[janddsnyder]

A fellow TDubber very nearly got run over today on Route 50 in Colorado at Monarch Pass. Some...some....."knucklehead" (trying to keep it clean here) driving a camper rig down the mountain crossed over the double yellow line to pass the guy in front of him just as our fellow TDubber was coming up the mountain. Thankfully our friend on the TW was alert and quick and got off to the side of the road or he'd have been toast. Be careful on the hiways out there friends!

 

[peruano]

As a TW rider occasionally riding slower than traffic and less conspicuous than a cager coming from the other way, and a bicyclist who is often riding the white line and alert to oncoming traffic, I know that folks are often unalert enough to focus on that small image in front of them. Defense is the best method for avoiding problems from oncoming passers - they'll claim they didn't see you every time. Ride defensively and stay well. Tom

 

[DonBenito]

A fellow TDubber very nearly got run over today on Route 50 in Colorado at Monarch Pass. Some...some....."knucklehead" (trying to keep it clean here) driving a camper rig down the mountain crossed over the double yellow line to pass the guy in front of him just as our fellow TDubber was coming up the mountain. Thankfully our friend on the TW was alert and quick and got off to the side of the road or he'd have been toast. Be careful on the hiways out there friends!

Unfortunately this kind of thing is way too common. I've had enough people apparently not see me coming when I'm driving my Suburban to develop a kind of hyper-vigilance about other motorists while 2-wheeling it.



On my second commute riding my TW (I'm up to 4 now!) an off-duty AMBULANCE pulled out in front of me. I guess there's worse vehicles to get into a wreck with, but fortunately I was able to stop in time.



The best advice I've seen on here is to pretend that you're invisible when you're out riding. Assume that every car will pull out in front of you, every motorist won't see you coming, and the car in the next lane actually is about to merge into you and when it really happens you'll be ready.

 

[mhomadness]

2nd that! In MMI we had a discussion about how people don't look for motorcycles. It's true. If a driver does not look specifically for something, they simply don't see it. It's a psychological thing. In drivers ed they talk about watching out for cars, train crossings, kids running out in the street, but for some reason, they seem to put a low priority or skip completely the idea of being aware of a popular vehicle sharing the road with them, the motorcycle.



We're not invisible, most of the time, far from it! We're just not consciously looked for! As riders, we're aware of cyclist, if for no other reason, we want to see what the other person is riding. To quote Bubbles, "Keep your head on a swivel boys" m.

 

[pgilles]

I work on the side of the road in a road construction environment....with a bright red truck, a box that's 11' long and 8' wide with reflective stickers, with bright yellow flashing lights on top and on the corners of the box....I feel no one sees me. It's frustrating, but it's just the way it is. Drivers don't see any sized object out there. If you put a barn out on the interstate, people would drive right into it.



It's just a reminder to not allow one's self to assume that any knows you are there and to think about the curve ahead. Drive with an escape path in mind at all times. Speed up or slow down to give yourself that path or get in the eyes of another driver. Look and make eye contact with other drivers. And, as your friend found out, keep an eye out for them.

 

[qwerty]

When cagers begin being charged with involuntary manslaughter many fewer motorcyclists will die. I suppose the politicians find filling prisons with minor drug offenses significantly more profitable.

 

[mhomadness]

2nd that too Q! m.

 

[wvbobsmith]

Since I started wearing Hi-Vis Green (with wide reflective bands) and using hi-beam in daylight hours,I believe they see me more often. The safety gear won't stop an out-of-control cage, but it can help steer the other ones around me. The mesh construction type over shirt has become part of my every-ride-gear.



BS

 

[MrDNA]

Well, I had a basketball shoot out from under the car in front of me today. Going 55 and missed it by inches with the front wheel... Anything can come at us!

 

[PalmStateCrawler]

When cagers begin being charged with involuntary manslaughter many fewer motorcyclists will die. I suppose the politicians find filling prisons with minor drug offenses significantly more profitable.

AMEN!!!!!

 

[lizrdbrth]

This smacks of oil thread-ism. I'm sure it'll stretch to a multi-page thread when the OP merely wished to remind us to be careful out there. But I'll play.



I, (Me, The Big Kahuna, Dood In Charge of Me, etc.) and I alone am solely responsible for keeping myself alive. Failure is not an option. If I somehow manage to get through a day without choking on a pretzel, getting stomped by a horse or squashed by a garbage truck it's of my own accord and if I fail it's because I ate pretzels, messed with horses or crossed the street on trash day. That is my view of motorcycling as well.



Hatin' on cagers won't alter my odds against them on the road. Anyone among us who hasn't himself had a close call with a bike while driving a cage because we failed to see them is either a damned liar or hasn't driven very much. Presumably we the riding public should have a heightened awareness of bikes and yet, it happens. Even to us.



They're called "accidents" for a reason. I hardly think some poor schmuck whose failure to notice me resulted in my death when, had he committed the same infraction against a car may have resulted in no bodily harm whatsoever deserves to be crucified. Nor do I think said schmuck will suddenly develop zen-like powers of awareness with the stroke of some legislator's pen. You either got it, or ya don't.



