Thread: For all you drivers out there..

Pretty horrible, isn't it. It shows how vulnerable we are when the unthinkable happens.

This is an example of why I don't like to ride in Urban settings any more than I absolutely have to... there's just too much chance of someone not seeing you, forgetting you're there, etc. ... particularly in morning rush hour... people half asleep, etc.

In California (where this happened ?) bikers will ride between cars and on the white/yellow lane boundary lines... apparently it's legal there. The Californian driver is used to it and pays attention... but if you're from anywhere else and driving in Calif you just don't expect that to happen... so you don't watch for it. While there on business (ie, rental car) I've nearly hit several bikers as they zoomed between slow moving/stopped traffic. Maybe something like that was involved here... dunno as his description is a little unclear... I'm suspecting he was positioned at the extreme left of the lane, perhaps on or close to the lane boundary... that gave the driver of the car belief that he could pass alongside. Had the MC stopped 2-feet closer to the center of the lane it would have been directly in front of the driver of the car... a much more "visible" position. But this is all Monday morning quarterbacking... we'll never know for sure.

For me riding should be fun and relaxing, not tense and a continual stream of adrenaline rushes. But that's just me.

It's about survival, not about being right. It's about driving in a way that the probability of an accident is kept low. Defensive driving and common sense make up the main ingredients, with a healthy dash of fear thrown in to keep my judgments on the conservative side. Whenever I start to go beyond reason my subconscious always seems to start feeding my conscious little pictures of fellow riders who had a flat tire at 75mph, hit gravel in an intersection and couldn't stop, hit wet leaves on a curve and were thrown into the woods, etc.... and then I usually back off a little.

Lane-splitting isn't legal in Ontario. In any case, you are correct. He should have been in a proper blocking position. I have been passed in my lane on the highway once (a van cut into our formation, so I was blocking for the back of the pack to go around him) and since then I've been making an effort to ride closer to the center of the lane while still being able to block from the side.

Amazing...he didn't mention in the text that he had lost his leg. I remember bikers in Germany, going full-tilt on the autobahn...thinking that if they crashed...there would be a paint mark and a grease spot....not much else...I had been passed by bikers when I was doing 120Mph in a Saab Tubo like I was parked.

Driving skills there are much better however.

Having been a cop, I hated responding to auto accidents...it's one of the few places you will fins such massive carnage in such a confined area.

When I drive and encounter bikers, I try to make sure they have plenty of space to maneuver and have an open "escape"...I rarely will stay along side or behind them....not because of them but because of the other morons on the highway that do not pay attention to them.

I really learned to drive in Germany...it is sad how easy it is to get a license here in the US: drivers are not required to understand how a car works, know first aid, spend a specified number of hours behind the wheel under different conditions, know their own personal vehicle (how many times have you been stuck behind someone trying to park, because they don't know the footprint of their vehicle?), understand basic physics ("So if I drive my Hummer like I drove my Accord, you mean I'll flip upside down? Really?"). I think SUVs should be their own class of vehicle and require additinal training (I've only ever had a sub-compact, but I live in COlorado now, so I need and Excursion!)



...and don't even get me started about driving and cellphones.
I think it should be a $1,000 fine 5 points, and the cop should be able to confiscate the phone and smash it right there on the road....treat it just like alcohol...(I saw a news show where they said driving slightly intoxicated was safer than yakking on the phone)...

I wonder how many bikers have been injured because Suzy Suburb was yakking to the girls on the phone, while sipping her latte and screaming at the kids, all while driving a vehicle big enough to have its own zip code?

I think bike riding would be a blast, but like az joe said...only outside urban areas...otherwise, there are just too many crappy drivers.

This is exactly why I won't ride. If it was just me, with no wife or kids, I would probably be on a bike. However, i cannot risk the lives of my kids for my own personal desire to ride. They depend upon me too much.

I live in a big city and it can get scary from time to time.. People swerving without looking, making turns across multiple lanes without looking, ofcourse there are the cellphone talkers and then there are those who make turns in front of me knowing I'm out there but not caring about what happens to me.
Country roads have their hazards as well.. People are more likely to run lights and stop signs since there's less traffic and the cops usually stick to places where they can easily meet their "performance expectations" -- the highways, so the idiots are more likely to get away with reckless behavior. Then you have the wildlife that comes out, especially at night.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Country roads have their hazards as well.. People are more likely to run lights and stop signs since there's less traffic

Huh? Where I come from it ain't a country road if its got lights and stop signs

(Just kidding Ilija)

Head North-West, when you hit Eureka, start heading towards Ely on 50 a.k.a. The Loneliest Highway in America, make a left on 892 and you'll see a stop-sign, right at the intersection

As I said, I was only kidding.

Interestingly though, Nevada 50 was part of the old Lincoln Highway which was the first East/West intercontinental highway across the US. And I'll bet it was lonely... lots of western states still are. The question is how many stop signs are there on 892... not very many I'll bet. And even fewer on the roads that take off of that... now you're in the "country" (aka the desert if you're in Nevada)