Even at Green lights!

[DailyCommuter]

I've been in the habbit since my first ride on a motorcycle, of looking both ways at every intersection green light or not. That saved my life last night. I worked a double shift which put me out a little after midnight. On my way to the highway on a quiet secondary road (25MPH) I was approaching an intersection which was green my way, at the light; I looked left and right but I couldn't see very far up the cross street, I started to get back on the throttle, I glanced left again as the crossroad came into view. Then I stomped hard on the brake and grabbed a handful of front brake! There was a car doing at least 60 MPH coming at me! The wind from him blowing past the front of me felt like when your on the highway and a tractor trailer passes you. That motherf*cker didn't even step on his brakes!! Just kept on going. Doubt he even saw me. Probably sh*tfaced! If whatever series of events or pure fate that occurred during the day yesterday had put me there on that street one second earlier... (holding a door for some-one, waving someone over in the lane in front of me in the morning on my way in, ) Well you know where that's going so I won't go on and on...

It really pisses me off to think that a little faster getting ready to leave, or a little quicker on the throttle on my way out would have left me dead 300 yards up the road without a doubt. No witnesses, no apologies, no daddy for my 2 daughters...

The point of all this (thank you for hanging in there for it btw) is to remind everyone that in car vs bike, we lose every time, and no matter if you are at fault or the cager is; you are just as dead.

I went in each of my daughter's rooms when I got home and kissed them on the forhead.

Ride safe every one. They are out there, and you are out there with them!

 

[ionbeam]

Having the right-of-way, and getting the right-of-way are two entirely different things. I don't trust anybody to actually stop for stop signs or stop lights. I regularly see people blow through intersections.

 

[Last Chance]

Glad you are still with us....

Surprised you are surprised, coming from a "big" state. Here on the left coast of CA, no one ever really stops at stop signs.. Yellow means it is OK for the next 3 cars to go ahead and "ignore" the red light soon to follow. Speed limit signs, under 60 mph, on surface streets are for bicycles. What else.... Well if you are in an area frequented by "street racers", the rule is THEY make the rules!

Yes, thanks for reminding us to look left, right then left again. Repeat as necessary and good luck.

LC

 

[Silent]

Glad you are still with us....

Surprised you are surprised, coming from a "big" state. Here on the left coast of CA, no one ever really stops at stop signs.. Yellow means it is OK for the next 3 cars to go ahead and "ignore" the red light soon to follow. Speed limit signs, under 60 mph, on surface streets are for bicycles. What else.... Well if you are in an area frequented by "street racers", the rule is THEY make the rules!

Yes, thanks for reminding us to look left, right then left again. Repeat as necessary and good luck.

LC

Arn't the stop signs here in Kalifornia "advisory" :dntknw:

 

[NoCage]

Having the right-of-way, and getting the right-of-way are two entirely different things. I don't trust anybody to actually stop for stop signs or stop lights. I regularly see people blow through intersections.

I think of it as the right-of-weigh.

 

[RiderCoach Lar]

I've been in the habbit since my first ride on a motorcycle, of looking both ways at every intersection green light or not. That saved my life last night.

Hats off to you for developing and maintaining such great habits :yahoo: I hope you don't mind if I use your example when I tell my students just how important good riding habits are to develop.

 

[cadman]

in my 23 years as a realitive noob to bike riding, i learned very quickly that stop lights/signs do not make cars stop.

There have been numerous instances of cagers running/ignoring these traffic control tools. Not a LEO anywhere to witness/ticket said yahoos!

I see bonehead dumbace stuff everyday whether biking or caging. Today i had two seperate run-ins.

A lady made a u-turn lesss than 10 feet in fornt of me and instead of staying in the lane she should have completed her turn into, she moved right ontop of me. :dntknw: I was able to avoid and accelerate away from her. She saw me move past her and apoligetically waved at me.

6 or so miles later a guy runs a full truck length past a stop sign, brush guard clearly in the flow of right-of-way traffic. :******: I saw him and was prepared for him to pull out. i had about a 4 bike bubble behind and to my left. there were about 20 or so cars traveling in my pack of traffic. this type of stopping behavior is all too common here.

Most times i sit at red traffic lights with the bike in neutral because i get a few seconds to scan on comming traffic before dropping in to gear and pulling out into intersections.

Potential killer cagers are everywhere, everyday we ride.

When i am caging, i feel that me being a cyclist, i am more aware of other bikers on the road as are the most if not all of you other forum members.

stay safe and aware!

cadman

 

[Silver Penguin]

Good advice. We can't be reminded too often. Sure you can have the right of way, and you can also be DEAD right about it, as you said.

I had a similar experience, while driving a rented truck. Not 24hrs earlier someone had pulled out in front of me. I managed to avoid hitting him but the guy behind hit my truck at about 60mph, without braking. Both our trucks were totaled. So, next day I'm still a bit shaky, driving the rental and wearing a neck brace. The biker in me is conditioned to scan the intersection before entering, no matter how green the light is. That allowed me to ease off the gas, apply some gentle braking and watch the car in front of me get t-boned by a gardner's truck. He went straight through a light that had long been red. (No-one was seriously hurt in either accident).

