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Message started by Dave on 09/29/17 at 05:14:43

Title: Be watchful/careful!
Post by Dave on 09/29/17 at 05:14:43

Last night I rode to the bike night at Quaker Steak and Lube, it was 77 degrees and could be the last event of the year that is well attended (it was 47 degrees when I drove to work this morning).

I took the back roads as I275 is crazy and dangerous in the evening rush hour. As I was riding I saw a pickup truck pull up to a side road....and I kept my eye on him to be sure he was going to stop. He stopped, and as I got within 100 feet of him - he pulled out in front of me. Luckily I had my eye on him and was ready for him to do this - there was no traffic in the other lane so I applied the brakes and moved over to the left and passed him....and paused briefly along side so he could see that I was magic and could appear out of nowhere. There is a STOP sign about 1/4 mile up the road, and I stopped and went back to talk to him. He and his wife appeared to be in their late 70's, and as I suspected.....he didn't see me. He was not a cell phone user - just one of those folks who scans the road for a car and doesn't really look. I had on a red jacket, and an 8" headlight with an LED bulb in it - I am not very hard to see!

Then a mile down the road I came up behind a truck pulling a small trailer. He was going about 10 mph under the speed limit, and he was in a passing zone. As I got up behind him he slowed even more as we approached a bridge......and then he turned left into a driveway without using a turn signal. If I had chosen to pass him (it would have been a legal pass) - but I would likely have just hit the side of his truck as he turned.

We really need to ride as if everyone else is going to do something stupid - because they do stupid things all the time!

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by Ruttly on 09/29/17 at 05:51:40

That's right Dave you should treat every vehicle as if it is out to KILL you !
No exceptions , that one time you loose concentration is when it happens and anything in the roadway can get you too. Animals , shredded truck tire , debri of all kinds , scan the road well ahead of the bike , stay alert & sober and stay alive , Ride Safe !!

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by LANCER on 09/29/17 at 07:10:05

YEP

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by MMRanch on 09/29/17 at 07:59:41

That makes me think of putting a light bar on my bike ... Three lights instead of one , but even then "Careless people are still Careless people" :( :( .

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by springman on 09/29/17 at 09:03:19

Thanks for the warning Dave. I have to admit I do not ride much at night. I also have to admit that I am not bashful about using my horn or flashing my lights. Yes, I believe every car is out to get me.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by Gary_in_NJ on 09/29/17 at 09:24:17

73484552434F545249414C53200 wrote:
We really need to ride as if everyone else is going to do something stupid - because they do stupid things all the time!

I've always said something similar; "ride like they are going to kill you - because they will".

I drive a full size pick up truck and I'm amazed how people do stupid things because they didn't process that I was ACTUALLY there. "Sorry Dude, I didn't see you" just isn't good enough after bike car contact.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/29/17 at 10:34:07

I was following an ambulance,bright red, yello reflective stripes, and a pickup stopped at a sign and pulled out in front of him. He was on the horn and brakes as he dodged. I was glad that ambulance was in front of me.
There's really no way to distrust the other guy too much.
I've walked back to talk to a guy who ran a stop sign,on the phone. He was still on it while I was telling him to lay it down before he killed someone. He was older than me.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by IslandRoad on 09/29/17 at 14:35:39

7B5C5D5D4550290 wrote:

Exactly! Mindset is so important. I had a close call a couple of days ago on the way home from work. I live in an area with small suburbs set among coastal nature reserves. There are often various critters about 1-2 feet in height that mull around on the side of the road - wallabies, wombats, and flightless birds. I usually slow right down to pass them.

I hadn't ridden much during winter and spring is arriving here so it was a nice evening to take the long way home. I also had a bit of stress recently. So, I thought I'd go via a road where I could open the bike up a bit to 100km/hr. I was in the mindset of 'blowing out the cobwebs'. I saw a couple of flightless birds up ahead on the side of the road. I actually forgot about the importance of slowing down. But I did keep an eye on them.

Sure enough, one of them darted (they kid of jog) across the road. I was ready with the brakes, but began to try to evade him first. I realised quickly we were going to meet at the shoulder of the road. So I was on the brakes hard and managed to pull up enough to watch him dart in front of my front wheel.

He was big enough that I would have lost traction if I'd hit him. I was relieved but also surprised at myself for forgetting what I knew was a necessary tactic when approaching these guys.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by thumperclone on 09/29/17 at 17:45:41

EVERY other driver/rider out there cant see you
I had a biker in the same rally I was riding in cut me off from the left of me getting to the side of the road
good thing I was staggered with new front brake pads
he was clueless
no signal, no looking back, just cut over from the left part of the lane to the roadside..

