People are trying to kill me!!!!

[wfooshee]

As much as it sucks, I always back down whenever I'm on a bike and a cager acts like an *****. Bike vs. Car/Truck = Bike always loses. Even if the cops get involved, they always seem to side with the cager. It sucks to let someone get the best of you, but I live to ride another day. :yahoo:

Agreed, but there wasn't anything to back down from. All I did was try to pass a very slow vehicle, and when he gassed it, I did back down, then he started with the games. No room to turn around quickly, no place to pull off, so I tried high-performance separation. I held 90 in the mile of empty road to the intersection, and he had caught me by the end. I didn't feel like any more speed on that road, so finding a crowded place to stop was the next item on the agenda.

I have a Bluetooth headset in my helmet but I cannot place calls with it, my phone's voice dialing sucks moist *** cheese, so a 911 call would have had to be while stopped and dismounted with phone in hand. Wouldn't have wanted to explain the 90 in a 40, either.

 

[DailyCommuter]

Some people just liketo **** with motorcycles, whether to try to race them, instigate them into hammering it outta there or whatever. This guy had you picked out probably before that set of lights. An ******* like that doesn't sit at a red light that turns green for any length of time. He's the type that pulls up and stops and continues to creep forward every 2 seconds like him being impatient is going to make the light change faster....

You need to be able to read people and figure out what they are going to do. I'm getting better at it after all the commuting I've done the past couple years (a little over 35,000 miles on the bike) ( the other 4 thousand miles I have on her were the really fun ones!)

but I have sharpenned my skills in all those miles by reading body language and observing where people are looking and what they're doing as I approach and pass.

Example 1: if someone in an adjacent lane checks their mirror(s) more than twice in ten seconds they are about to cut you off. Because they didn see you, you are invisible in a mirror and they're coming at you within 3 seconds guaranteed

Example 2: people merging onto a highway who don't touch their brake pedal at least twice as they are about to merge into traffic, aren't looking and they're just coming in like it or not.

Example 3: if someone is driving centerlane on a 3 lane highway slower than the traffic on both sides of them and they don't have blue hair, they are texting be careful passing them

.

 

[Loki]

The truck scenario is what scares me - never had that happen exactly, but I have been blocked, crowded, brake checked, followed, etc. a few times...

+1

I read this story, and I try to ask myself how I could have responded differently if it were me. The truth is, I would have done everything you did EXCEPT pull into the Oyster bar, which I think was the wiser thing to do compared to my idea. I can't help to also think of the "what if's" as well. As much as people are trying to kill you, there were others trying to keep you alive, and we are all thankful for that, and perhaps a bit nervous of what would have happened if they weren't there. I don't carry "insurance", but it certainly makes one think twice about it. Stay safe!

 

[wfooshee]

Well, THAT was weird!

I'm in WalMart on the way home from work, and I normally park in one of those half-spaces left at the end of the row, between the first real car space and the yellow crosshatch they store buggies in. I come out of the store and the green van with the trailer is there! The guy said he recognized the bike and was prepared to wait for hours if necessary to apologize for the red-light incident. He was falling all over himself about how glad he was nothing nasty happened, he knows he was not paying attention, had his mind on something that got him angry, and going through the light and seeing me watch him gave him the same "what if" that I had at the time, and scared him straight, so to speak.

When he walked into the store after the meeting, I have to admit I made a little extra-careful walk-around of the bike, though. So kudos to the red-light runner for manning up and looking me in the eye with regret for what happened. Pretty cool, and restores your faith, just a bit, y'know?

Maybe it has something to do with putting the plastic back on.

And it was a Chevy Astro, not an Aerostar. Everything else was right, though.

 

[Kevin Daly]

I got some news for you.
People are stupid!

Yes! and as I recall stupid still hurts :assassin: Glad that this ******* had a friend with him; its actually kind of amazing... that he had a friend.

 

[Jer]

Have you read the story or seen the movie titled "Duel'? Your story reminds me of it.

 

[Auburn]

Gald to hear that he "manned-up" and admitted his wrong doing to you face to face. Hopefully he learned a really big lesson from it.

 

[old&slow]

Well, THAT was weird!
I'm in WalMart on the way home from work, and I normally park in one of those half-spaces left at the end of the row, between the first real car space and the yellow crosshatch they store buggies in. I come out of the store and the green van with the trailer is there! The guy said he recognized the bike and was prepared to wait for hours if necessary to apologize for the red-light incident. He was falling all over himself about how glad he was nothing nasty happened, he knows he was not paying attention, had his mind on something that got him angry, and going through the light and seeing me watch him gave him the same "what if" that I had at the time, and scared him straight, so to speak.

When he walked into the store after the meeting, I have to admit I made a little extra-careful walk-around of the bike, though. So kudos to the red-light runner for manning up and looking me in the eye with regret for what happened. Pretty cool, and restores your faith, just a bit, y'know?

Maybe it has something to do with putting the plastic back on.

And it was a Chevy Astro, not an Aerostar. Everything else was right, though.

Mr. Hyde paging Dr. Jekell !!

Damn didn't see that one coming..... :dribble: :dribble: :dribble:

 

[Tenchi]

There are some interesting responses here.

