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Showing results for tags 'lane'.
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What do we make cagers think when we share the road, and related thoughts. Often and most time we blame the cager for not seeing us. This maybe true, but no matter who's to blame for the mishaps or near mishaps, riders still end up with the short end of the stick, and are the ones who have to deal with the worst aftermath. How to minimize these situations is an ongoing discussion and I would like to add to it from a different point of view. First, lets accept the fact that an accident is the fault of those involved, in our case the rider and the cager. We all know that the cager will not 'see us', so it's up to us to avoid being hit. The cager is no help in this department. With that in mind here's my thoughts: TWO LANE ROAD: 1) Always ride the left hand track, in the right hand track we get lost in the scenery and we tell others that we are not really a contender in the traffic. 2) When approaching an intersection and you have a left turner coming toward you, stay in the left hand track. If you move over to the right hand track you are telling the cager that you are making a right turn, and guess what, he's going first, and right into your path cutting off all chance of escape. If you stay in the left track and he does turn in front of you, you have a chance of going behind him. However small that opening may be, it’s may be the only one you’ve got. 3) When traveling down the road stay with the traffic speed. You are telling the cager that you are part of his environment and not just something to get out of the way. Keep your left track and block your lane. If you move to the right track you are telling them: I’m trying to give you room to pass me, try it if you think it’s ok and take me out in the process. It also gives you a better vision to the front and traffic coming towards you are also aware of your presence and so have to contend with you. 4) Always and always block your lane. You paid for it as much as anyone else, you have a right to it and it’s yours to use to your full advantage. 5) When making a right hand turn never use the right hand track, in doing so you are telling the cager that it’s ok for him to try and squeeze by you, but often times there’s not quite enough room and over you go. 6) When making a left turn use the center right track and so block your lane. Sure the cager has to wait to go past you, but then he does for anyone else as well so why not for you. If he knows he’s going to take you out he will contend with you, but if he can put you on the side in his mind, you’re the one who deals with the problems. Further more if the cager thinks that he can scoot past you and stay on the pavement he will, force him to leave the pavement and he will give you a wider berth. 7) Never give a cager the idea that you may even want to share your lane with him, it’s yours, you paid for it, at present you own it and are using it and he’s to keep away from you. 8) When stopped at a light or stop sign, tell others by your action that you own the lane, park crosswise in the middle if that’s what it takes, just don’t let anyone even think that there may be a chance that they could squeeze by. FOUR LANE, Two lanes in either direction. I find that sometimes it feels safer in the right and other times safer in the left. I’m not really stuck on the one vs. the other. 1) When in the right lane be visible and use the left track, when in the left lane be just as visible and use the right track. Again, let others know that you intend to be a contender in traffic and they will have to deal with you. This may seem to be an aggressive way of thinking and doesn’t fly with the thought that we are super vulnerable. We are super vulnerable and should never forget that fact, but that doesn’t mean that we need to tell the cager that. Let him know that we are part of the world he has to deal with and it will be much harder for him to put us aside mentally. 2) When passing continue to use the proper tracks. You may feel safer in the other track, but you won’t be taking over your rightful lane, you will be unnoticed, and therefore uncared for. 3) When doing an exit, continue to claim your right to your lane as long as possible, nobody will run you down, but if you fade to the right to try and get out the way then others will take your lane away from you before they should. These are just some thoughts, hopefully helpful, but I’m not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Lets use this to start a discussion and to educated each other more fully. Got some helpful insight? Some good pointers? Type away and help the rest of us as well.
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9:30am... Houston I-45 heavy traffic moving about 60mph... I'm in left lane... cars start to slow down and so did I... 3 car lengths space in front of me... slowing, not abrupt stopping, just slowing... now about 45 - 50mph... I hear screeching tires... look in rearview mirror and see closest vehicle about 4 car lengths behind me and also moving slow... still hear screeching... Wham! Hit in right rear corner by a car in center lane. http://i521.photobucket.com/albums/w337/Owen064/IMG_4267_zps2030827b.jpg This being the perfect Pit Maneuver, I spin counter clockwise and smash into the center concrete barrier... airbag deploys... glasses gone... continue spinning counter clockwise... cross center lane and broad side an 18 wheeler that was still moving... as I see the center of the trailer rapidly approaching all I can think is 'This is gonna hurt!'... I hit hard just in front of the rear wheels and the force of his movement continues to spin me counter clock wise as the fender of his rear wheels slices through my front right fender... http://i521.photobucket.com/albums/w337/Owen064/IMG_4263_zps553176f6.jpg On my journey back across the center lane toward the concrete barrier for the second time it was deja vu... Hit the barrier hard again and came to rest facing the wrong direction... http://i521.photobucket.com/albums/w337/Owen064/IMG_0054_zpsfc0dc7d5.jpg http://i521.photobucket.com/albums/w337/Owen064/IMG_0053_zpsd36758d5.jpg EMS extricated me from the cab with neck brace and backboard... 6 hours later I walked out of the hospital with only arm abrasions from the air bag, sore muscles and slightly tweaked lower back. This little Toyota truck took good care of me. Interior cab was undamaged. Nothing crunched or folded into the passengers area. This was after 3 very hard front end hits. Now where's that rum....
