Passing Multiple Cars

[Sherman]

Would one of our resident experts please clarify the proper procedure for passing multiple cars?

Yesterday on a IN 26 (2 lanes) I attempted to pass 2 cars. Just when I got up to the rear left passenger door on the rear car he pulls out to pass. He had missed the 2 previous opportunities to pass. I had my turn signal on and brights. He forces me onto the left white line and I hit the brakes and so did he. This was very exciting. No harm no foul I guess. :dribble:

Looking back I can see that he was looking for an opportunity to pass and still up the lead cars ***. I should of stayed back, but my distance requirements are much less, so I didn't believe he would go when he did. My mistake.

What do you look for while passing multiple cars?

...and BTW - What is your personal speed limit for passing multiple cars?

 

[radman]

I've pulled them 6 at a time, but am always prepared for a pull out, it's happened a few times, that's what shoulders are for. I look for the usual cues, head movement, steering wheel twitches. As always, having all your lights on and modulating, flashing, exploding means nothing-lights and their usefulness in traffic problem avoidance are wayyyyy overrated by cyclists IMHO. I'm usually at 125, 130 by the end.

 

[jwilly]

Like Rad said, watch the driver. You will usually see some type of movement to indicate they are about to pass but not always.

Use what you got, horsepower! When you go to pass don't screw around doing it and only drop 1 gear. Before you ever pull out be at 5-6k RPM so when you whack it your in the power band. As far as top speed, whatever it takes.

JW

 

[Bungie]

Just when I got up to the rear left passenger door on the rear car he pulls out to pass.

Ya, they'll do that. Head moving, hugging the center line, tailgating.. their all queues if you pass, your gonna get sideswiped.

My personal fav is your out there, honking around somebody, and some ******* comes out of a gas station or side road into your lane. Such fun!

 

[Fred W]

...and BTW - What is your personal speed limit for passing multiple cars?

Personal speed limit? What's that?

If I'm passing a line of cages I generally don't look down to check the speedo. Too busy watching the cars that I'm passing. Speed is whatever it takes to get by them all in the room available. If I get a ticket that's better than getting dead.

As far as being seen, I try and flip my HID headlights from low beam (while following) to high beam at the start of the pass. It is no guaranty of being seen, but it also won't hurt your chances. As previously stated, you never know if the drivers have their mirrors adjusted where they can actually see you.

 

[ionbeam]

Whenever possible I try to position myself so I can see the driver's eyes in the inside mirror and outside mirror. If you can't see the driver's eyes, the driver most likely can't see you. When passing or even driving along and someone wants to pull out, make eye contact. When you make eye contact the driver that was going to pull out from a side street often backs down. In any case the drivers head and eyes give you insight(!) into their intentions.

When riding back from EOM with TheAxeman, I don't know if he noticed how frequently cars would pull over to let me by. I would pull to the left of the lane until I could see the driver's eyes in the outside mirror then hit the mirror with a 'photon torpedo' -- my PIAAs and high beams at the same time. Even the people that didn't know I was there will see me, and they all seem to want to get out of the way.

Passing is something that should be done with care but expeditiously too.

 

[ZOOOMM]

Sherman,

The exact same thing happened to me two weekends ago. I knew that the guy behind the vette wanted to past him, however he to missed a couple of chances. So, like you, I put my turn signal on and got on the throttle. My front wheel was aligned with his drivers door and the next thing I see is his door getting much to close to my right leg. He jambs his brake as I did, and pulls back into his lane. I then cranked on the throttle to get the hell away from him once and for all. It does seem to get your heart rate elevated though. I guess it goes without saying I was trying to catch up with Iris. One of life's lessons.

 

[Toecutter]

Drop two gears, pin it. It will seem like they're parked and you'll fly right by. Safer in spots where they don't have the room to pass and you do. You can always roll off and slide back into the proper lane if there's less room than you estimated. My personal passing speed limit is established by the FJR rev limiter.

Last weekend, I pulled that move (3 vehicles), only to discover some parked vehicles at the roadside up ahead where there usually shouldn't be any. Mash the binders, haul it down to allowed speed, and discovered the local speed troll had two cages pulled over. He didn't even notice me, although I would have been the big fish that day if he'd clocked me ten seconds sooner. On my way back through there, my Escort served me well, as it was dark and I was on a mission to get home.

 

[Fergi]

Would one of our resident experts please clarify the proper procedure for passing multiple cars?Yesterday on a IN 26 (2 lanes) I attempted to pass 2 cars. Just when I got up to the rear left passenger door on the rear car he pulls out to pass. He had missed the 2 previous opportunities to pass. I had my turn signal on and brights. He forces me onto the left white line and I hit the brakes and so did he. This was very exciting. No harm no foul I guess. :dribble:

Looking back I can see that he was looking for an opportunity to pass and still up the lead cars ***. I should of stayed back, but my distance requirements are much less, so I didn't believe he would go when he did. My mistake.

What do you look for while passing multiple cars?

...and BTW - What is your personal speed limit for passing multiple cars?

If I observe someone who is tailgating a slower vehicle and obviously wanting to pass it’s a safe bet that if they see me start to pass that they are not going allow that. It’s as though I have violated their first right of passing. Never mind that they are not capable of passing the car or cars in the space available.

