Saw a riders stupidity nearly cost his life

[Nacho911]

Yes sucked you FKNFKRS in with the title. I hope most read FACEPLANT to support fallen riders and educate yourself from another's misfortune, so you may fair better.
If only one learns a lesson that helps keep them out of harms way then my karma meter is hopefully up a few points.

[Sox Fan]

Best advice I have seen (frequently mentioned on ADV) for car tailgaters when you are on the motorbike is to weave about in your lane or stand up on the pegs.

I am frickin amazed at how well this works. I get this once or twice a week - commuting on a two lane road, no way to go fast or pass anyone yet I get some nimrod right on my ass. Standing on the pegs seems to completely freak them out as they all drop WAY back.

[mrbreeze]

I spend more time than I like in rush hour traffic on the interstate. I have always tried to position myself toward the center of the lane in order to give the cagers every opportunity to see me in their drivers side mirror. I also never ride in the blind spot off the rear wheel. I am either completely behind, or I get up next to the driver's door so they HAVE to know I'm there.

I was talking with a friend of mine once, who is a certified MSF instructor. He said my technique was wrong, that I should stay as close to the car in front of me and as far from the traffic in the other lane as I could. He said this would give me more time in case someone tried to come into my lane. I told him my intention was to make certain they knew I was there so they would not come into my lane. We agreed to disagree.

[Craneguy]

Originally Posted by Sox Fan

Best advice I have seen (frequently mentioned on ADV) for car tailgaters when you are on the motorbike is to weave about in your lane or stand up on the pegs.

I am frickin amazed at how well this works. I get this once or twice a week - commuting on a two lane road, no way to go fast or pass anyone yet I get some nimrod right on my ass. Standing on the pegs seems to completely freak them out as they all drop WAY back.

Especially if you drop your pants too!

I find turning around and eye-balling a tailgater works wonders. Suddenly it gets personal for them.

As a young rider, if anyone cut me off I'd follow them for a while (often until they started circling the block - not wanting to stop where ever they were going) I'd then ride away, fairly sure that they'd be on the lookout for bikes in the future.

[ride4321]

Originally Posted by fullmetalscooter

wow reminds of of the Hd rider whom passed me in my lane on the right . All it takes is one dumb move to get hurt and dead.

I had two cruisers do that to me this past Friday. I was on my DR so they probably needed to prove something about their personal endowment. Both times the passing lane was wide open but they chose to pass me on the right. I was doing 65-68 in a 55 zone once and probably closer to 70 the 2nd time. 2 lane secondary country roads.

[car94]

Originally Posted by kwisn

A tailgating sport bike? Say it isn't so.

Originally Posted by rdwalker

I noticed a lot of young drivers tailgating me recently (in my truck, I just smile; on the bike, I worry) and never made the connection.
That makes sense, explains a lot.

I'm old and have had sportbikes for a long time. How old do you have to be to automatically hate one type of Motorcycle? Get off the Highway grandpa's!

Originally Posted by ride4321

I had two cruisers do that to me this past Friday. I was on my DR so they probably needed to prove something about their personal endowment. Both times the passing lane was wide open but they chose to pass me on the right. I was doing 65-68 in a 55 zone once and probably closer to 70 the 2nd time. 2 lane secondary country roads.

See It must be the those stupid old guys, who should have given up the Motorcycle thing a long time ago! You old guys on cruisers/BMW/KTM's/Dual sports are giving those of us who know how to ride a bad reputation.

[Craneguy]

Proof that some cagers will never see you even if you hang out your heiney or stand on the seat juggling and playing an accordion.

How big does your blind spot need to be to miss an 18 wheeler?

[TheAntiCage]

Originally Posted by sic semper tyrannis

i think the new risk we all face is the humongous a- pillars in the new cars.

Roofs have to withstand a much harder rollover test and the new cars meet it by beefing up the a-pillar.

Combine that with a slow roll at a stop sign and they miss anything coming at them from an angle.

Watch for peoples eyes being blocked by a-pillars as you approach them on cross streets and you will see what i mean.

+1

[davevv]

Originally Posted by AlabamaGetaway

Must be one of those days, because a chick on a cruiser merged in front of me today. I'm in the right lane, she's coming off the interstate. She has a yield sign and this is a very busy four lane road.