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With my car that is. Coming home about 6:30pm. Fairly heavy traffic for a Saturday on GA 400 northbound just after dark. 4 lanes divided, limited access. Doing 75 in a 65 mph zone, I'm in the left lane. motorcycle comes up behind me. I'm just following the car in front and not a lot of open space anywhere. Slowly pass the car in the right lane and there's a small hole, so I flip on my blinker when I see the car in my right hand mirror and slowly start to pull into the right hand lane. Good thing I didn't switch lanes faster, cause mr ina hurry must have goosed it as soon as he saw an inch between me and the car in the right lane. I quickly stopped my lane change as I straddled the line divider. If I'd pulled over quick or not checked my mirrors again, I'd have gotten him.
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Nina & I were out for an enjoyable afternoon ride yesterday and decided to head up the mountain to where one of the local ski hills is. Very nice ride, warm and sunny and not a lot of traffic. It's 2-lane up, 1 coming down. The left lane going up is designed for passing slower vehicles and there's signs along the way that say "Keep right except to pass". So, up ahead of us is a "slower" moving car in the right lane. In the left lane is a van (plumber's van) going about the same speed as the car but appx 2 car lengths back.... I got up behind the van and follow for a bit, waiting to see if he's actually going faster and passing or if not, is he going to move over so I can pass .... NOPE... neither! I get into his side-view mirrors and flick my high beams. Still he doesn't move over so I blast the horn ... still doesn't move over. Now, I don't like passing people on the right coz sometimes they suddenly decide to move over and not realize you're there... but I did anyway and as I got passed him and moved over to the left lane to pass the car, I raised my left arm and made a finger motion over my head pointing to the right (used the index finger) and off we went up the road. Got to the parking lot and got off the bike and next thing I know, this guy in the van pulls up and says "did you finger me?" in what I felt was an aggressive and threatening tone. So I said NO and explained the motion I made and why I made it. He repeated "you fingered me" and I repeated NO, it was a motion to move over. Well anyway, to make the long story short, I thought for a few minutes there I would have a scrap to deal with; however, he backed off, backed up and left but it was obvious as he was backing up, turning around and driving off he was cussing me out. From my perspective, the guy was itching for a fight over nothing IMO. Not sure how I would have handled it had he gotten out of his van, me being 65 and him appx 35 but me at 165lbs, wiry and quick to get my dander up .... Nina later reminded me that I shouldn't go getting into such things as I'm not 35 anymore (which I guess I still think I am LOL) Anyhoo... nothing more came of it and I'm not really sure why I'm posting this other than to just VENT a bit LOL
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There will be a poker run/benefit for Lane Goodwin of Beech Grove,Ky. on Sat. Oct. 20th at the Henderson County Fairgrounds in Henderson, Ky. Regestration at 10 am, first bike out at 11 am, last bike in at 2 pm. Approximately 50-60 mi. ride. $15 single or $20 couple, prizes for best and worst hand, all proceeds benefit the Goodwin family. Those of you with a Facebook account can read about Lane at the ( Prayers for Lane Goodwin ) page. His facebook page has over 258,000 likes and the list of people giving him the "two thumbs up for Lane" is amazing, rock stars, country artist, tv and movie stars, and lots of average joe's giving support( he's battling a rare form of cancer only 1 per million kids get, 13 yrs old). Come out and enjoy a nice October Western Ky. ride/benefit and get a blessing in return. All times Central time.
