lane splitting and bumping question..

TheGoodGuy · September 18, 2003, 09:58:14 AM

this morning on the way to school I sorta tapped a BMW's driver side mirror with my bar end (it was below 5mph i had one foot down while pushing it slowly along)while lane splitting.. i sorta looked back in my mirror and raised my hand (like saying sorry) and checked it and the guy honked..

Things looked okay and I took off, not sure if the guy got a look at my plates but then tehy are "custom" so they are easy to remember..

The last thing i need is more things to go wrong in my life. My finger got hit a bit too (when i lane split I hold the ends of the bars so I know how far I can go). >It was just a plain misjudgement on my part, i was thinking of something and got distracted.

Just wondering what I should or shouldn do.. hope nothing goes wrong.

It was such a low speed impact, but the thing is the BMW mirrors flex back (moveable not breakable) so i dont think there was any damage. I know my brother drives a BMW.

This is sorta now on my top of my head with all the other stuff that's going on in my life.

JamesG · September 18, 2003, 10:03:02 AM

I would say don't worry about it, but you live in Kalifineia where people sue each other at the drop of a hat.

If you'd tipped my mirror I would have honked at you too. :mrgreen:

So unless you somehow get a summons or are confronted with Mr. Irate Beemer dude, don't sweat it.

Cris · September 18, 2003, 10:16:31 AM

Manjul,
Put this on your list of things NOT to worry about.
The guy could've and probably would've done more right then and there if there was any serious damage done. Don't stress. If the mirror wasn't broken, I don't see Mr. Beemer taking the time or energy to hunt you down.
Take care.

Lars · September 18, 2003, 12:49:30 PM

0.001 % chance it's broken. I've done it once too, I looked at the guy in the car and smiled while I put his mirror back in position. He looked confused and as soon as the mirror was back in shape I took off fast before he got the chance to realize what happened :lol:

What could he sue you for if the mirror isn't broken?

PS. As you have experienced, putting your hands at the ends of the bars will hurt a lot if you hit a mirror, so hold the bars normally.
If the gaps are so small you have to keep your hands that way to guess if it 'll fit, it's better to slow down, and try if it 'll fit at walking pace.

pizzleboy · September 18, 2003, 12:57:24 PM

I wish we could lane split up here. It's such a pain being stuck behind slack jawed yokels in traffic.

It'll never happen though...I can only wish

Rollin668 · September 18, 2003, 02:14:57 PM

I've done and had done to me a NUMBER of things while lane splitting (spit on, grabbed hold of, had things thrown at, pulled out in front of, had doors opened...) anyway, in ALL of my lane splitting "confrontations" I've NEVEr had a person either call the police or attempt to sue me. I would not worry about it - the Police will take the report and that's it... even if they go that far. You can't be prosecuted, hell you could even act like you didn't know it happened and you've no idea what he's talking about... anyway, point being - DON'T WORRY... the driver would only be mad for the next 15 minutes or so but that's about it... no loss, no foul...

Rolly

JohNLA · September 18, 2003, 11:50:02 PM

Like others said. Don't sweat it.
I usually stop and apoligise. I had one guy laugh as I apoligised. I was not expecting that.
Recently, I once had a guy move his mirror to make more room for me to pass

I would not ride with your hands on the bar ends.

Blueknyt · September 19, 2003, 01:02:01 AM

simple solution, dont split lanes!! then you wont have to worry about clipping mirrors, or havesomeone open a door on you. in florida its illeagle to splitlanes anyway. down here (south Florida) your likly to get shot bumping someone's ride even if you just cleaned some dust off the paint.

September 19, 2003, 01:51:25 AM

I have knocked a mirror - well when I say knocked, it clipped it... guy was pissed, I just said to him "catch me if you can" and left him at the red light.

the worst thing that has happen to me is I have split some cars at a stop light and a big german shepard dog went ballistic at me from the back window - I thought it was going to take my arm off, never had such a shock in my life!

Stay Safe

Pkaaso · September 19, 2003, 07:46:29 AM

Manjul,

As a BMW owner/driver, I am shocked!

How could you do that? That mirror never did anything to you! That poor little defenseless piece of plastic and glass never had a chance.

I felt a terrible disturbance in the reflective temporal force yesterday. Now I know it was you.

Mirrors are portholes into another dimension; you shouldn't upset the masters behind the looking glass. Look what happened to Alice! Actually, she got really high and had a great trip. Never mind that, bad example.

Just be careful, one of these days you just may get absorbed into the land of the reverse! And you'll end up lost, tortured, and have to ride a Suzuki that vibrates and have to go to school for the rest of your life. Too terrible to even think of.

