wfooshee
O, Woe is me!!
So I'm sitting at a light and it turns green. I'm already aware, as the cross-street's light turns yellow, that the van with a trailer coming from the left can't possibly stop in time, so I wait for him to blow the light before I proceed. He was 5 or 6 seconds late through the light, doing about 50 or 60 in a 35 zone. If I was a dipshit focused only on the light I'd be dead now, wouldn't have had a chance in hell. I got lots of details in that few seconds: his Florida tag is 594 MNT, green Ford Aerostar (or that type of vehicle), home-made-looking wooden open-top trailer had no lights or tag.
I rode out to the beach area the other night to go to the Wally World Supercenter for some groceries, because they cost about half what the Winn-Dixie charges, and twice had to take avoiding action to keep from being killed by a car turning left in front of me. Once I swerved into the left-turn lane to go behind the car, as no one was waiting in the lane behind him. The other time I had more room and merely needed a mildly severe brake application. There was another left turn in front of me that was no danger to me, but just as stupid as a close call, because the driver jumped a concrete divider that was there to explicitly prevent a left turn at that point, basically curb-high and 3 or 4 feet wide. Didn't sound good as it went over, probably needs an alignment or some exhaust work.
Then a couple of nights ago I'm riding home from another grocery trip, and I'm behind one of those Jeep Wrangler type trucks at a light. Light turns green, he sits for the apparently obligatory 4 seconds before he moves out, and then reaches all of 15 MPH, in a 40. I am not exaggerating just to say he was going slower than I wanted to go, he was doing 15!
I have a double yellow for the first several yards after crossing the intersection, but I roll on as soon as I get past that and start to go by him. I'm not doing a full-throttle lift-off, just enough to reach the posted limit of 40 plus a couple to get by. He nails it and comes alongside, so I'm like, "Fine, have at it," and drop back into place behind.
He then tries to brake-check me, I see the nose of his truck porpoising like a cheap model airplane, but I'm back well far enough for it to not matter. We're now back down to his previous 15, and still slowing. The LAST thing I want is to be stopped on this completely barren 2-lane behind a guy that's out to get me for whatever reason. If he gets really weird and grabs reverse, I will not have time to do a u-turn and vacate, so I pull up closer and get ready. He moves over the center line and continues creeping, then moves back into our lane. That's when I punch it and I hit about 90 to put some distance.
I check my six and this ******'s COMING!!!! 2-lane empty road dumps into a "major" 2-lane county highway that has more traffic and more buildings and businesses rather than just woods. It's far enough to that point that because I'm not willing to go any faster, this ******* is just a few car lengths behind me when I have to slow for the right into the merge lane on the busier road. He actually tried to cut off my merge, and I gun it again, then pull into the first business that's still open, an oyster bar. I'm nearly home, but no way in hell am I leading this guy to my house!
I park as close to the door as I can get and dismount. The guy pulls up behind me and gets out, as does his passenger. ANOTHER truck pulls up behind him and two guys get out. I picked the restaurant because it was open and busy, hoping to avoid a confrontation, but this isn't looking good.
WTF, I'm wearing a helmet and armored gloves, so I stand there. He's all mouth about what did I think I was doing, blah blah blah, just screaming like I stole his nuts out of his wife's nightstand or something. His passenger is in my face but it takes me a minute to realize he's on my side, he's telling me his friend is an *******, just get out of here. The other truck saw the guy try to cut off my merge and is in his face about what's he doing that to a motorcycle for? I see the guy is outnumbered, so I mount and ride the last mile home, checking my six again so I can change my destination if he's trailing again.
The first incident wasn't really frightening exept in a "what if I wasn't paying attention?" sort of way. The two left turns, one was close enough to really have my full attention. And the ******* was just an ******* until he decide to try to keep up with me, and then he became the scariest thing I've ever encountered on a bike. It's also the only one of these incidents where the motorist actually seemed agressive toward me specifically, as opposed to just carelessly rushed, or just blind or stupid.
These things, and the poor guy in Jupiter, FL who was killed by a guy who "didn't see him" have led me to the decision that I am preparing a piece of paper to carry in my gear, or on the bike, maybe both, that states my unequivocal wish that should something happen to me because some dipshit "didn't see me," I want the law to come down on said dipshit to the absolute fullest extent possible, because "I didn't see" is a confession of carelessness, and carelessly killing someone is a crime, not an accident. I may actually see if I can have a lawyer customer draw something up for me. (I do the PC networks for several law firms in town.) Maybe call it a living will for motorcyclists.