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So I'm heading home from a Tim Horton's where our club had just met. I'm on a 4 lane section of what is mostly a two lane road and getting ready for a left turn to the exit ramp leading to a 4 lane limited access highway (I hate when they cheap out and put the exit and entrance ramps side by side like that!). As I prepare for my left hand turn, I see a Jeep Wagoneer or some such, with out of province plates, come barrelling up the ramp from the 4 lane. I slowed and checked the driver's head and, sure enough, he's looking behind me and just rolls through the stop sign at a good speed and directly into my path. By now I'm on the brakes and the horn and the a**hole gives me a dirty look - I guess he didn't like me honking. I swear, it took every ounce of willpower I had to keep from hanging a right (There was no oncoming traffic and I had the time and the room) and chasing him down. A few good kicks into his car's pretty blue doors (Or preferably his ugly face!) would have felt soooooooo good. But, once again, I realized that I'm the one who would have had the chat with the men in blue so I swore at him (Had to do something - he was too far to hear any way) an continued on my way. What a week - still don't know what's happening with the wife's car after Sunday's deer encounter and now this. Hope to relax in Port Dover tomorrow for the 13th. I need a break about now. Andy
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Most of the time when you think "stupid idiot" it is usually directed at what someone in a cage did. Well, in this instance... first thing I could think of after it happened was that I was the "stupid idiot". Hopefully someone else will learn from my near miss. Might be a good reminder "mid-riding season" to be carefull out there. So here is my story... Yesterday started out with me sleeping in (late night getting home after meeting other members) so I left work later than normal. Made for a long day at work. Considering it was my birthday I felt I deserved to sleep in that day. Started followed my normal route home. Roads from Cambridge (Toyota plant) offer limited routes to get to Kitchener/Waterloo and at 5pm my best option was to head South to the highway (401- runs East/South-West) and get off at the first exit to go North from there. Clear sky, dry pavement, nice and warm. For those that don't know the area, Sportsworld drive is 4 lanes (2 in each direction) and ends at King St which is also 4 lanes (again, 2 lanes each direction). So I'm cruising comfortably along Sportsworld heading West to get to King St. Bit of traffic, a few bikes headed the same way. I'm in the left lane approaching the turn lane on Sportsworld to turn onto King. Probably 8 vehicles in front of me before the light which is red. One of the bikes passes me in the right lane and then cuts left to wedge themselves into the turn lane, they become 3rd from the light. I'm thinking that guy is inconsiderate. Advance turn signal... I'm the last one thru before the advance signal ends. Car in front of me and I change lanes to the right lane on King. The other biker and cars ahead are pulling away (going faster) from us. Since the car in front of me is going at a reasonable pace and I didn't have to rush anywhere, I stayed behind the car. No traffic directly behind us, left lane clear beside the car in front and I. I'm 3 or 4 car lengths behind the car in front, riding in the right lane in the left track. Sounds good so far doesn't it? I tend to be aware of my surroundings, knowing what's ahead and behind and anticipating. Normally approaching traffic lights I'll check the cross-walk signal to see if the light is changing. This time, I'm looking to see where the bike ahead is as we are approaching a set of traffic lights (Tu Lane Road - T intersection with my route going straight thru). Maybe a group mentality wondering if bike ahead is going to get on the highway and if I'll catch up. Not sure whether my vision caught brake lights on the car ahead of me, or if it was the sound of his screeching tires as he hit the brakes hard that diverted my attention back to where it should have been. Light changed to amber and the car in front of me wasn't going thru the intersection. I apply front and rear brakes heavy, locking up the rear. The car in front of me is locked up and sliding the front end towards the right curb. Funny how things go into slow motion in a situation like this. I can smell burning rubber as tires slide on the pavement... not sure if it is from my rear tire or the car. I'm closing on the car thinking I'm going to hit the rear of his car and this is gonna hurt ! Avoidance move and stop beside him or hope for the best... but hoping for the best and I end up laying on his trunk or thru his back window. Thinking... its my birthday.... better to avoid than spend the rest of my day in a hospital. So... rear wheel locked up, heavy braking on the front (but not locked up)... need to turn a bit. Slight release of pressure on the rear to unlock it... as the wheel starts turning the rear end jerks left .... must