This thinking smacks of one of my other pet peeves, the hate crime statute, wherein one life is valued greater than another and this is somehow deemed justified by some arbitrarily determined , flavor-of-the-week minority status. Dead is dead. But I digress.



Run your own show and forget about changing basic human behavior. Work on your OWN awareness and riding skills because in the end they are the only part of the scenario over which you have any control, take sensible precautions, and get on with life.



Be careful out there.

 

[gskeem]

This smacks of oil thread-ism. I'm sure it'll stretch to a multi-page thread when the OP merely wished to remind us to be careful out there. But I'll play.



I, (Me, The Big Kahuna, Dood In Charge of Me, etc.) and I alone am solely responsible for keeping myself alive. Failure is not an option. If I somehow manage to get through a day without choking on a pretzel, getting stomped by a horse or squashed by a garbage truck it's of my own accord and if I fail it's because I ate pretzels, messed with horses or crossed the street on trash day. That is my view of motorcycling as well.



Hatin' on cagers won't alter my odds against them on the road. Anyone among us who hasn't himself had a close call with a bike while driving a cage because we failed to see them is either a damned liar or hasn't driven very much. Presumably we the riding public should have a heightened awareness of bikes and yet, it happens. Even to us.



They're called "accidents" for a reason. I hardly think some poor schmuck whose failure to notice me resulted in my death when, had he committed the same infraction against a car may have resulted in no bodily harm whatsoever deserves to be crucified. Nor do I think said schmuck will suddenly develop zen-like powers of awareness with the stroke of some legislator's pen. You either got it, or ya don't.



This thinking smacks of one of my other pet peeves, the hate crime statute, wherein one life is valued greater than another and this is somehow deemed justified by some arbitrarily determined , flavor-of-the-week minority status. Dead is dead. But I digress.



Run your own show and forget about changing basic human behavior. Work on your OWN awareness and riding skills because in the end they are the only part of the scenario over which you have any control, take sensible precautions, and get on with life.



Be careful out there.

 

[Bagger]

Be careful out there in-deed.



So far I have nearly smacked a bear and a cougar while riding my TW way off road . . . good thing I was looking for them, cause they wern't looking for me.

After 14 + thousand riding days, I have come to understand/accept one trueisum of motorcycling.



YOU are in charge.



I would love to see more effort taken to get people to pay better attention. But I also realize that most don't/won't/can't. Just read through threads on here and look at all the folks that don't read (or comprehend?) input and ask questions about an answer just a couple replies above . . . and presumably they aren't keeping track of nearly as much sitting at the computer as they are piloting a vehicle.



I applaud those who work to make us safer.



I still don't trust anyone else with my life.



But . . . most important is it's FUN TO RIDE.



So get out there, and be careful, but GET OUT THERE!!!



Bag

 

[gskeem]

I see your point. And you have to accept the fact bike riders behind the wheel of a cage have a greater awareness of bike riders on the rode(OK I do). Maybe spitting in the wind here, but Drivers Ed and testing could address motorcycles with more emphasis. I would guess given the way things are one will see more motorcycles on the road in the future. Yep ride defensively but my point is addressing and educating drivers to be more aware of smaller vehicles.

 

[JaRo]

Maybe the answer lies with the next generation.



Something like "slugbug" when you see a volkswagen beetle. If everyone here started teaching their kids some sort of game when they see a motorcycle, they may possibly spend the rest of their life being more aware of motorcycles on the highway.



If other cycling forums picked it up then it could possibly spread to kids in families that don't ride.



It might, just might, spread to the parents. If nothing else, the parent cannot claim he/she never knew the motorcycle was there if all three of their kids hollered "motorcycle" in unison just seconds before the driver pulled out in front of it.



All we need is someone to come up with the rules. Preferably not something that would be discouraged by the parents like slapping your sister.



Just a thought.

James

 

[lizrdbrth]

That right there has potential.



My own Slugbug conditioning persists nearly 50 years on.

 

[qwerty]

Yup, but according to your way of thinking, it's okay if I miss that deer and the 165 grains of JHP I sent its way hits you instead. After all, you're solely responsible for keeping yourself out of the way of my bullets.

 

[Mark In WA]

Run your own show and forget about changing basic human behavior

What? Reason and logic in a cage vs. motorcycle discussion? Now I've seen everything.



The fact is, if there were more motorcyles on the road, cage drivers would see them. It is only natural to deal with the environment that it typical. I am hoping this will adjust itself as fuel costs rise and more people turn to two wheels.



People who base their behavior on how they think others should behave are going to make mistakes. Observe reality and adjust your behavior accordingly. You will be much better off.



Good post, lizrdbrth.



Mark

 

[Mark In WA]

Yup, but according to your way of thinking, it's okay if I miss that deer and the 165 grains of JHP I sent its way hits you instead. After all, you're solely responsible for keeping yourself out of the way of my bullets.

If you want to use that analogy, I didn't hunt when I lived in California. Too many people that will take a shot because they saw something move. I adjusted my behavior to the environment.



Mark

 

[pgilles]

Cagers aren't out to get the motorcyclists. There's an idiot behind every type of vehicle (motorcycle, cager, semi, patrol car, etc.), but not every vehicle is driven by an idiot. One's own awareness is the best protection.



Just be thankful you're here to be able to complain about the close-calls.