Jill

 

[Tenchi]

I look both ways at intersections and do a head check of side streets as I ride past them. It's standard motorcycle training here and you fail your motorbike licence test (in West Australia) if you don't do head checks. The number of times it's saved me from getting hurt makes it more than worthwhile.

It's moments like those that remind you of the simple things that life is worth living for.

For what it's worth, the Hurt Report indicates that the majority of multiple vehicle accidents are a result of the driver failing to give way to the motorcyclist (#6) at intersections (#10). If that's not incentive enough to look both ways for renegade drivers I don't know what is.

 

[FZ/FJR Mike]

Scary **** from all your stories. Thanks for the reminders to be constantly vigilant with cagers. Glad everyone can still participate in our great sport/passion after those incidents.

 

[DailyCommuter]

I've been in the habbit since my first ride on a motorcycle, of looking both ways at every intersection green light or not. That saved my life last night.

Hats off to you for developing and maintaining such great habits :yahoo: I hope you don't mind if I use your example when I tell my students just how important good riding habits are to develop.

Please do! Dad always said that experience is the best teacher, but it is the most expensive!

 

[SacramentoMike]

I hope all you folks look up and down every cross street or driveway, red light, green light, no light, whatever you're riding or driving. Good habit.

 

[Docholiday]

Daily I'm glad you are OK. Thanks for posting the reminder to be wary of all intersections. I try to be hyperalert on the bike but other drivers continue to amaze me with their stupidity. I figure if there is a chance that someone will pull out in front of me, it is better to assume that they will and be pleasantly surprised when they show a biker respect, than to assume that they see me and be surprised when they pull out just as I approach. I call it scanning for a-holes and potholes. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[FJRBluesman]

Good job DC! You're OK. Way to be alert and drive defensive, which is the only to ride.

I've been doing that too. I never trust it, green light, some :******: on the phone, running from the law, or just stupid, blows thru the intersection.

I pray I never experience it. You did, and your instincts paid off! :yahoo:

 

[cougar8000]

Arn't the stop signs here in Kalifornia "advisory" :dntknw:

Yes, they are. Here in IL during MSF classes one of the exercises rider has to make pause and go. We call it a California Stop

 

[jesse]

These posts are all great. I am also very passionate about bike safety and riding disciplines that save lives. It is a well known statistic that the majority of bike accidents with cars happen at intersections. I'm with everyone else here. An intersection means high alert and eyes checking out all potential danger from all sides. I think about one in ten riders that I see go through intersections practice this. When I do see someone looking both ways while slowing down, it makes me feel good that here is a rider who is prepared for the worst and has minimized his odds greatly by how he rides. I'd love to work up a list that we all can add to that might be entitled......."Common sense tips that will keep you riding safe" 1. Never ride when you are upset and not focused. 2. Never drink and ride. 3. Never ride when you are in a hurry to get somewhere. 2. Never ride in the rain if you can avoid it. 3. Never ride at night if you can avoid it. 4. Assume at every intersection that trouble is lurking, look for it. 5. Keep your distance from cars and trucks. 6. Avoid riding next to trucks and pass as quickly as possible in case their tires blow. 7. Always wear proper riding gear. These are just off the top of my head and I know they just scratch the surface.........

I know that riding in the rain is not a problem with many, and I know that many have no problem riding at night. I'm just taling about steps that one can take to reduce the risks. If we wanted to take away all the risks, then we wouldn't be riding at all would we?

I saw a guy on a Harley yesterday on the interstate. His feet were on his pegs and he was riding about 4 feet away from the left , back side of a tractor trailor. There was a tractor trailor to the left of him and it looked like he was tempted to cut in front of him at the first opportunity. He was there for a while and all I could think was, one sudden move by anybody for any reason and he is a dead man. It's a wonder that we don't hear about more accidents. It's just refreshing to read posts of like-minded, safety-concious riders. Spread the word, ride safe. It's good for all of us.................

 

[Tenchi]

I'd love to work up a list that we all can add to that might be entitled......."Common sense tips that will keep you riding safe"

Please refer to this link: 50 ways to save your life. Original reference and material in that link was featured on a New Zealand safety site a while back from memory.

Those kiwi's have some AWESOME safety information - much better than we have in Australia. You can view my favourite safety site of theirs here: https://www.rideforever.co.nz

 

[jesse]

I'd love to work up a list that we all can add to that might be entitled......."Common sense tips that will keep you riding safe"

Please refer to this link: 50 ways to save your life. Original reference and material in that link was featured on a New Zealand safety site a while back from memory.

Those kiwi's have some AWESOME safety information - much better than we have in Australia. You can view my favourite safety site of theirs here: https://www.rideforever.co.nz

I went to both sites. My first thought, Oh my gosh!, How many would still be among us if only................Thanks for sharing. All we can do is take care of ourselves and shares these with as many as we can................Jesse