have been sliding slightly sideways. Couldn't have been angled the other direction... had to swing the wrong way, lining me up with the centre of car in front of me. What started out as a slight veer turns into a large move required. Lighter pressure on the front brake.... don't want to lock it up trying to veer left and then find myself low siding under his bumper. Do a quick counter steer to the left... straighten the handle bars...more front brake... heavy on the rear... locking up the rear again. Best option.... come to a stop beside the car at least. I'm skidding... car in front comes to a full stop finally. Because he skidded to the right... his rear end is sticking out and he is taking the full lane. Gotta move more to the left to get around him... this is gonna be close! Lighter on the front and rear... counter steer to the left...I'm clearing his bumper but I'm not going to stop beside him... I'm going to be in the intersection. Why did the guy in front of me jam on his brakes? Oh sh!t... the light had changed... is it still yellow or is traffic from the side moving yet? Glance up.... light is red .... glance left and traffic just starting to move. Stop in the intersection or go thru ??? Release front and rear brakes... rear wasn't going straight so it jerks to the side.... this time giving me some help in clearing the car and heading the right way. Accelerate to clear the intersection before the cars turning are where I want to be. I don't know at what point I did it but somewhere between the moment I started reacting to the point where I had to accelerate I must have downshifted a gear. Engine smoothly accelerated and didn't bog down. I'm clear of the car, thru the intersection, and ahead of the cars that were turning. First thought... what a stupid idiot I was. Inattentive for a moment... I could have ended up in the hospital and totalling the bike. Second thought... wonder what the drivers of the cars turning thought when they saw what I had done. They must have been thinking either what an idiot I was or how skillfully I handled the bike. (to me it was pure luck !) Me... I still think I was an idiot for not paying attention to the light and anticipating it and that the car in front of me would stop. How I avoided ramming the rear end of the car ahead of me... clearing it by maybe a foot... I was lucky. I did what I had to ... but I shouldn't have gotten myself in that situation in the first place. Be carefull out there... mid-season and we start to get "lazy" in watching for hazards. The heat, the sun... easy to have distractions or day dream. Yesterday was a good reminder for me to stay attentive. I rode to work today... and thankful that I'm not in a hospital.
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Hi ,everyone.Got some bad news this week.One of my sons elementary school teachers who had retired was killed last Monday on I-80 near Grand Island,Nebraska by a total idiot making a U-turn on the interstate.Her and her husband were riding seperately she was on an 08 Harley and he was on a 2012 Harley.She was following him and they were in the left passing lane and car was in right driving lane.They were passing the car and the car driver decided to make a sudden u-turn from the right lane and it hit the husbands bike on the rear wheel but he was able to keep it up somehow,then his wife ended up hitting the car in the side and she was thrown off and killed.Person driving had 4 kids in the car and no one in seat belts and she had no proof of insurance and had warrants out for driving offenses.She is up for motor vehicle homicide.Please remember her in your prayers and her husband.
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In case anyone is planning a trip thru the Smokies they are repaving a portion of US 441 at Newfound Gap on the TN side. Could be a pain trying to go to Gatlinburg from Cherokee, NC. One lane traffic. Wasn't too bad as we came thru late afternoon on a Sun., might get pretty ugly during busier times. Also a lot of road torn up. http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parknews/nfg-repave-09.htm
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I hit the donate button on the bar above for the second time just now. On the way to work, it started raining. A turning car was stopped in the left lane, and I moved into center lane. I slowed, knowing, just knowing, one of the cars behind the obstructor would pull out. The trailing Lexus did just that when I was within 30'. I hit the airhorn, but they kept coming. At that point, I could either hit the Lexus or go down. I went down, still blaring my horn. I slid 20' or so. I'm unhurt... it was another slow-motion go-down. My bike is unhurt too, thanks to the crash bars. But I am angry at the Lexus, who not only didn't stop to render aid at the accident they caused, but zoomed off at warp speed. That ticks me off. Anyways, as is the custom, I donated $5 to the site following this latest incident. I am grateful for the community here, and this is a small thing to help it survive. If you've had a drop and haven't donated, this is your reminder.
