Knucklehead drivers

[FiveOon05]

Near the end of a nice ride today when im approaching an intersection that goes from three lanes down to two and the third becomes a right turn only lane. Im in the center and as i slow I see this broad in an old blue beater of a vehicle stop beside me. I got about ten feet between me and the car in front....so what does this broad think shes gonna do? Yep, she starts to crank her blue bomb from the turn only lane into my lane in front of me. I scoot up about five feet so she can slip in behind me when the light changes. Nope she wants IN FRONT of me. I scoot up further left to the stripe so again I'm trying accomodate. Not good enough! I start to pull off and she guns it to get in front of me! Daaaammmn! I just keep going straight and shes inching her bucket of bolts towards my right leg. Finally I just said f***It, Im going! and hit it! I looked back and that sorry B**** is going about five miles an hour. Probably too much holiday cheer at three in the afternoon. I just couldnt believe im almost playing bumper tag for absolutely no reason. I gave her room....the car behind me gave her room...but NO! So my riding brothers from other mothers...be careful. Thanks i just had to vent!

Fiveo

 

[throttlejockeyTJ]

Careful of the 'Bug on the windshield philosopy of riding'. All I can say pick your spots to fight for space. Ya can't win them all!

 

[madmike2]

+1 on picking your fight. This could well have been another one of those:

"Honisht, oshiffer, ah din't eben see thet murdersickle. I wazh jist tryin' tuh change mah lane en thar he wuz. He comed outta nowhere."

Sometimes you just can't give them enough room.

 

[fjrinbc]

+2 on pickin' your fights

I would rather have some brain-dead ****-wad kept in front of me where I can keep my good eye on them - not behind me where they can be so unpredictable. :assassin:

Ride safe and defensively. They are out to get you.

 

[Toecutter]

Friday, on my way to Sac on 99, I was in the left lane overtaking a slower car when it started moving across the line into my space. No signal or any look at all. So I laid on the blasters. This got the relic's attention, as I noticed him peering into the side mirror. I could see his face, but he just kept coming, even though I never let off the horns. Once he had me pinched out and was in my lane in front of me, he raised his right hand like "Thanks".

I blasted on around him on the right, gave him & his wife the look, and was on my merry way again.

Maybe I occasionally "will" them to do that unintentionally, by always expecting it. "The powah of the Force is a formidable ally".

 

[Barabus]

On the notorious 405 during slow moving bumper to bumper, I had a experience like Toe's. Woman wanted to merge into my lane. I had no where to go and she saw me, but pushed me out anyways. I was pissed, but had to let it go. In my opinion, if a motorcycle cop would have been around, he would have charged her- vehicular assault. I guess it is part of our job to avoid the illegal maneuvers and the "Let It Go".

 

[painman]

Repeat after me, I am invisable, I am invisable....PM. <>< :wacko:

 

[odot]

This is when you break out smith and wesson and hand out reminders.

 

[James Burleigh]

So I laid on the blasters. ...but he just kept coming, even though I never let off the horns.

I'm glad this has come up because I was thinking about starting a new thread called something like, "To Honk or Not to Honk?"

When I commute into work and back home in thick traffic, one of my safety strategies is to have loud f**king Blaster horns to make cages hear me and abort their lane changes into me. In fact I place a lot of confidence in the horns, so that when a cage starts to come over, my first reaction is to hit the horn first, and take evasive action second.

But like Toecutter, the SOBs don't stop anyway! Oh sure, occasionally you have a car actually abort, but I'd say in the last three out of four times that I had to really lay on the blasters, I just wound up holding them on while at the same time searching for my exit path 'cause the cage was coming over anyway. So my dilemma is about the loss of a second or two in moving the motorcycle each new time I practice the horn experiment.

Exacerbating the strategy for me is that, because my left thumb is constantly moving while I ride, adjusting the windscreen (lower when I lane split, higher when speed picks up), signaling, or working my brights, the last place it's ready to go in a panic is the horn button. When you throw in on top of the low usage of the horn button a dash of morning dull-headedness, my deteriorating cognative skills from my Baby Boomer age, and a few years (long ago) of smoking...well, it waren't cigarettes <_< , when I suddenly have to jump on the horn, sometimes I just can't find it. So now the car's coming over, I've not evaded yet, and I'm not even honking! [No, I'm not ready to park it just yet.... :blink: ]

So I've been pondering whether to just forget about the horn-first strategy, because it gives me false confidence that a certain strategy will work when in fact 90% of the time it won't and I'll have lost precious seconds in evading. Instead I would adopt a "move first, honk second or not at all" strategy (not at all because what's the point?).

Has anyone thought this through better than I have? What about the British System, where they apparently honk all the time as a preventive measure.

JB

 

[Toecutter]

So I laid on the blasters. ...but he just kept coming, even though I never let off the horns.

I'm glad this has come up because I was thinking about starting a new thread called something like, "To Honk or Not to Honk?"

Juke first, honk from a safe spot later. If you tend to lay on the horns instead of evading, disconnect the horns for safety's sake.
I did it (from the safe spot) on the way to a PGR mission on Pacheco Pass when a big rig came over, pinching me out into a cement guardrail. He heard me, saw me, aborted the pass, and gestured very apologetically as I passed. Sometimes horns work, especially when dealing with professional drivers.