It's been a weird week. Haven't had this frequency of events since . . . . well, ever!
I rode out to the beach area the other night to go to the Wally World Supercenter for some groceries, because they cost about half what the Winn-Dixie charges, and twice had to take avoiding action to keep from being killed by a car turning left in front of me. Once I swerved into the left-turn lane to go behind the car, as no one was waiting in the lane behind him. The other time I had more room and merely needed a mildly severe brake application. There was another left turn in front of me that was no danger to me, but just as stupid as a close call, because the driver jumped a concrete divider that was there to explicitly prevent a left turn at that point, basically curb-high and 3 or 4 feet wide. Didn't sound good as it went over, probably needs an alignment or some exhaust work.
Then a couple of nights ago I'm riding home from another grocery trip, and I'm behind one of those Jeep Wrangler type trucks at a light. Light turns green, he sits for the apparently obligatory 4 seconds before he moves out, and then reaches all of 15 MPH, in a 40. I am not exaggerating just to say he was going slower than I wanted to go, he was doing 15!
I have a double yellow for the first several yards after crossing the intersection, but I roll on as soon as I get past that and start to go by him. I'm not doing a full-throttle lift-off, just enough to reach the posted limit of 40 plus a couple to get by. He nails it and comes alongside, so I'm like, "Fine, have at it," and drop back into place behind.
He then tries to brake-check me, I see the nose of his truck porpoising like a cheap model airplane, but I'm back well far enough for it to not matter. We're now back down to his previous 15, and still slowing. The LAST thing I want is to be stopped on this completely barren 2-lane behind a guy that's out to get me for whatever reason. If he gets really weird and grabs reverse, I will not have time to do a u-turn and vacate, so I pull up closer and get ready. He moves over the center line and continues creeping, then moves back into our lane. That's when I punch it and I hit about 90 to put some distance.
I check my six and this ******'s COMING!!!! 2-lane empty road dumps into a "major" 2-lane county highway that has more traffic and more buildings and businesses rather than just woods. It's far enough to that point that because I'm not willing to go any faster, this ******* is just a few car lengths behind me when I have to slow for the right into the merge lane on the busier road. He actually tried to cut off my merge, and I gun it again, then pull into the first business that's still open, an oyster bar. I'm nearly home, but no way in hell am I leading this guy to my house!
I park as close to the door as I can get and dismount. The guy pulls up behind me and gets out, as does his passenger. ANOTHER truck pulls up behind him and two guys get out. I picked the restaurant because it was open and busy, hoping to avoid a confrontation, but this isn't looking good.
WTF, I'm wearing a helmet and armored gloves, so I stand there. He's all mouth about what did I think I was doing, blah blah blah, just screaming like I stole his nuts out of his wife's nightstand or something. His passenger is in my face but it takes me a minute to realize he's on my side, he's telling me his friend is an *******, just get out of here. The other truck saw the guy try to cut off my merge and is in his face about what's he doing that to a motorcycle for? I see the guy is outnumbered, so I mount and ride the last mile home, checking my six again so I can change my destination if he's trailing again.
The first incident wasn't really frightening exept in a "what if I wasn't paying attention?" sort of way. The two left turns, one was close enough to really have my full attention. And the ******* was just an ******* until he decide to try to keep up with me, and then he became the scariest thing I've ever encountered on a bike. It's also the only one of these incidents where the motorist actually seemed agressive toward me specifically, as opposed to just carelessly rushed, or just blind or stupid.
These things, and the poor guy in Jupiter, FL who was killed by a guy who "didn't see him" have led me to the decision that I am preparing a piece of paper to carry in my gear, or on the bike, maybe both, that states my unequivocal wish that should something happen to me because some dipshit "didn't see me," I want the law to come down on said dipshit to the absolute fullest extent possible, because "I didn't see" is a confession of carelessness, and carelessly killing someone is a crime, not an accident. I may actually see if I can have a lawyer customer draw something up for me. (I do the PC networks for several law firms in town.) Maybe call it a living will for motorcyclists.
It's been a weird week. Haven't had this frequency of events since . . . . well, ever!
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