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bottom line is be carefull out there. Today i was in my work van( e250) and I ran a rider on a crotch rocket off the road. Never seen him untill I was already in his lane. Since I ride I tend to look and still never seen him till it was too late. I was traveling in the right lane running 50 mph in a 45when I needed to change to the left as that lane turns into a right turn only at the next light. I looked , seen nothing and changed lanes and thats when I heard his horn. I pulled back into right lane as quick as possible . The only glimps I seen of this guy was that he was on one wheel as he was trying to go by me. The rear wheel at 65 plus according to him. After he cussed me and informed me that I should have seen his hid headlight he recently installed I informed him its kinda hard to see a headlight when its pointed at the sky. He finally admitted to me he was playing and doing a wheely at that speed . I finally got him to calm down after I did say that he must be a hell of a rider as I have no idea how he got it back down on 2 wheels , put it in the gravel edge of the road and managed to keep it up. We parted ways shaking hands and both agreeing to be a little more carefull. In the end no one was hurt and no damage to either vehicle lbut damn that scared us both as that truck weighs 6000 lbs empty and who knows what could have happend. be safe out there weather in a cage or on your bike. Later all David
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Went for a nice 5 hour ride today. I notice a little oil on the left brake caliper. Sure enough Its a leaking fork seal. So I say to Robin, I'm going to start tearing down the front fairing so I can pull the forks. She said take it to Lane Yamaha. I said how come, I can do this. She said... Not if I want to stay married:think: See my problem. Anyone know what it will cost to have the dealer do this job?
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So I'm comming home from speedweeks yesterday morning after getting in to hotel @ 130 am. My roomy and I got up about 615. His van was heading back to NC and I was heading home in Central FL. I decided to go down 95 and across to avoid the possibility of big traffic jams in Orlando. It was pretty foggy @ 7 when I was finnaly loaded and pulling out. I jumped on th slab and rode maybe 30 min. There was 2 trucks running one behind the other, then the box semi jumped over to right lane to pass the car hauler. Well they rode side by side for 10-15 miles. So by now I have probly 6-9 cars behind me also waiting to pass these guys. Finnaly I see that in front of the car hauler he is comming up on a car and will have to slow to keep from running him over. NOPE he just starts comming over into my lane. I'm blowing the horn (stebel) flashing the lights he just cuts over. So now I have to back off a little more because the gentleman driver has taken my "safe distance" away. Finnaly another 3-4 miles and the box truck clears the traffic in the right lane and he moves back over. Mr car hauler? Oh no now he is going to pass the box guy that has been trying to pass him for I dunno 30 miles now. All of a sudden KA_POW and dust etc from the right rear of the trailer. Startled me but I knew what it was pretty much. He had blown a tire on the trailer. Next step slow up, waveing left hand so cars behind dont run you over while you are slowing and I moved to the extreem left side of the lane. Pieces comming out from under the trailer. Then the tire gator, the tread comes out squggiling and squirming. I dont think any two of them do the same thing when they get thrown off. All was good, good Lord kept me safe and I waved to Mr courtious car hauler as I went by smiling. No not the one finger salute either, but I did thik about it. DJ Fl
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Almost, but not quite! Yesterday my wife and I were on our way back from seeing her sister who lives about a 100 miles away. We were easing along at about 60 mph on a 4 lane highway in the left lane. Traffic was moving along at a good pace when we came up to pass a slower truck in the right lane. Now get this, the road had a right curve as we were about to pass the truck. Up ahead on the right shoulder of the road was a GA State Patrol car with his blue lights flashing. About 1/4 way through this turn, the truck in the right lane all of a sudden whips into my lane with me. I shut down on the horn as I'm just behind his door and try to keep him from hitting us by moving to the outside of the lane. As I looked back ahead I suddenly realized I wasn't going to make the turn. The pavement dropped out from under me and I thought, This it going to be bad!! I hollered to my wife to hold on. I didn't know what was in the bottom of the medium so I tried to hold it as close to the highway as I could. As luck would have it , there were no washouts in that section of shoulder and I was able to get stopped without losing it. I got stopped about 2 car lengths in front of the GSP on the opposite side of the road. MY wife and I sat there and just shook for a few minutes before trying to get back onto the highway. What did the GSP do???? NOTHING!!! He just sat in his car. I figured even if he didn't see what had happened he would have come over and given me a sobriety test!! The guy in the pickup slowed down but didn't stop. My wife said that was the scaredest she had ever been as long as we've been riding!! Jennie told me later that the pickup driver never stopped coming into our lane. It always happens when you least expect it!!!! I sure am thankful it didn't turn out like it could have!! This one took our breaths away!!!
