Close calls happen.. Even when you are doing everythng right!!

[Cdogman]

A few hours ago I am sitting in the left turn lane at a major intersection, preparing to make a left waiting my turn about the 5th vehicle back.. 4 or 5 cages in front of me

Light turns green with no dedicated left turn arrow and the cars shuffle forward looking for a gap in on coming traffic to make the left I was also waiting for..

Couple cages make the left.. I am now third in line for the left.. A full size grey ford pickup crew cab coming toward the intersection.. first car in line to make left starts to go.. he will make it but the hair on the back of my neck stands up... he barely will make it... the car directly in front of me follows and my mind goes,, Oh ****.. I hit the binders.. I know it is coming beyond the shadow of a doubt.. I stopped 20-30 feet on my side of the crosswalk before the intersection and start looking for options.. That ford truck is going to t bone that little car and that little car is going to be coming my way.. where I don't know yet because it has not happened yet...

I am getting ready to jump off the bike.. But i don't even know which way to run yet.. it depends on how far the little car gets before that truck plows into him.. that will determine his rebound trajectory.... the ford was going about 40-45 miles per hour, it was going to nail one of those little scion box car thingies.. I cannot turn and run on the bike in case someone goes around this wreck trying to miss this truck when it stops from the collision... ALL of this went through my mind as i watched with morbid fascination and prepare to think I can do **** about it.. I don't know if I could have moved fast enough anyway.. but I was ready

BAM!!! the little car is spinning 360's right toward me... and the trajectory changes slightly as it begins to slow.. the little car passes to my right, missed me by about 20 feet.. into oncoming traffic going in my direction and behind me.. I was not the only one saw it about to happen because the traffic to my right that would normally cross from my right going straight had also stopped... another big truck... thank god.. I don't know where that little car would have gone if he would have hit it again... perhaps it would have gone through me after a second shot on the pool table the intersection had become...

Everything stops moving and I look right.. everyone is stopped.. I cross the two lanes of traffic and pull to the curb.. remove my helmet and walk over to the little car and I see airbag,,, and some young kid staring into space through the windshield.. I smack his window a few times and he look at me... white like a ghost... he gets out.. i tell him to sit down as I wait for 911 to answer..

I walk across to the truck and there is a guy and a little kid in the truck... no airbag deployment... they had their belts on.... his window is down, I ask if he is ok... his first response was... what the hell was that guy thinking?? I said hey,,, I don't know man but he sure did screw up...

I waited for fire medical and LEO.. they are pretty fast... no one is really hurt,,, some needed clean shorts but no blood, nothing but broken/bent metal

LEO asks me did I see it... I said "crystal clear" he got a sense that I did after my 15 second.. "Here is what I saw" report and I left..

Now I ponder... after the fact... You know.... I did everything I can possibly imagine right... I was ATGATT, I was paying attention... I was looking for outs as I watched it unfold... and I was not even moving... and it was almost not enough... Had I not stopped and continued forward toward the crosswalk area on my side of the road that little car would have gone through me like butter

then i also think... that kid did not see a full sized crew cab coming through the intersection, the one that t-boned him... a motorcycle would not have registered sure as hell.. and still t-boned him, very different results..

So, i was extra alert the rest for the way to get the safety inspection done to re-register my bike today.

Even when you do everything right.... even then,, you are at risk.....

Sorry, no pictures..

Today I was lucky..

 

[Crash Cash]

that kid did not see a full sized crew cab coming through the intersection, the one that t-boned him...

Was it that, or was it "I think I can make it..." and he misjudged it? I've definitely seen "yeah, I can make it" where she didn't, even though the girl in question would never admit it in a billion years. (not sayin' you're wrong... just wondering)

Mini-car billiards... do you think we can get NASCAR interested?

 

[Hudson]

Luck was smiling on you, cause you obviously were prepared.

Stories like this raise hair on my neck! Ride like I am invisible, that is what I keep telling myself.

 

[Low Level FJR Pilot]

Good to hear you had your wits about you and best of all, after all was said and done, still stuck around to see that everyone was alright. Most people would have gone on their merry way and let that be all. Definate difference between those that ride on two wheels and those that ride in cages in most cases. Best part of all is that you are able to write about it and not be laid up in a hospital or Lord knows where. B)

 

[Cdogman]

that kid did not see a full sized crew cab coming through the intersection, the one that t-boned him...

Was it that, or was it "I think I can make it..." and he misjudged it? I've definitely seen "yeah, I can make it" where she didn't, even though the girl in question would never admit it in a billion years. (not sayin' you're wrong... just wondering)

Mini-car billiards... do you think we can get NASCAR interested?

As I told the LEO.. "Not even close" I dont know what the kid was thinking,, perhaps he was playing "lemming" and trying to text his gf... He was following the car that "just" made it very very close..

Luck was smiling on you, cause you obviously were prepared.
Stories like this raise hair on my neck! Ride like I am invisible, that is what I keep telling myself.

All I can say was today.... was not my day to go... But it was indeed close

 

[madmike2]

Situational awareness........

......it's a good thing!

I'm glad you were playing your "A-game" today, Robin. I was just reading an article in MCN about the differences between beginning:experienced (prepared:un-prepared) riders. Most of it is experience and using one's brain while looking for clues while processing the information as to what is about to happen.

