Close call... again

Riding to the school yesterday morning, 6:30am, just before sunrise: I'm doing about 35 mph in a 30 zone. Clearwater Kristas are on, set at about 30 percent, about the max I can run without blinding oncoming traffic when it's dark. Confession time: I've been bragging at times that I've had no close calls since the day I put those lights on the bike.

Until yesterday, that is.

White SUV, approaching the highway from the left ahead moving at maybe walking speed. I saw it, and simply proceeded along. From a point perhaps 12 feet from the edge of the highway, and perhaps 40 feet in front of me, the driver hits the gas to shoot straight across the street. The timing was just about perfect. I clamped on the brakes, the ABS sent its gentle shutter through the bars to let me know it was working perfectly. Glad I don't have to trust my sausage fingers to modulate braking.

The FJR scrubbed off 25 mph in about 20 feet. I was travelling 10-15 mph and perhaps 15 feet from collision, she saw me and stopped in the middle of the left lane. I coasted past her just as the adrenalin hit the blood stream. I pulled over on the side walk and got off the bike to thank the Lord, clear my head, and replay the video.

I'm thankful.

I chose the FJR in part because it has ABS. I've often said that I'll never own a road bike without it again. Yesterday was just a brief reminder that I made the right decision.

I spent a bundle on my Kristas, and I never ride without them on. But I need to remember, we all do, that defensive driving, ABS and powerful lights, as valuable as they are, do not provide us any guarantees. As much as we try to avoid situations like I enjoyed yesterday, if nothing more they provide us a fresh reminder of how careful we must be, ALWAYS.

Gary

darksider #44

Glad to hear you escaped unscathed; that could have ended much worse. Hope the inattentive cager learned to watch for ALL traffic in the future.

Too close! Glad it came out okay.

Glad to hear your close call turned out OK ... how long was it before your heart-rate returned to normal?

lonerider said:

Glad to hear you escaped unscathed; that could have ended much worse. Hope the inattentive cager learned to watch for ALL traffic in the future.

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The cager: I forgot to mention, just as I was getting on the bike, in the distance, I could make out a lone SUV parked in the parking lot not 40 feet from where this happened. Hard to see, but I'm almost sure I saw a heavy set lady standing near that SUV, and near the side walk about 80 feet from where I parked the bike for that moment or two. It's normal to see people standing around in that area waiting for buses. Could that have been the driver, who perhaps pulled over to see if I was OK? I'll never know.

Yikes!

IIRC, the last cager who helped you test your ABS was of the XX chromosome variety.

Is this a new variation on Internet Dating? "Nearly hit a biker and if he doesn't cuss, try to get his phone number"?

ABS & and the big ol' Darkside tire - the good lord works in mysterious ways to keep Gary in the dating pool!

"Enjoy Every Sandwich."

PhilJet09 said:

Too close! Glad it came out okay.

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It was too close. Not the hair raiser I had at higher speed the week before I pulled the trigger on buying the Kristas, but CLOSE ENOUGH. Glad? You and me both, my friend.

GL4435 said:

Glad to hear your close call turned out OK ... how long was it before your heart-rate returned to normal?

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Heart rate: about 3-4 minutes, or about the time it took to put the helmet back on and take off again.

One very lucky...

Gary

Garyahouse,

Glad to hear there was no contact, but what a way to start the day! Lucky man.

I'm curious about the light conditions, then. This was dawn twilight, right?

Were you heading West, or in a different direction?

Did the other driver see you (or not) against a bright-sky background?

Cheers,

Infrared

Glad to hear your OK. Can't help but wonder if she was on a cell phone in some capacity. One of the guys on Tyler's Calistoga Wine ride had Krista's on his bike and I always knew where he was no how far back he was. Hopefully, I will be getting a set real soon.

Stay safe

Greg

Good you avoided it.

Now the learning moment. These are the times to reflect on what you might have done differently so that next time you don't have to use the ABS. None of us can put words in your mouth (or thoughts in your head) but since riding is risk management, we all need to ponder on things when this happens. Adjusting speed, position, covering the brakes, etc. any time you see something like the SUV waiting to pull out? MCNews has small articles in each issue that take these kinds of events and plays "what ifs" with them for that reason.

Had a very similar experience last evening, except it was a deer instead of a SUV. each shares about the same intelligence....

Personally I prefer a headlight modulator. I believe the modulation is what gets people's attention, not the brightness. If you don't want that then I suggest you crank up those Cristas during the day. What blinds oncoming traffic at night won't be as bad during the day. Too much is still too much, but you can safely brighten them up quite a bit more during the day.

bgross said:

Yikes!IIRC, the last cager who helped you test your ABS was of the XX chromosome variety.

Is this a new variation on Internet Dating? "Nearly hit a biker and if he doesn't cuss, try to get his phone number"?

ABS & and the big ol' Darkside tire - the good lord works in mysterious ways to keep Gary in the dating pool!

"Enjoy Every Sandwich."

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Ha.

Yer sumpin' else, Brett.

You're right about the last time, it was indeed an XX. Long white station wagon. Nearly implanted myself into the rear quarter of that thing. Funny, I rarely ever clamp on those brakes, but when ya need 'em, WOW. That bike has some serious stopping power. I just hope that the next time (there's always a next time), I'll be as fortunate once again.