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Last Sunday and today we were in the mid 60's and I put about 140 miles on the bike. It was a mix of roads with some four lane, marked two lane, to unmarked two lane. I even rode some after dark. It is hard to describe what is like, as it is really different. It is like sitting on the bike in front of a big screen with a movie playing that was taken from a motorcycle going down the road. What you loose is the normal three dimensional effect that is so helpful with depth perception and judging speed, especially something coming toward you. The biggest part is just trying to be aware of everything going on around me. My problem is on my right side, so I am constantly scanning for anything that may come into my lane, whether it is a car pulling out, to a car that is beside me that begins to come over, to something like a dog running out. I stopped by Walmart to see if I could find a good convex mirror to mount on the ride side to help in this big blind spot that I have, but did not see anything I liked. I may check at a truck stop and see what is available. At the present time I am not sure of the vision I will end up with in my right eye. Presently, from the center to the left, I have absolutely no vision at all. From the center to the right, I can see some images, mostly a silhouette from light behind the object, but everything is very distorted. To look slightly to the left and see my TV, instead of it being a rectangle, it is kind of "S" shaped from left to right and is close to half the size with what I see with my left eye. At this time my eye is full of oil and at sometime will be drained and I guess we will start the bubble thing like before. I really hope that it will help the vision as I would love to get some peripheral vision back, even if the left half is blind. I don't expect for the left part of that eye to get better as that is where the blood vessels have died according to my doctor. I did get an eye patch at Walmart and with the right eye covered, it was a little easier to see out of the left eye without the distortion. I know this has been difficult for me, but I have REALLY felt thankful for the vision I have in my left eye this Thanksgiving Day. I want to also thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers. This VentureRider family is the best. RandyA
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4 lane divided hwy traveling west I'm in right lane cage in left lane behind me another cage pulls out from side street turning west. Traveling 70mph grabbed both brakes an signaled left but cage behind closing to fast and not enough room that I felt I could safely stop. So I grabbed some throttle and used what little room there was about 2' on the shoulder and passed on the right. I know that's not a good thing to do but my gut told me it was my only option. I had just read Dons post last night and another one the other day on panic stops and praticing them at 80mph. Anything else I could have done besides rearending the cage. Any constructive comments you won't offend me.
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`may have been posted before but worth watching again!!! http://videos2view.net/moscow-commute.htm
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Got off work and hit the interstate at 11:30 last night. My entrance ramp lane becomes the exit only lane so i stayed put. I noticed a semi to my left ahead of me but no problem since my lane is an exit only. I went down to adjust my coat with my left hand as i came up beside the semi. As i was bringing my left hand back up to the bars i saw a set of headlights in my left mirror. at first i thought i cleared the semi but then realized i had not cleared the semi. in a flash an hd ultra blows between me and the semi splitting the lane. it happened so fast. I always thought it would be a cage that took me out. it wasn't the scariest thing that has happend in 23 years of riding but certainly was one of my closest calls. Would have ended back in the trauma room i had just got done working in!
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A case of a LEO being in the right place at the right time
AKRefugee posted a topic in Watering Hole
Last week I was riding home from running an errand at about 430 pm. I was merging from one highway to another. Merge one is the on-ramp I am on going from two lanes down to one. Merge two is onto the highway as a left side on-ramp (three lanes now), and merge three is another on-ramp from the left as well, now making the highway four lanes. This all occurs in less than 1/10th of a mile. AFTER I reached the end of the two into one, this guy came flying up the shoulder (about 20 mph faster than traffic) on my left, all the time talking on his cell phone, and then went into the left lane of the now four-lane highway. As traffic continued to move, I was being squeezed up to his rear quarter panel when all of a sudden he decided he needed to be in my lane. I started to move to my right but was blocked and had traffic right on my butt, so I could not hit the brakes, so I hit my horn. The talking driver moved back to the left, looked over his shoulder at me, gave me the "you're number 1" sign, and then violently swerved at me. Fortunately the traffic on my right had seen what was happening and had slowed down to give me room so I was able to swerve over one lane to the right very quickly. The guy then slowed down a bit, then sped up and came alongside me and performed the same maneuver. Again I had room to the right because traffic had again slowed down to give me room, and I went to the right again. By now I am trying to figure out how I can get away from this guy as he was starting to