Almost lost in on someone.


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Sage

Well-Known Member
Okay, earlier today on my way to get some coffee I signaled and went into the turn lane, then as I'm getting closer to the entrance to the shops, this lady in a minivan just cut right into me, no signal, no slow merger, just decided that it's time to get the hell over.. She only missed me because I slammed on both brakes and came to a stop real quick. But here is the kicker, she turned and leaned out her window and proceeded to cuss me out, telling me I'm a dumb mother F*er, to watch what I'm F*in doing and just because I'm on a motorcycle doesn't give me the right to do what I please.

Needless to say, and I won't repeat what I said here, I was livid and lifted my visor and started screaming at her, telling her that she could have killed me and had a few choice words to the point that I think she got a little scared or didn't think that I would have retaliated so hard and rolled up her windows. I sure hope that lady didn't think that just because she is in a bigger vehicle she can try and push people around.

How often does this happen to you guys? It seems that it is happening more and more this summer for some dang reason. I don't normally yell at people and let things go, but this one really got to me.


ps. tried to keep it as clean as possible but still give the gist of what was said, edit if it is not "family friendly" enough :)
 
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Dustin600

New Member
I can relate to your experience. It happens to me constantly. No one sees motorcycles and no one looks for them. To other drivers, motorcycles “appear out of nowhere”, so they assume it’s because we’re driving in an unsafe manner. Most drivers are too distracted by phones, their music or something else, to focus on where they’re going and what they’re doing. This is the main reason I have an aftermarket exhaust; so they hear me coming.
 
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Ricenoodle

New Member
This is why I sway side to side with the bike so the car behind me at least notices me, a couple low rev when there's traffic all around me helps cars realize I'm there too.
 
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xleeb0y13x

New Member
Only issues I've had is in downtown sacramento. Just one of those busy places where you have to stay on your toes and use your size to your advantage.


Sent from the second bathroom stall to the left.
 
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priotiynapkin

New Member
I haven't gotten to the point of yelling at anyone, but I feel like people always cut me off and then look at me and gesture as if it were my fault. A truck today pulled out on me when i had green and he had red. I had to slow way down so i didn't crash into him and swerved around him, seconds later he zoomed past me angrily. I just backed off after that. crazy drivers.

anyways, glad you didn't get hurt
 
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Detrich

New Member
I've said it before and I will say it again...

"Soccer moms types," ie middle-aged females in either Priuses or otherwise large-size vehicles, such as mini-vans, suv's etc are THE ABSOLUTE WORST drivers when it comes to watching out for motorcycles.

They all drive in some weird, aggressive, "auto-pilot" mode- as if nothing exists except cars in their way. And, they could give a SHIT if they kill one of us. MANY HAVE.

Always, always, always ride defensively around these f'g a ***** holes. Never assume they see u or even care who u are.
 
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bmw675

New Member
Detrich said:
I've said it before and I will say it again...

"Soccer moms types," ie middle-aged females in either Priuses or otherwise large-size vehicles, such as mini-vans, suv's etc are THE ABSOLUTE WORST drivers when it comes to watching out for motorcycles.

They all drive in some weird, aggressive, "auto-pilot" mode- as if nothing exists except cars in their way. And, they could give a SHIT if they kill one of us. MANY HAVE.

Always, always, always ride defensively around these f'g a ***** holes. Never assume they see u or even care who u are.
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I know the type. They are also identifiable by having"baby on board" or "my child is an honor student at _______" bumper stickers. That gives them the right to do whatever they want; we are all supposed to yield to their right-of-way.
 
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nismos14

I'm movin on
Elite Member
I space out, and always allow entry in front of me, behind me is the hard part. I never let myself ride parallel to someone and when I have to I either whiz by them or slow down enough where they can get through and I anticipate their move into my lane. This has kept me out of this situation all year this year. Last year I didn't adhere to this as much and it was different.

I would say that we are the ones who have to be most careful and make the right decision because we are the most vulnerable. The drivers don't care until they actually hit you and realize what they've done.
 
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HotSauce

New Member
Something similar happened to me the other week. My fiance was riding on the back of my bike (for some reason she didn't feel like riding hers that day) and we were pulling out of our apartment complex's lot. About 300 ft down the road is another entrance from the opposite side of the street where there are some shops...we were clearly on the road and accelerating when a car decided it was going to pull out from that other entrance and nearly hit us. I slammed both brakes, laid on the horn and skidded to a stop, all while nearly getting clipped by her rear quarter panel. We pulled up to the red light, so I jumped off my bike, went up to the window of the car and banged on it with the CF knuckles of my riding gloves. The young lady in the drivers seat acted like she never even saw me (and she probably didn't because I doubt she looked before she pulled out of the lot, just so worried about beating the car in the on-coming lane that she would probably have cut off a semi). I gave her a piece of my mind, and told her to watch her driving, she said ok and that she was sorry.

I don't normally do something like that, I'll just beep my horn and flip them off, but since it was a red light I had a good opportunity. The bottom line though, you have to worry so much more about other drivers...I spend probably 10% of the time worrying about my driving habits on the bike and 90% what other people are doing...you can't prevent someone from pulling out in front of you, but you can prepare yourself to react to it.

Stay safe out there!
 
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Pinarello Rider

New Member
nismos14 said:
I space out, and always allow entry in front of me, behind me is the hard part. I never let myself ride parallel to someone and when I have to I either whiz by them or slow down enough where they can get through and I anticipate their move into my lane. This has kept me out of this situation all year this year. Last year I didn't adhere to this as much and it was different.