 

[wheatonFJR]

WHOA.

it was not your day...

 

[Cdogman]

Good to hear you had your wits about you and best of all, after all was said and done, still stuck around to see that everyone was alright. Most people would have gone on their merry way and let that be all. Definate difference between those that ride on two wheels and those that ride in cages in most cases. Best part of all is that you are able to write about it and not be laid up in a hospital or Lord knows where. B)

You know what... now that you say that... I was the only one who stopped.... I did not think about that until you said that... I was the only one the LEO had to ask other than the two drivers what had happened..

Even the truck that stopped behind me to avoid the little spinning car left..

Huh,,

 

[Cdogman]

Situational awareness........



......it's a good thing!

I'm glad you were playing your "A-game" today, Robin. I was just reading an article in MCN about the differences between beginning:experienced (prepared:un-prepared) riders. Most of it is experience and using one's brain while looking for clues while processing the information as to what is about to happen.

LMAO... Yea.. I was about to get creamed.. I agree... Today I saw it coming..

WHOA.
it was not your day...

It was.. by about 20 feet... that is not a big margin at all is it.. So half full or half empty..... today they missed me.. just

 

[Low Level FJR Pilot]

Its also the fact that you were on the Invincible AE model of the FJR and the cloaking device worked. :assassin: Still good on you for stopping, it goes a long way, that LEO was probably thinking the same thing you are now. How come nobody else stopped? Wow....

 

[Cdogman]

COOL!!! I have a cloaking device!!!

I have yet to find the button tho... I think they cloaked it too

 

[FJRONAMISSION]

Dude.......... I'm glad your still here Bro .... you can't get dead yet!!! we need to go for that ride still!!!!

Like Mike said... situation awareness... I try to explain this to my spouse who has a hard time seeing it.. you sound just like what goes on in my

head when I'm driving or riding... always on tip.... be ready... see your options... good job bro

 

[Low Level FJR Pilot]

Its right next to the uhmmmm, I can't seem to find mine either....Damn Harley riders probably stole it along with my clutch lever...

 

[monk69]

Glad you came out of it OK.

Brings to mind,a habit I picked up in Denver(retired Fedex courier),and that is to stay back about a car length from the intersection until everything is clear to go,and make my move from that point.I've seen alot of crashes at intersections,and just being back a little keeps me in the spectaters seat(you can still time it and not miss the light,while getting a bigger picture(view) of what's coming into line of contact.

 

[Cdogman]

Dude.......... I'm glad your still here Bro .... you can't get dead yet!!! we need to go for that ride still!!!!Like Mike said... situation awareness... I try to explain this to my spouse who has a hard time seeing it.. you sound just like what goes on in my

head when I'm driving or riding... always on tip.... be ready... see your options... good job bro

Heh,,, I would like to take credit.... And I suppose my awarfeness saved me... Intersections scare the **** out of me but not as much as I love to ride... NOW!!! ad that to utah drivers and I need a cloaking device for sure.. and scotty to put of the shields fo force field of whatever they use on star trek

Its right next to the uhmmmm, I can't seem to find mine either....Damn Harley riders probably stole it along with my clutch lever...

I KNEW them hog riders were behind it... I just knew it... Good thing my button is shorted out I guess,,, into the "On" mode as it seems today hehe

 

[03HiYoSilver]

CDog,

Good Save and Great Thinking! And you were nice enough to stay around and make a report. I sure would like to know what the others who left were thinking.

Keep your Radar Sharp....

 

[SacramentoMike]

Read an interesting article today about city planning. There's a school of thought that traffic may be safer with LESS controls (stop signs, etc.) than the opposite. Idea is there's less assuming you have the right of way just because you don't have the stop sign or you have a green light. There was more to it, but that was the general idea. With fewer controls, folks are forced to pay attention, anticipate what the other guy's going to do, and as a rule, apparently they do, and slow down too.

The guy in the truck that hit the little car shares the fault here, because he didn't anticipate the possibility that somebody would make a bonehead move 'cause after all, Hell, he had the right of way, right? So when he sees somebody making a left in front of him, oh well, too late. Going too fast, nowhere to go. But YOU saw this situation developing, so did some others. Why not him? It's a good thing you and some of the other drivers who stopped short had your heads NOT up your *****. The view's much better that way, isn't it?

 

[huk finn]

The guy in the truck that hit the little car shares the fault here, because he didn't anticipate the possibility that somebody would make a bonehead move 'cause after all, Hell, he had the right of way,

coulda been: (1) road rage ,,,,, cut me off, I'll ram ya with my truck

(2)no-one wants to buy this gas hog, get some insurance payment from it plus pain & suffering from whip lash

(3) he was text messaging (maybe like a recent train engineer) or talking on phone/eating /reading street signs

 

[Checkswrecks]

Damn, two of these in the morning is not the way I like to start my day.

Congrats 'Dogman, hope you said a prayer and bought a lottery ticket.

Yesterday I was thinking maybe it was me just being more observant in the commute than normal, but when I was riding both to work and home, people were just driving strange. No idea why, but there were just more people cutting each other off, tailgaters, you name it. Maybe it was the tanking stock market, maybe there was a full moon or something else I sure don't understand, but the wierdness was in full force.