do the same thing again. I wanted to get over one more lane and get to the shoulder to get away from him. All of a sudden there is a big SUV up behind me flashing his lights, and I can see the driver enthusiastically waving me to the right. There was a small break, so off I go to the right. The SUV pulled up between me and the crazy driver, and lit up his lights and siren. Man, was I ever thankful. I pulled over to the shoulder and stopped and watched the crazy driver get pulled over. I waited a few minutes and then pulled up to the officer and talked with him. I asked him if he was going to arrest this guy for attempted homicide or something, and he said no. When I said that this guy had tried to kill me with his car, the officer said that 1) he did not have a camera in his vehicle so there was no proof, and 2) that he had not actually touched me. Needless to say I was amazed and dismayed by this news and even stated to the officer, "What, the guy had to actually hit me and take me out before you can arrest him for this???" The officer said he was sorry but that was how this worked but don't worry, "this guy would be written up for lots of stuff like reckless driving, improper lane change, failure to yield, distracted driving, and whatever else he could think of in the next ten minutes, because this guy needs to just sit here for a while." I thanked him and got out of there quickly because I did not want to be around when that guy finally was allowed to leave. Gotta tell you it was a very scary few moments, and I was never in my life more happy to see a police officer. I have reviewed this incident many times over in my mind trying to figure out if I could have done anything different and strongly believe that I did all I could have done. I monitored my mirror during the first lane merge specifically watching for someone to try to do the squeeze play until the lane was totally gone, and I had to focus all my attention on the next merge. As traffic slowed I tried to stay away from him as much as I could and was watching both him and looking for escape routes. The way that traffic merges there is nuts anyway, with essentially three merges in the space of less than 1 tenth of a mile, and with the beginning of rush hour traffic my options where few. Thankfully other traffic was watching and giving me some room to maneuver. I also know it would not have done me any good to have something to throw at him (i.e. marbles, steel ball bearings, lead etc) because it was happening so fast that all I had time to do was control the bike and work the situation. Some folks are just plain crazy, and to experience one of those and get away from it intact will make you go "whew". The one "good" part of the whole thing was that I could see the crazy driver when the officer lit him up, and I will never forget the look of "Oh, crap!" on his face. -
Well , I finally got rid of the FJR 1300 It was evident that I would loose my licence or even slide down the asphalt. Im going back to my old roots in the fast lane where you can't get ticketed at any speed HYDROSTREAM HST 21 Footer with 235 hp
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My '83 Yamaha Venture is my 4th bike I've owned - last year I commuted 10,000 miles between Park City & Orem. I've never had a motorcycle accident, always wear my helmet, armored jacket, gloves, clothes (no shorts, flip flops - I don't get it when I see others riding bikes like that). I've made great efforts to be educated, practice riding skills, and be extremely aware when I ride. I'm embarrassed to say that I apparently wasn't careful enough today - it happened a block & a half away from my house- It felt good to be getting off to work on my bike. I had barely turned Left onto 400 South into the Center Turn Lane from 1000 West. I had checked everywhere for cars, moving & parked, and was actively monitoring the West-bound, 400 S lane to merge going west onto 400 south. I noticed a green blur to my right as a green Kia executed a U-turn from the far curb, turning in front of me - I knew there was no way I could stop fast enough (I did get in some braking) & I didn't have the space to evade. I t-boned her car right in front of her left, rear wheel, and her momentum brought my bike down onto it's left side (happened 60 feet from 1000 West, so I was starting to accelerate and wasn't going very fast - I've had worse snowmobiling accidents). I can't lift my bike, so some people helped get it up on two wheels again. I got a bump on my forehead - not sure how that happened with my helmet on -, my right thumb was jambed some, and my right elbow might be injured - I need to have an orthopedic doc or radiologist look at xrays I got from my chiropractor. The police officer didn't issue any citations; he said we were both at fault..Her for turning in front of me, and me for moving in/trying to merge from the left turn lane (Center Lane). She was looking in the traffic lane for on-coming cars, and not the center turn lane, & I hadn't realized there was someone ready to drive who was parked on the far curb - I was paying attention to possible traffic I would have to merge into. I don't know yet how much damage my bike sustained - the front suspension took the brunt of it, and the handle bars took the brunt of stopping my mass from moving forward, and the fairing glass in front of the headlights broke from hitting her car. Her car has 3 or 4 dents and some exchanged paint. I did ride the bike home with the handlebars askew to the right. I'm most concerned about my front wheel, forks, fork tree, and frame. I'm pretty ticked off at myself - I just finished getting my bike riding ready, and I was very excited to ride today, commute this week, and go on the Provo chapter ride this Saturday. Now I have to assess the damage, find parts, fix damage, and drive my cage in the mean time. I also missed out on a couple hundred dollars of work today. This was a minor accident, and I'm fine (just shook up this afternoon), so I guess life is good, and now I know how to be a little more aware/careful of an unusual, Left Turn situation - kind of a double left turn situation, since my turning left & trying to merge right distracted me from noticing the other left turner/U turner. I could have also been a little easier about my acceleration. I'm bummed out to have to deal with the frustration & stress of working through this (instead of riding). Anyways, live & learn, and hopefully it won't be too expensive - I hope Progressive is good to deal with. $100 deductible is good news (instead of $500 + deductible). Doug Nordin