Concerning the dating pool, I don't know about that. I haven't dated in 35 years. Not sure I'd know what to say.

Gary

I'm sure glad I'm not reading a different outcome to this scenario. Sounds like a new pair of shorts is in order

If the cager was texting she may have thought your Kristas were nothing more than the sun peeking over the horizon. I spend my days at work riding in the passenger seat of a bucket truck (I maintain traffic signals) and am frequently able to see what people are up to in their cages due to my elevation. Cell phones are in the hand of about 70% of the females I see out there, many texting while driving. They outnumber the males 3 to 1. Cell phones open up a whole new world when it comes to inattentive driving.

Stay safe, Gary. I enjoy your posts

Glad to hear you avoided a major crash Gary, It's Spring and the clueless drivers are not use to seeing motorcycles out making it worst for us.

Glad you escaped, man!

Tourist season around here is particularly hazardous. Gotta stay sharp!

I've made it a habit of doing the '

' when coming up on cross traffic from side roads, driveways, and oncoming left-turners. Even just a little 'dance' seems to get the cager's attention.
I've got both Glendas and Ericas installed, but I don't rely solely on the lights.

Gary,

Glad to hear you came out unscathed. Hopefully this person learned a little something about her driving skills and can change her habits. I bought my Erica's largely on what you wrote up and they and you have helped me tremendously. Be safe out there.

infrared said:

Garyahouse,
Glad to hear there was no contact, but what a way to start the day! Lucky man.

I'm curious about the light conditions, then. This was dawn twilight, right?

Were you heading West, or in a different direction?

Did the other driver see you (or not) against a bright-sky background?

Cheers,

Infrared

Click to expand...

Infra-

You're right. It's not very often I pull off to the side of the road, dismount the bike and stand there looking stupid for several minutes... when I'm supposed to be on my way to work. And you're right about my being lucky.

Lighting conditions:

It was still dark, but the sun was on it's way, it would have been behind the lady... so it wouldn't have been any kind of a factor. I was southbound, she was west bound. The driver who pulled out obviously just didn't look at all. One glance in my direction from that distance was all it took: the Kristas are THAT bright.

gregory said:

Glad to hear your OK. Can't help but wonder if she was on a cell phone in some capacity. One of the guys on Tyler's Calistoga Wine ride had Krista's on his bike and I always knew where he was no how far back he was. Hopefully, I will be getting a set real soon.
Stay safe

Greg

Click to expand...

Hey Greg:

No way to know about that phone idea. Concerning the Kristas, I just love them. There's no way to know, but I wonder how many times in the past year that they've prevented this scenario from happening -- but I didn't even know it.

Bounce said:

Good you avoided it.
Now the learning moment. These are the times to reflect on what you might have done differently so that next time you don't have to use the ABS. None of us can put words in your mouth (or thoughts in your head) but since riding is risk management, we all need to ponder on things when this happens. Adjusting speed, position, covering the brakes, etc. any time you see something like the SUV waiting to pull out? MCNews has small articles in each issue that take these kinds of events and plays "what ifs" with them for that reason.

Click to expand...

A little prayin', a lot luck, a bit of timing, a smidge of skill, who knows? Maybe the dozens of years of experience and maybe the WAY I drive have a lot to do with it. Something like half of all the fatal motorcycle accidents in America are alcohol related (guessing... I forgot the actual figures that i read a while back). I don't indulge. Strongest stuff I drink is coffee. I was tooling along at 35 in a 30... certainly a reasonable speed. I had my eyes right on that SUV during the whole process. The timing was split second perfect... it pulled out at the last possible second, and did so in a hurry. There was time to react BECAUSE I saw it, BECAUSE I was driving at a reasonable speed, and of course because the good Lord was smiling down on my sorry hide once again. I'm a lucky man, once again.

lnewlf said:

Had a very similar experience last evening, except it was a deer instead of a SUV. each shares about the same intelligence....

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Really? I know what cher sayin' about intelligence, however, I must admit, I pulled my cage out in front of a feller in truck 3 days ago. It was my fault and he laid on the horn as he swerved around me. My bad. I didn't look very well because I was to lazy to twist my neck at the angle I was pulling out. I felt soooo bad about that and vowed once again to myself not to pull anything stupid like that again. So concerning intelligence I am also guilty as charged... at times.

Geezer said:

Personally I prefer a headlight modulator. I believe the modulation is what gets people's attention, not the brightness. If you don't want that then I suggest you crank up those Cristas during the day. What blinds oncoming traffic at night won't be as bad during the day. Too much is still too much, but you can safely brighten them up quite a bit more during the day.

Click to expand...

Appreciate the input about the Kristas. I do crank them up during the day. I understood that much thanks to others on the forum that mentioned it even before I bought them. You may well be right about the modulator. Guess I never thought about that.

Gary

I kind of agree with Geezer about the headlight modulators. I don't like them when I see them. They're just annoying. But I always notice them, which I why I've been thinking about adding them to the Kristas (and amber-lens Glendas) I already have. One helps you see better at night, but both help you be seen all the time. Too much is almost enough.