find out they are not true. What if I said that the most dangerous people are GS500 riders from Las Vegas? Would make your blood boil a little, wouldn't it?
Volvo Drivers
Okay. Let's face what's going on here. As soon as a person gets behind the wheel of their car they act as if they in a protective bubble, encased in their own little word. They get angry (road rage) at thing they cannot control (other people, traffic jams, traffic signals, etc.) because it interferes with what they want to do and there is nothing they can do about it. IF they realized this, they would not get angry and would go with the flow. That they get angry reveals, they do not realize this. Hence, they are not truly, really or genuinely thinking when they are behind the wheel. They are in a type of semi-autopilot. It's great how our body does this so we don't need to think about everything - otherwise we couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time, right?
THAT, is what we, as Motorbike Riders, are faced with. People who are not paying attention to much of anything. If we accept this then we realize it is US who must be responsible for ourselves. It is OUR responsibility to read the traffic and make appropriate adjustments. It is up to Us to make ourselves seen when we need to be. To slow or speed up as we deem it necessary to remove ourselves from POTENTIAL HAZARDS.
What was she thinking? She cannot answer that question because she wasn't thinking. Her response is, get upset at you. Because that is the natural reaction to push back when pushed.
Accept they are like this and then you cannot expect anything better and will ride accordingly. You will remain calm when people do dumbass stuff. And can then ride away from them because a confrontation is pointless and meaningless.
Michael
I agree with "We're all invisible and everyone is out to kill us." With that thought in mind, it's also risky to confront stupid drivers because they will either deny they've done anything wrong or worse, they'll go for their weapon (e.g. cell phone, 38 caliber, tire iron, etc.). I just shake my head and ride away thankful I'm in one piece. Be prepared for the worst and have an escape plan.
Quote from: mimikeni on October 23, 2011, 06:58:33 AM
I agree with "We're all invisible...
I'm not invisible! I'm brighter than the orange cones!
got the idea from this article:
"When I first started wearing this color scheme, I was amazed at how aware other drivers suddenly became of my presence. Over the years I had tried spotlights, headlight modulators, and bright suits and jackets. Nothing ever had the effect that my orange orb created."
Read more: http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/0008_crup_how_to_buy_motorcycle_helmet/viewall.html#ixzz1bdxw3YqM
:cheers:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/redhawkdancing/seemenow.jpg)
Quote from: redhawkdancing on October 23, 2011, 02:43:47 PM
Quote from: mimikeni on October 23, 2011, 06:58:33 AM
I agree with "We're all invisible...
I'm not invisible! I'm brighter than the orange cones!
got the idea from this article:
"When I first started wearing this color scheme, I was amazed at how aware other drivers suddenly became of my presence. Over the years I had tried spotlights, headlight modulators, and bright suits and jackets. Nothing ever had the effect that my orange orb created."
Read more: http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/0008_crup_how_to_buy_motorcycle_helmet/viewall.html#ixzz1bdxw3YqM
:cheers:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/redhawkdancing/seemenow.jpg)
Sounds like loads of broscience. The point is if people aren't looking you could be blaring a 3000 dollar air horn system dressed in bright pink and highlighter yellow shooting fireworks out of your ass and they still will pull out in front of you. People will look you right in the eye and then proceed to turn left in front of you. People run into orange cones all the time anyway.
The only thing that I could imagine helping is making yourself painfully obvious by weaving in your lane way before an intersection, which I have a habit of doing without thinking anyway. The lateral movement creates depth, which if someone is even VAGUELY glancing at you they'll use to try to gauge your distance and speed. On top of that, if you're going the speed limit the brain tends to rationalize a light moving at them will be going roughly the speed limit. Nothing will beat slowing down before an intersection and playing the "What-if" game as your approach the critical crossing point. Plan your escape route, cover your controls, begin to slow down, and hope you don't have to use any of it.
No one seems to take time to think about how responsible you have to be propelling 2 tons of steel and glass down a road at 45-65 mph. It's why I'm an advocate for two strike laws regarding driving. First offense of a right-of-way violation that caused an accident should be a mandatory license revoke and a two year waiting period before you can retest for your license. First offense resulting in a fatality (or any violation resulting in a fatality) should be a mandatory prison sentence and the inability to ever be licensed to drive in the United States for the remainder of your natural life. Second offense non-fatality would result in never being able to be licensed within your state for the rest of your natural life. The city would make so much money doing this I don't know why it isn't being pushed already. Public transit would be so well funded it would be a joke to do anything but take the bus/subway.
I bet you if such strict punishments were introduced people would care more. Motorcyclists AND cagers alike.
If cars has a giant spike in the middle of the steering wheel instead of an airbag, people would drive different.
Weaving before an intersection doesn't make them pause cause they can now see you laterally, they stop cause they don't know what the heck is going on with you.
Generally speaking, cars see you and don't give a fug.
Statistically, the best color helmet to wear is white because it resembles a police helmet and when the car sees you they so very briefly register Police and pause, before immediately knowing it was not police. But by then they have paused.
When you expect them to be dumbasses nothing will surprise you and you will ride accordingly.
Michael