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by jcstokes on 09/29/17 at 19:14:09

You have three Friends in motorcycling, your two mirrors and the big gap all around you. Everything/one else is your enemy.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by SALB on 09/30/17 at 08:27:15

While not the most fashionable, wearing bright (fluorescent) colors does seem to help a little. There's a guy I see around here occasionally who painted his Harley safety orange. ::)

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by Serowbot on 09/30/17 at 10:01:26

Went for ride Monday morning,.. a llama crossed the road in front of me...

A LLAMA!!!.... :-/

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by IslandRoad on 09/30/17 at 21:26:10

3F293E233B2E23384C0 wrote:

Went for ride Monday morning,.. a llama crossed the road in front of me...

A LLAMA!!!.... :-/

That's awesome!!

A mate of mine was riding a Honda 750 through some mild twisties, through farm land. He was coming to a slip road (had a clear road ahead). He did a head check over his left shoulder, looked back up, and there was a bull standing on the road!! He hit it at 80 km/hr. Straight over the handlebars: Broken wrist, dislocated shoulder, twisted ankle, and damaged hips!

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by Dave on 10/01/17 at 03:58:59

434042595E575D515E300 wrote:

My incident was around 6pm, it was still daylight and the sunset would not be for another couple of hours. There was plenty of light for him to see me if he had looked......and I have that 8" headlight to help announce my presence.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by LANCER on 10/01/17 at 08:19:56

As I left the house this morning it was daylight and leaving the driveway the road is dirt/gravel for 0.3 miles before hitting the pavement. Half way down the gravel portion I see some Ginneys (cousin to chicken) on the left side of the one lane road. Chickens are not too smart and Ginneys even less. As I approach at about 35 mph they are just watching me and as I pass them the in ONE who jumps across the road right in front of me and somehow manages to to escape being run over by my wheel. I would have gone down if I had hit him straight on.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by jcstokes on 10/01/17 at 10:57:55

Salb has a point, while riding home last Saturday evening, I noticed a guy broken down in the middle of one of our excuses for motorways. He was dressed in black and riding a gloss black bike. I didn't notice him until I was quite close.
I've always worn some form of high visibility jacket and a white helmet, I ride a predominantly white bike, and I don't care what people think of this. I wonder why people would buy matt black or grey bikes which blend into tar seal/blacktop. I think the high vis stuff can give the enemy a little more warning of your presence.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by verslagen1 on 10/01/17 at 11:26:26

That and a chromed 357 magnum 8-)

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by Ruttly on 10/01/17 at 15:26:07

If I know I won't make it home before darkness sets in I bring my backpack with my hi/vis clothing , but don't ride much at night. I find that sun up & sun down times the most dangerous due to changing light and sun low on the horizon makes it even harder for them to see us !

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by jcstokes on 10/02/17 at 03:03:13

Yes Verslagen, but only you Americans would be able to fire it while riding, the rest of the world would fall off their bikes.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by stewmills on 10/02/17 at 09:50:01

Glad you made it out OK, Dave. Great example of how you can never let your guard down.

I learned how stupid people can be while driving when I worked at the Fire Dept. I would be driving a big quad cab class A pumper with 1500 gallons of water and everything else a fire truck has to offer (heavy and not easy to stop on a dime), and we would approach intersections with lights and sirens blaring and cars would literally look up and stare you in the eyes, slam on brakes, and stop dead center of the intersection in front of you and just sit there. Some people just panic and freeze up and others just don't pay attention.

No matter how big and loud you are people are still going to do stupid things at your expense. BE VIGILANT!

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by SoC on 10/02/17 at 20:57:39

Riding at night requires extra caution, like Ruttly mentions packing Hi vis clothing. I have found these great Bell Silicone LED Light Sets sold at Walmart in their bike dept. They are small and compact, have these stretchy bands and clips, so easy to attach. You get a white and a red in each pack. They run on one battery (each) the size of a quarter. Small enough to stash in your tool box on bike or saddle bags, even your pocket. At night I put a red on each rear turn signal pointing down and slightly forward and the whites on the crash bar on front of frame pointing down at road between frame and front wheel. Greatly improves visability of bike from almost all angles. Attached a photo. They cost about $13.00 per pack of 2.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by SoC on 10/02/17 at 22:25:33

Here's a picture of the lights in the package.

Title: Re: Be watchful/careful!
Post by MShipley on 10/03/17 at 12:11:46

It's not just people, I had a head on with a vulture recently. Head on as in I dropped my head not to take the hit in my face shield and smacked him head on with the top of my helmet at about 55mph. Can't believe it didn't knock me off the bike.