I have a 10 mile portion of my commute on rural roads with a ridiculous 45 mph speed limit and no passing zones. There are at least three acceptably long stretches where the FJR can pass without a problem. Twice in the last two years I have had lone cars pull over into the left lane to block me from passing them. My Harley buddy has suggested that I carry a brick with me for such occurrences.

 

[Tenchi]

Personal speed limit? Je ne comprends.

RE: limit on speed - 111 mph. Because my bike doesn't go any faster.

Limit on cars:

I probably limit myself to passing 3 cars, but it really depends on the situation. I'm only doing 30 mph, max, faster than them most of the time, so 30 mph, 5 car lengths (1 in front and behind for safety), plus safety margin for each driver between the cars - that's going to be about 5-10 seconds realistically speaking of driving on the wrong side of the road.

If it's a 60 mph road, that's 88 ft per second for oncoming vehicles, assuming they're not speeding. I'd be doing around 80 mph to pass the vehicles, which is 117 ft per second. Assuming it's three slow arse RV's I'm passing - 5 seconds = 1025 ft (~1/5 of a mile). Slightly faster traffic with slightly more space between - 10 seconds = 2050 ft (~2/5 of a mile). That's a long way to be on the wrong side of the road; and you're making a pretty big assumption about human nature that they're not going to be arseholes about you passing too.

EDIT: What do I look for? Any sign that would indicate if I was in their position, I would try to overtake. If they're tailgating slightly, if they're driving close to the line, etc. all the stuff you generally watch out for to stop someone from merging with you in your personal safety zone.

My Harley buddy has suggested that I carry a brick with me for such occurrences.

Dad always said steel ballbearings (#10? the big ones) and spark plugs work best.

 

[Checkswrecks]

+1 to what they said about watching the driver etc etc...

But I also give myself as much room as possible because some of the cages will still pull over like happened to you. Once I start the pass, I'm watching them like a hawk (not just straight ahead, which is more natural) and am at the far side of the lane to give myself reaction time.

Good horns are a plus too!

 

[Yort]

I have passed 3 at time in a short space where a car might not have the room. But in limited space, do not fart around about it.

Some folks take issue with being passed here in middle Georgia but if you pass with authority it will shut them up most times.

Oh, in Georgia, the law is 10MPH over the limit...... I think.

 

[motorcycle-ed]

I had an incident about a year ago coming back from the BRP passing four cars on a two lane. I had plenty of room for me and bike, and probably hit well over 100 by the time I reached the second car in line. Suddendly, without signal and without any head turning or any sign of intention or liklihood, the driver pulled left almost violently to pass. I grabbed a double handful (and footful) of brakes and tested the ABS to its full extent. Our speeds finally matched when I was about 12" off his rear bumper. I had already decided that I was going to hit him...but I did stop short. He kept going and never had any idea I had been there. I learned something here. Be very careful about very high differential speeds when passing lines of cars because your only practical "out" in most cases is to slow down quickly enough if a car does what this one did. Once decided, accelerate hard and minimze the time and opportunity for risk but never forget that you MUST have an "out" planned if the unlikely becomes fact. In this case, because of my very high differential speed and the narrow road, I had not left an "out" and I should have waited.

Ed :dribble:

 

[ShawnKing]

He forces me onto the left white line and I hit the brakes and so did he.

My personal reaction would be (and has been) the opposite. I've already dropped a gear or two for the pass so I crank the throttle (and rocket out of the situation) as opposed to hitting the brakes. I'd rather be in front of "them" than behind...

 

[Bungie]

My personal reaction would be (and has been) the opposite. I've already dropped a gear or two for the pass so I crank the throttle (and rocket out of the situation) as opposed to hitting the brakes. I'd rather be in front of "them" than behind...

Unless your in a top fueler, this is nearly always the wrong thing to do. Tell me, have you ever hit anything slowly enough?

 

[Sherman]

The very high differential speed is a concern. I like to blow by the cages. But if one of the guys up towards the front of a several car line (less likely to see you) gets stupid and pulls out you are boned at high speeds. With just 1 or 2 cars speed would rule.

Bright lights blaring, horn honking and flashers blinking might be the best policy. I should of seen it coming yesterday.

Thanks for the great tips!

 

[ngarider]

Passing is bad, mmmkay?

 

[ctfjr]

Like Rad said, watch the driver. You will usually see some type of movement to indicate they are about to pass but not always.
Use what you got, horsepower! When you go to pass don't screw around doing it and only drop 1 gear. Before you ever pull out be at 5-6k RPM so when you whack it your in the power band. As far as top speed, whatever it takes.

JW

+1

 

[cougar8000]

Passing is bad, mmmkay?

Passing is not bad if done right. Problem is, as was discuss a few month back on here somewhere, most people in the states have no clue how and very pissed off when passed by others. That said...

I generally would stay away from passing more then 2 cars at a time. You really should only be passing one at a time. But if you have to do more, be very careful about it. As others have said keep your speed at a reasonable level. Try to see people faces in their mirror's. Look at their hand placement. Ride in the middle closer to the right section of the line just so they can see you in the mirror, but be ready to go left.

What I have seen happen many times and hope it will stop. NEVER EVER follow another rider when passing. unless you can stop before hitting him or what ever. People way too often expect rider in front to keep on going. And **** breaks loose when they are not. Who is in front is always right regardless what happened.

ShawnKing, I would not rely on the speed all the time.