Well, take care. I have to go now, the voices are growing louder!

dmp221 · September 19, 2003, 08:02:30 AM

Absolute worst case scenario...Joe Beemer hunts you down and demands some money for a busted miror. BFD. If it is really busted, you pay him. If not, not. It's only money, and if you gots your health, you can make more money.
Sleep well.

No worries, mon.

Pkaaso · September 19, 2003, 08:18:11 AM

3 steps to stop worrying:

1. Ask yourself - What's the worst that can happen?
In your case, he calls the cops and has your plate number. His insurance company calls you and demands you pay for the damage. It costs you a few bucks - That's all that can happen.

2. Prepare to accept it if you have to.
If it happens, then deal with it. Mentally and physicly. Don't use your energy to think about it any more. Put it on hold and move on.

3. Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst that you have already accepted mentally.
If it does happen, you have already accepted the worst that can happen so it can't get any worse. You contact the person and ask if it can be fixed? Can you deal with it without the insurance companies? Etc...

The point is, you've already accepted the worst, now you can only make it better. Letting your mind think of SEVERAL solutions which is what the brain is designed to do, rather than focusing on the ONE event that you can't change anyway - will take away the worry factor and replace it with the creativity factor.

Or, go get really drunk and tell youself, F#ck that guy! Who does he think he is, driving a car he probably can't afford, hugging the line as if he's driving a 78" Cadilliac, and "How dare he be in front of me anyway?"

Aaraam Se!

jmf · September 19, 2003, 11:53:07 PM

I have gently tapped two mirrors of suvs, on different occasions, with my mirror. Felt so bad but oh well. Now I move up as far as possible and stop when I feel uncomfortable squishing through. I don't think of myself as a new rider anymore, but I'm still getting the hang of some things.

JohNLA · September 20, 2003, 09:36:30 PM

Quote from: Rollin668I've done and had done to me a NUMBER of things while lane splitting (spit on, grabbed hold of, had things thrown at, pulled out in front of, had doors opened...) anyway, in ALL of my lane splitting "confrontations" I've NEVEr had a person either call the police or attempt to sue me. I would not worry about it - the Police will take the report and that's it... even if they go that far. You can't be prosecuted, hell you could even act like you didn't know it happened and you've no idea what he's talking about... anyway, point being - DON'T WORRY... the driver would only be mad for the next 15 minutes or so but that's about it... no loss, no foul...

Rolly

Then, you are doing it to slow

JohNLA · September 20, 2003, 09:45:49 PM

Quote from: Blueknytsimple solution, dont split lanes!! then you wont have to worry about clipping mirrors, or havesomeone open a door on you. in florida its illeagle to splitlanes anyway. down here (south Florida) your likly to get shot bumping someone's ride even if you just cleaned some dust off the paint.

I have never had a door open on me in 3 years of riding. People are used to it and except it. Besides once shown how slow they are they realise who should lead and who should follow. I had a cop tell me it is safer to split lanes when traffic is stoped at lights to avoid being rear ended.
You really should try it and I think you would agree a few scratched mirrors are not worth more than my safety.
Not to mention the fact that no traffic jam can stop me. Unless of course there is a cop telling me to do so.
It's not always like Matrix 2 during the lane splitting scenes.

JohNLA · September 20, 2003, 09:47:29 PM

Quote from: jmfI have gently tapped two mirrors of suvs, on different occasions, with my mirror. Felt so bad but oh well. Now I move up as far as possible and stop when I feel uncomfortable squishing through.

Excelent advice

JohNLA · September 20, 2003, 09:50:02 PM

Quote from: keyzer.

the worst thing that has happen to me is I have split some cars at a stop light and a big german shepard dog went ballistic at me from the back window - I thought it was going to take my arm off, never had such a shock in my life!

Stay Safe

That is funny. I have never heard of that but I can see it hapening. I will keep an eye out for dog drool.

jiggersplat · September 22, 2003, 05:41:49 AM

to be honest with you guys, i'm pretty suprised by the lack of respect for other people property in this thread. if someone knicked your mirror and left before you even got a good look at it, i bet you would be pretty pissed off. you should at least give the guy the chance to say "no harm, no foul" before you take off. don't decide for yourself.

and all you guys talking about the worst that could happen... the worst that could happen is the guy is a f*cking psycho, calls the DMV gets your home address and puts a hit on you and your whole family.

glenn9171 · September 22, 2003, 07:29:11 AM

The DMV can't give out home addresses to other civillians.

And if someone came into my house at night, he had better have a fast trigger finger. :guns:

jiggersplat · September 22, 2003, 09:44:34 AM

they absolutely can. in maryland. if you want your information to be kept private, you have to pay $25 and make a special request that they do not make it available. other states may differ.

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lane splitting and bumping question..