You're saying there is a yield sign at the bottom of the exit ramp for people coming off an interstate highway? I've never seen that anywhere. The yield signs I see, and they are at every off ramp, are always for the traffic on the service road to yield to the traffic coming off the ramp. And if it is a wide service road like your four laner, there are often yield signs on both the left and right sides of the service road, or the traffic coming off the ramp is funneled into a lane of it's own that has no traffic coming up behind it. It wouldn't make much sense to require traffic to stop that may quickly back up from the bottom of the ramp onto a high speed interstate just because the service road might be busy. What am I missing here?

[KX50002]

Nice video, but shouldn't Jonny BigRig have been in the right lane????

[AlabamaGetaway]

Originally Posted by davevv

You're saying there is a yield sign at the bottom of the exit ramp for people coming off an interstate highway?

Nope, I'm saying there's one at the top of the ramp. In this case, the intersecting road (SR25/Highway 411) is higher than the interstate (I-20).

The yield signs I see, and they are at every off ramp, are always for the traffic on the service road to yield to the traffic coming off the ramp.

This is not a service road by the definition I am familiar with (a parallel road).

What am I missing here?

This picture might make things clearer (or not). You also have to remember, this is Alabama. We don't necessarily do things based on sense. For example, this highlight from when high gravity beer was being debated.

[Qwik]

Originally Posted by Craneguy

Proof that some cagers will never see you even if you hang out your heiney or stand on the seat juggling and playing an accordion.

How big does your blind spot need to be to miss an 18 wheeler?

Keep expecting that when I am driving at Work. (22ft Flatbed Tow Truck)

[GSequoia]

Originally Posted by KX50002

Nice video, but shouldn't Jonny BigRig have been in the right lane????

Video said Australia. Was kinda fun ot watch that vehicle get flipped around at such low speed.

[GSequoia]

I ride every day in Los Angeles, I keep my eye out for blind spots and my left thumb spends a lot of time hovering over the horn button. I never tailgate (be it in any of my cages or on the bike) and I watch other traffic like a hawk. I watch my blinds on/in everything, I even have 2" convex spot mirrors on both of the KLR mirrors.

As for stupid shit the most common thing I see (aside from excessive speed) is irresponsible lane splitting. I split lanes often but I will only do it in situations where if I get taken out I'll just end up really pissed off as opposed to really dead. If I hit third gear traffic is moving fast enough to tuck back in.

Another thing that annoys me is passing across double yellows and on shoulders (you see that a lot with squids on any of the big name twisty roads here). It really bothers me when I see Senior Squid and his buddy Captain Shittyrider pass a car at the same time, one on the wrong side of a double yellow on a blind curve, the other on the shoulder. They don't seem to realize that a natural reaction when you suddenly hear a loud sport bike on your left is to move right.

My watching my blinds and paying attention to traffic saved a graybeard some trouble over Memorial day weekend. I was in one of my Jeeps coming up to the turnoff to my campsite on the Western Divide Highway when this moron decides to pass me against the double yellow.. As I was slowing down with my left turn signal on..

Here's the spot


I had to abort the turn and turn around up the road, I noticed his fellow big man HD rider friends doing the same fucking thing to my father in his Jeep behind me (same scenario too, slowing for turn, signal on), I called out on the radio and warned him in time, they passed and he made the turn.



That still annoys me if you can't tell.

[WVhillbilly]

Originally Posted by Sic Semper Tyrannis

I think the new risk we all face is the HUMONGOUS A- pillars in the new cars.

Roofs have to withstand a much harder rollover test and the new cars meet it by beefing up the A-pillar.

Combine that with a slow roll at a stop sign and they miss ANYTHING coming at them from an angle.

Watch for peoples eyes being blocked by A-pillars as you approach them on cross streets and you will see what I mean.

My work truck is horrible for this, a car can hide in the blind spot from the A pillar.

I had a sport bike tailgating me on Rt 33 in WV the other day. We were in the Jeep so I know I wasn't setting any speed records.
Three passing zones, then passing lanes. I move into the right lane, so does he and stays right on my back bumper