terrible drivers

I was having a great ride out in country around Columbus Indiana. On my way back to the house through town, within sight of home, I fell victim to oblivious cagers. Pulling away from the stop light I stalled my '71 and the pickup behind me didn't take notice and promptly ran me over.

Fourtunately I was unhurt except for my tail light and the Lucas "hooded" housing I modified to fit on the commando rear loop.

I have never seen so many terrible drivers in one town, It scares me a little just to ride to work.

Regards,
John

I feel for you.

My wife happened to be following me when one of the snowbird geezers (I'm nearly at the age myself) in a Gran Marquis almost took me out, and I don't mean for dinner.

Now she is pressuring me to not ride anymore - or at least not in town.

I watched in horror Saturday morning as my friend was almost killed as an elderly woman BLEW through a stop sign and came at his 7:00 without him knowing it. ("Y" shaped intersection) I was on the horn and taking evasive action myself, but it was horrible to watch. She missed him by two feet.

My mother's friend was killed this morning after she maneuvered in front of a Kenworth dump truck at a stop light. Needless to say when the light turned green the driver of the truck ran her over and was killed. Very sad day.


P.S I probably would have picked up my bike and promptly beat the crap out of that idiot driver.

If ya ride fate is the hunter and reason for the skull icons so common with American bikers.
There is no rationalizing away you or your friends could be dead meat while behaving perfectly.
I could clutter the list with close calls on almost every ride while behaving defensively.

Safe Jounerys to the end.

oddly enough the driver was a rider as well. He was very apologetic and obviously shooken up that he just caused what he did. He compensated me for the damage and we were on our way.

Like my dad always says, Keep the rubber side down and between the ditches.

-John

Decemberist said:

My mother's friend was killed this morning after she maneuvered in front of a Kenworth dump truck at a stop light. Needless to say when the light turned green the driver of the truck ran her over and was killed. Very sad day.

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So she cut in front of a dump truck and then it ran her over? Could he have even seen her?

We really don't know, I'm guessing that the truck didn't see her pass him because it was a four lane road. I still don't understand how he could not have seen her, either he didn't see her get in front of him or he pulled too close to her at the light and forgot? that she was still in front as he pulled away being she was in the trucks "no zone".

You could go Italian ,



or maybe a Panzer .

Dang, is THAT where Dr Bauer got the idea from for the spine mainframe? Or is it a Coffmann starter? L.O.L.

I treat every single driver as if they're intentionally trying to KILL me. Because it seems, they are.
Even the Cops in my fair City are complete F-tards. :!:

I ride with two fingers on my brake lever - Norton, Speed Triple, BMW, Hardly, whatever I'm on. I try and be ready for the dreaded left turn in front of the bike accident, which claimed a friend of mine. But, I find if I see somebody creeping up in the intersection, looking like they are getting ready to turn in front of me, I'll naturally slow down, and try and make eye contact. Used to work, but lately, I find the idiots in the cars seem to think my slowing down means that I'm GOING TO TURN RIGHT!. This rolling through the left turn lane crap is my single biggest bitch with drivers. If you are waiting to turn, stop the damn thing. Don't try and see how close you can come to hitting me. Just followed a woman to her apartment, and explained to her in no uncertain terms, that shit scares the hell out of me. (bonus, she was on her phone looking the other direction) Her total comment was "sorry"

Just had another close call scare. Waiting for a small van to pass by that wasn't slowing nor signalling, so I could enter city rd with speed limit 35 by just easing in behind the van. There was no traffic coming in the lane I had to cross so kept eyes at some distant traffic approaching in the lane I wanted to enter. The van flashed past and I eased out with plenty of time/space to fall in some distance behind Van, * but this van driver decided to whip in right next to me immediately after it passed my vision = we almost collided with me just missing T-boning his ass at about 7 mph. Van had to see me and which way I was aiming to go as I'd idled up towards road and stopped to wait, so just ignored me and took his turn as if I wasn't there. Yes I 'd swung my head ahead of Van's direction then back before I eased off clutch for a whoosh of fright and involuntary curse.

My biggest screaming hatred is that no one uses their turn signals anymore!
WHY!
I just might know what your gonna do if you just %$#@%# use them!!!!

shrugger said:

I treat every single driver as if they're intentionally trying to KILL me. Because it seems, they are.
Even the Cops in my fair City are complete F-tards. :!:

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The route I commute on has a bottle-neck over a river crossing. On the ride home a few weeks back the grid-lock was bad, banked up several km to the local hospital where an ambulance was howling out of the E.D. zone, & proceeded very riskily against the on-coming traffic to beat the jam, I was making better time lane-splitting on my bike. Anyhow I beat the meat-truck to the scene, a Ducati rider off the road being attended to by civilians, his smashed up bike lying in the middle of the major intersection surrounded by cops taking video & generally blocking traffic, it pissed me off that the "crime scene" aspects seemed more important than getting help in a timely fashion for the rider.
The Ducati could have been shifted by the cops stat, & the gridlock avoided...they were likely doing a tote up of all the crimes they would bust him for...if he lives.

Ugh, the event process you saw is law enforcement following their corporate policy rules that are more set up for dead things like corporations like trucking instead helping breathing people bleeding out, as long as all the SSN's and License numbers and Insurance numbers and case numbers don't get messed up.

Any-who it just hit me on what almost did me in - it was the *whossh* and *tire* sounds of the van passing me at near speed limit as other cars - that falsely registered in slightly subconscious mind that it was going too fast past me to change course in any way that could matter to me and would be several car lengths down the road before I even lined up in lane behind...
On all other occassions I would have turned my head first then the fork, but I'd just seen no traffic so after the whoosh I eased into danger looking the wrong way.

A similar thing happened on my super smooth Ms Peel, when I put on huge wind screen I could light a cig behind at 90, it almost flew off a turn entered to hot because there was not wind sense to guide me to bother even looking at speedo on routine commute. IIRC Shirely McLain had a bad cycle crash into a bluff face, immediately after a stop that someone gave her a helmet to put on, she ran a sweeper too fast right off onto her face. Hmm.

Warrior awareness or lapse into Splat.

[IMG code removed - L.A.B]
http://www.scenicreflections.com/files/ ... __yvt2.jpg

Chicks call it 'intiuition', but technically -as blokes are want to be , it is pattern recognition/reflexive action, like when your back tyre steps out under power on that long 3rd gear sweeper, but you`ve corrected it before the oncoming shot of adrenaline has snapped your corn-hole shut..ahhh thats it..

J.A.W. » Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:51 pm
Chicks call it 'intiuition', but technically -as blokes are want to be , it is pattern recognition/reflexive action, like when your back tyre steps out under power on that long 3rd gear sweeper, but you`ve corrected it before the oncoming shot of adrenaline has snapped your corn-hole shut..ahhh thats it..

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Yes sir, when on your terms but best reflexes are poor to no defense against fate targeting all of us in a saddle. There is a proven "blind sight" that operates below brain vision centers so we are not directly aware of it but the brain stem and spinal cord sure are and can react so fast your brain don't know how ya did it w/o it. Mine may of kicked in as I aimed more straight deep into lane for a fairly sharp 90' than the easier diagonal that might of impacted van, for some reason that escapes me.

Training not instinct, nor direct divine intervention , or we`d all be lotto winners L.O.L.