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Left the Caltex servo at Batemans Bay 160klms from home for a overnight ride in the pouring rain heading to Tathra anothe 160 klms south with 2 other riders, about 5klms south the RTA has taken out the left hand lane dropped the speed limit to 60klms and painted out the double white lines on a slight corner at the start of their taper. Well the rear hit the paint and i was gone high sided slid throughin over the road into the oncoming lane (thank God none was coming)and hit my head and various other parts of my body on the gaurdrail i was unconsious for a few mins Ambo arrived dont remember to much about the fall but thankfolly the 2 mates and a Dr on his way to work fixed me up.I was in i fair bit of pain and had to endure a 25 min Ambo ride to Moruya for a CT scan,after discharge (Noeline wife )had driven to meet me and as always to take the sore body home.In the hospital i was breathalysed and the Highway cop told me that normally i would have been charged with Neg Driving but on the testimony of the 2 mates and the Dr and he could see what had happened he was going to let me off.As you can imagine the bike took a beating Noeline and Alana(Daughter) went to the NRMA holding yard in the Bay to retreive my gear fron the panniers one bloke said rightoff one said probably repair the thing is parts are fairly rear in Oz as not a lot of XVZ around in wreckers and new body parts would be impossible to obtain.After all i am feeling a bit battered and bruised but im alive to talk about it thankfully.
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I was out picking up supplies for an injured mare when I came past an accident scene on US 290 just east of Brenham. A HD was down on the inside lane, everything above tank level was gone with the handlebars badly twisted. The tack shop I was headed for is just east of there and folks inside said that the 18 wheeler [oversized rig complete with escort vehicles] that was pulled off the highway had hit the bike. I'm assuming that either the bike was in it's blind spot when it went to do a lane change or the driver just didn't look. The traffic was backed up to who knows where. The hubby, has to come that way from work said it took him over an hour to get to the scene from Chappell Hiill less than 10 miles away. He also said that the scene was still being investigated and is of the belief that the rider did not make it. With the ROT rally going on this weekend in Austin, the bikes are out en masse and more than a few were asking for trouble by riding the shoulders of the highway to get thru the traffic. Not smart to say the least. Prayers out to the rider and his companions. Also hoping that Trinity Hospital's ER is better than the hospital itself is. If that rider is still with us, he will need all the help he can get.
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Yesterday was the day of absolute fear while I was riding home from getting my RSV inspected. While riding down an interstate in the left lane, I was passing a Jeep who at the last second as I was right next to his vehicle decided he wanted my lane. There was no indication or turn signal on the jeep that he was going to change lanes. That section of the highway has a concrete divider about 5 feet high and about a foot and a half from the edge of the left lane. I missed scraping the wall by less than a foot and the front bumper of the jeep was less than a foot from my saddle bags the last time I saw the situation for what it was. Have no idea how I got out of it, but I am very glad my clutch did not slip when I opened the throttle to get the hell OUT of that situation. I cannot imagine the mess I and my RSV would have made had I hit the brakes, the wall, or the jeep. Guess my life insurance would have been paying the claim shortly. In 40 years of riding, that is the closest I have ever come to dying on a motorcycle. Must have been pure instinct, experience, and training that kicked in, because I had no time to think. Time to put the loud pipes back on the RSV!!!!
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It's been almost a year since I last used my EZ-PASS online. All my info. to log into my account was lost on my laptop when I had to reformat it. So I called today to get support as any attempt to retrieve lost password came back to an error. I spoke to a support person and retrieved my log in info. and then asked him about the topic of MC's. He replied back that I had the wrong transponder and he would send me the correct one for a MC out today. I also asked him about pulling a trailer and he replied to me that MC tolls are cheaper and to NOT pass through the Express Lane, but go through the normal coin slinging lane. The EZ-PASS would detect the MC and the poll person will nuke the trailer toll. Any truth to this or did I get the BS side of the story? BEER30