I would say that we are the ones who have to be most careful and make the right decision because we are the most vulnerable. The drivers don't care until they actually hit you and realize what they've done.
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This is a great post. I do the same thing - despite the fact that I am smaller and faster, I find that being one of the slower vehicles on the road has kept me out of trouble for the most part. I will use other cars as protection against vehicles turning into my lane, and I keep a proper spacing the cars next to me: either i am parallel to their mirror, well in front, or well behind. Constantly assessing changing traffic, and looking for cues from drivers that they are going to alter their behavior.

Look - we have a decision every time we get on the road how we are going to play it. Are we going to be aggressive, or defensive. Aggressive is knowing you have the right of way, and sticking to it, knowing that other people will be in the wrong if they try to take that right of way away. Defensive is knowing when to cede right of way for your safety. Yeah - if you are in a travel lane, you have the right of way and the car waiting to pull into your lane *SHOULD* see you, and let you pass. You can continue forward under the assumption they see you. Or, you slow, review your options, and look for visual clues as to what that driver is about to do. That way, when the driver starts to pull in front of you, you are already slowing down with your hands and feet on the brakes.

Sorry OP - sometimes people are just douchebags. Situations like those are GREAT times to assess how YOU got into that situation so it doesn't happen again. I'm not saying you were/are wrong, it's just that there is a valuable lesson in that situation. Learn from it, and change your behavior. It's your life.
 
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nismos14

I'm movin on
Elite Member
Pinarello Rider said:
This is a great post. I do the same thing - despite the fact that I am smaller and faster, I find that being one of the slower vehicles on the road has kept me out of trouble for the most part. I will use other cars as protection against vehicles turning into my lane, and I keep a proper spacing the cars next to me: either i am parallel to their mirror, well in front, or well behind. Constantly assessing changing traffic, and looking for cues from drivers that they are going to alter their behavior.

Look - we have a decision every time we get on the road how we are going to play it. Are we going to be aggressive, or defensive. Aggressive is knowing you have the right of way, and sticking to it, knowing that other people will be in the wrong if they try to take that right of way away. Defensive is knowing when to cede right of way for your safety. Yeah - if you are in a travel lane, you have the right of way and the car waiting to pull into your lane *SHOULD* see you, and let you pass. You can continue forward under the assumption they see you. Or, you slow, review your options, and look for visual clues as to what that driver is about to do. That way, when the driver starts to pull in front of you, you are already slowing down with your hands and feet on the brakes.

Sorry OP - sometimes people are just douchebags. Situations like those are GREAT times to assess how YOU got into that situation so it doesn't happen again. I'm not saying you were/are wrong, it's just that there is a valuable lesson in that situation. Learn from it, and change your behavior. It's your life.
Click to expand...

The key is in the last statement. We are not in the wrong, but we have to evaluate how we ride in order to avoid the situations in which the drivers cannot see us/react to us.
 
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Scott_Thomas

Insert title Here
Elite Member
nismos14 said:
The key is in the last statement. We are not in the wrong, but we have to evaluate how we ride in order to avoid the situations in which the drivers cannot see us/react to us.
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I agree, I share my In-laws property and my father in law always complains about bikes. Had someone cut him off on a bike a little while back while pulling his 32ft trailer. Barely stopped and understandably pissed. I try not to even come remotely close to putting myself in a position where this could happen. It will happen sometime, but not because of my riding.
 
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latony007

New Member
stupid

People are just stupid selfish beasts most of the time. Today on my way to work a guy pulled out of a residential street onto the main drag without stopping or looking at oncoming traffic at all. Either they are just so incredibly stupid or they just think that its their road and we should be lucky they even let us on it. All the stuff you guys describe is why I don't commute on my bike.
 
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xJoshuaDrakex

New Member
This is a great reson to have a go pro or riding camera always on. If anything ever happens its all on video. Trust me, I have had several close calls. I can't ride without my camera now.
 
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BKP

New Member
xJoshuaDrakex said:
This is a great reson to have a go pro or riding camera always on. If anything ever happens its all on video. Trust me, I have had several close calls. I can't ride without my camera now.
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+1

I NEVER ride without at least one cam on -- handlebar, or helmet -- and *have* documented some of these brain trusts on video...

However, there *are* moments of satisfaction:
I was doing a slow wide left turn, basically making sure oncoming traffic had stopped for a just changed light, before crossing their path... A woman behind me (yes, in a soccer-mom-mobile) turned left INSIDE my turn, edging me to the side of the road.
I pulled up behind her, so she could see me in her mirror, and raised both hands in the universal WTF sign... To which she promptly replied by raising both hands and flipping me the bird in stereo...
However, while paying attention to me, with no hands on the wheel (and apparently no feet on the brake), she rolled smack into a dump truck in front of her, crumpling her hood.

There *IS* a God...
 
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RoadTrip

New Member
Have you ever experienced, even for just a brief moment, a harmonious flow of traffic, with attentive courteous drivers? It is a beautiful thing. The main problem is that people don't place a high value on this type of group collaboration, they only see their own agenda, and typically because they are running late. I think 90% of discourteous driving could be solved by people being 15min ahead of schedule everywhere they go.
 

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cezell09

New Member
RoadTrip said:
Have you ever experienced, even for just a brief moment, a harmonious flow of traffic, with attentive courteous drivers? It is a beautiful thing. The main problem is that people don't place a high value on this type of group collaboration, they only see their own agenda, and typically because they are running late. I think 90% of discourteous driving could be solved by people being 15min ahead of schedule everywhere they go.
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Agreed! Also patience is a huge factor. I actually started driving only 65mph in my cage for better gas mileage (it works. Try it.) and I've noticed that my patience levels have increased drastically. And when I'm not in a hurry to get home I'm thinking more about my driving. More of what's around me.
 
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