This happens more often than I wish it would around here. Maybe they see a guy in a goofy yellow helmet on a f*ck ugly bike and they think, "oh, that looks like he wants to race" or some sh*t. I don't know. There's a lot of idiots out on the road.

When I last got stuck behind a car doing way less than the speed limit and they showed some attitude I didn't like, I waited at the next red light, just before the light went green revved the engine like I was going to do a fast take off, then when they gunned it through the intersection I dropped the revs and calmly pulled off to the side. I've never owned a motorcycle that could out run a car, so I just do the Marty McFly (Back to the Future Pt 2 ending) and mess with their head.

There has been one exception to this. In Australia, turning on to the freeway, I'd been there 20 minutes before as I'd left my wallet at the local hardware store, went back to get it and I knew there was a speed trap hidden in the bushes right at the end of the offramp. Some ********* pulls up, starts mouthing off with his girl in the passenger seat, so I start revving the engine like I want to race, and we go for it. Right before the speed trap I suddenly slow down, he turns to look at me, then turns back and sees the flash from the speed camera as it clocks him at lose-a-license speeds.

That was a pretty special case; I knew there was a speed trap there, I wanted to f*ck with his head and I am not a nice person to people stupid enough to fall for that trick. I was young and I know better now. But it was oh so worth it....

 

[Geezer]

Gald to hear that he "manned-up" and admitted his wrong doing to you face to face. Hopefully he learned a really big lesson from it.

Hmm, mebbe he accepted that he was wrong and wanted to apologize because of the kind of person he is, or mebbe he realized that you had seen his license tag. Either way, he will probably be more careful for a while.

 

[Kaelaria]

An ******* coming at me in a parking lot after BS like that would be quickly met with my sidearm and held for police.

 

[wfooshee]

^^^^ Have to disagree. The only possible result is escalation.

The only reason a private citizen shows a sidearm is to kill. Right now. Because it's necessary to save someone's life.

 

[Patriot]

Hummm...maybe there's more folks these days suffering from bipolar than I thought...

<I'm not schitzo...neither am I !!! >

 

[Crash Cash]

Running a red light is one thing. Actively chasing you down would have been proper cause to call the police and file a complaint - he might have started thinking things out from the solitude of a cell because you'd had him charged with attempted murder.

Not really... around here (Orlando) the cops don't give a damn. I had a BMW driver cut me off for no reason, and then pull a gun on me.

Response from the cops: Dat's nice.

I had a Cadillac pass me in a blind corner, running an oncoming pickup off the road.

Response from the cops: Nothing we can do.

And yeah, I had the tag, description of the driver, and the whole nine yards, in both instances.

 

[user 213]

@wfooshe - Do you ride with your high beams on?

 

[wfooshee]

No. Not even in the daytime. I find it extremely annoying when I see it, and I don't follow the claimed logic for doing so. I mean, why would you want to blind the person you're trying to make sure sees you? Or force them to look elsewhere?

High beams are for open, empty road.

Even the "lower-intensity" high beams used as cars' daytime running lights a few years back make me want to throw things at somebody. They may be "only" 85% intensity, but they're still aimed right at my eyes and they're ******* bright enough, especially when morons drive in the dark with them because they think their lights are on. :assassin:

Oops. Didn't mean to rant. But that was an easy one. B)

 

[Zorlac]

^^^^ Have to disagree. The only possible result is escalation.The only reason a private citizen shows a sidearm is to kill. Right now. Because it's necessary to save someone's life.

The best way I've seen it put is that you don't shoot to kill, you don't shoot to maim, you just want the aggressor to stop the aggression and that just may only need a round chambered and pointed his way. But it's true that you must be willing to pull that trigger if necessary.

Glad he apologized, and you're right, the human race isn't as evil as we sometimes think it is.

 

[user 213]

No. <snip>Oops. Didn't mean to rant. But that was an easy one. B)

Rant accepted. I'm of the same opinion. Was just wondering if that may have been a 'trigger', but not the case here.

I've seen a couple of cases of road rage against high beam daylight bikers. Stupid on all accounts, but still some scary s&*t.

 

[Khunajawdge]

I didn't feel like any more speed on that road, so finding a crowded place to stop was the next item on the agenda.
I have a Bluetooth headset in my helmet but I cannot place calls with it, my phone's voice dialing sucks moist *** cheese, so a 911 call would have had to be while stopped and dismounted with phone in hand. Wouldn't have wanted to explain the 90 in a 40, either.

Hmmm...maybe a signal flare shot strait up? Guess you'd have to deal with the possible(?) aftermath of starting an urban fire though?

How 'bout a whistle?

 

[old&slow]

No. Not even in the daytime. I find it extremely annoying when I see it, and I don't follow the claimed logic for doing so. I mean, why would you want to blind the person you're trying to make sure sees you? Or force them to look elsewhere?
High beams are for open, empty road.

Even the "lower-intensity" high beams used as cars' daytime running lights a few years back make me want to throw things at somebody. They may be "only" 85% intensity, but they're still aimed right at my eyes and they're ******* bright enough, especially when morons drive in the dark with them because they think their lights are on. :assassin:

Oops. Didn't mean to rant. But that was an easy one. B)

DITTO !!!!!!!!!