 

[Cdogman]

So I laid on the blasters. ...but he just kept coming, even though I never let off the horns.

I'm glad this has come up because I was thinking about starting a new thread called something like, "To Honk or Not to Honk?"

Juke first, honk from a safe spot later. If you tend to lay on the horns instead of evading, disconnect the horns for safety's sake.
I did it (from the safe spot) on the way to a PGR mission on Pacheco Pass when a big rig came over, pinching me out into a cement guardrail. He heard me, saw me, aborted the pass, and gestured very apologetically as I passed. Sometimes horns work, especially when dealing with professional drivers.

+1 Get clear first. The first reaction has to be safety and modification of your position in relation to the killer cager. I almost never honk because I miss the damm button anyway so used to the YCC-S system. I would humbly submit to train your first reaciton to be changing direction/speed. You may not have the luxury of two reactions when it really matters, you could just be outta time by then

 

[VMax_03]

So I laid on the blasters. ...but he just kept coming, even though I never let off the horns.

I'm glad this has come up because I was thinking about starting a new thread called something like, "To Honk or Not to Honk?"

Juke first, honk from a safe spot later. If you tend to lay on the horns instead of evading, disconnect the horns for safety's sake.
I did it (from the safe spot) on the way to a PGR mission on Pacheco Pass when a big rig came over, pinching me out into a cement guardrail. He heard me, saw me, aborted the pass, and gestured very apologetically as I passed. Sometimes horns work, especially when dealing with professional drivers.

+1 Get clear first. The first reaction has to be safety and modification of your position in relation to the killer cager. I almost never honk because I miss the damm button anyway so used to the YCC-S system. I would humbly submit to train your first reaciton to be changing direction/speed. You may not have the luxury of two reactions when it really matters, you could just be outta time by then

Cdog ... where'd you get a video of my ex-wife for your avatar?

:blink: lol

JW

 

[Dan23]

>>I got about ten feet between me and the car in front....so what does this broad think shes gonna do? Yep, she starts to crank her blue bomb from the turn only lane into my lane in front of me. I scoot up about five feet so she can slip in behind me when the light changes. Nope she wants IN FRONT of me. I scoot up further left to the stripe so again I'm trying accomodate. Not good enough!<<

Would it have hurt you to let her in front? Granted, If I were her I would have asked your permission before pulling in front, but cripes. Is it worth leaving everyone within sight with the thought that 'motorcyclists are selfish arseholes?' So, what'd you do? Gain fifteen frucking feet?

 

[blueman]

In Arizona this time of year we have SNOWBIRDS. These are retired 70 plus year olds driving 40 foot motor homes coming from the midwest. Most of these people should not even be driving golf carts, and thier driving 40 and 50 foot rigs toeing all kinds of shit behind them. I could right a book on all the crazy shit they do. You really have to keep your distance because most of them are half deaf and blind, and have an attitude.

 

[odot]

Smith and wesson, kids.....

 

[dbx]

So I laid on the blasters. ...but he just kept coming, even though I never let off the horns.

I'm glad this has come up because I was thinking about starting a new thread called something like, "To Honk or Not to Honk?"

Juke first, honk from a safe spot later. If you tend to lay on the horns instead of evading, disconnect the horns for safety's sake.

Coincidentally, I was thinking about this very thing while out riding today. For me, the horns are way down on my list of priorities. I only use them 2-3 times a year, and only when I'm way out in the country, away from all humanity. When a situation develops, my reactions are to accelerate, move/swerve, or brake, in that order.

Jeff

 

[willieiso118]

This is when you break out smith and wesson and hand out reminders.

Uncolored glass marbles, they look like the rest of the cracked windshield behind you.... :assassin:

 

[cougar8000]

motorcycle 500+lbs

car 3000+lbs

Hmmm, I wonder what will win when they get together?

What is the rush? Why so many insist on proving the point to that knucklehead driver? haven't we learned that they do not learn? We need to invent a chill pill and make it required to take it before the flight

BTW. Glad that no one got hurt this time around. let's not try it again. B)

BTW2. It is always safer to have a knucklehead on front then behind you.

 

[Cdogman]

So I laid on the blasters. ...but he just kept coming, even though I never let off the horns.

I'm glad this has come up because I was thinking about starting a new thread called something like, "To Honk or Not to Honk?"

Juke first, honk from a safe spot later. If you tend to lay on the horns instead of evading, disconnect the horns for safety's sake.
I did it (from the safe spot) on the way to a PGR mission on Pacheco Pass when a big rig came over, pinching me out into a cement guardrail. He heard me, saw me, aborted the pass, and gestured very apologetically as I passed. Sometimes horns work, especially when dealing with professional drivers.

+1 Get clear first. The first reaction has to be safety and modification of your position in relation to the killer cager. I almost never honk because I miss the damm button anyway so used to the YCC-S system. I would humbly submit to train your first reaciton to be changing direction/speed. You may not have the luxury of two reactions when it really matters, you could just be outta time by then

Cdog ... where'd you get a video of my ex-wife for your avatar?

:blink: lol

JW

Had that dang thing forever. Dont even remember where I got it.

Someone emailed it to me I think.........