Intersections are dangerous!!!!

[A-J]

Whenever I am approaching any kind of traffic that seems like they could turn in fornt of me while riding, I swerve back and forth within my lane-not wildly but just enough to break up the monotony of what they're seeing. It's proven very helpful in making myself more visible. Especially if I'm getting close to an intersection or driveway and have no "blockers" (car on either or both sides of me). I have seen it get the desired result countless times in the nearly 3 years I've been riding.

Yesterday morning, I was (in my F150) in a left hand turn lane, westbound side, 2nd in line, and I thought for sure I was going to see a bike get wrecked. Yami R1 coming east, the idiot in front of me waiting to turn was as far to the right of the turn lane as you could get and still be in the turn lane. Opposite side of the street in the eastbound turn lane was a big panel truck, so of course the driver couldn't see the bike coming.

And here's where I get flamed....

The rider was huggin the extreme left of his lane, adjacent to the turn lane, despite both lanes being empty of other traffic besides him, approcahing an intersection and I bet he couldn't see the car in front of me. That folks, is just plain stupid. Very poor judgment IMO.

Moving on

I can't honk my horn, cause that'll make the person go (bike's still coming) but now the guy (or girl - IDK) is moving, so I yell STOP!!! Like that's going to help... It didn't. Fortunately the idiot saw the bike as they went completely across his lane, but instead of freezing like most of them do and stop dead in the middle of the lane, this person actually gunned it good (for a Camry) and got out of the way. Had the car stopped, there's a good chance the rider (sans bike) was gonna come flying over the car and hit me! Bike seemed to slow down, and was of course shaking his head at that person as he went along his way. Who wouldn't?

Moral of the story - the cager and the biker were equally wrong. The cage had no way to "know" the road was clear without actually starting the turn, and the biker did nothing to make himself more visible when approaching an intersection with limited visibilty due the panel truck.

Secondary moral - don't be either one of the people in the drama I just related to you.

[ladscribib]

I learned 3 things yesterday

1. that the center of the road is not your friend even after\ during a hard rain
especially at the intersections.
- I was staying out of the wheel paths because the water was so deep. when the light
changed to yellow, I tapped the brake and went down. I slid about 15 ft, just short of the intersection.

[Beans]

I had a close call about 3 weeks ago in the rain. I was nearing an intersection, and trailing a somewhat large SUV. After the SUV went through the intersection it stopped fairly abruptly. I have no idea why though, perhaps cars stopped in front. I applied the brakes as normal but for whatever reason my rear brake locked up and my rear wheel started to slide to the right. Luckily it wasn't too bad so I managed to regain control. Kind of scary though. Anyone know of any tips on regaining traction after starting to skid in the rain? obviously release the brake... but what else? Oh, also about 3 minutes later an old guy in a car decided to change lanes while I was RIGHT beside him... I sped up a bit and got in front. I turned and looked at him with a "WTF!?!?!" look on my face... lol, and he had the nerve to honk at me!

[V2K_CCTX]

good story

[rbentnail]

Originally Posted by Beans

I had a close call about 3 weeks ago in the rain. I was nearing an intersection, and trailing a somewhat large SUV. After the SUV went through the intersection it stopped fairly abruptly. I have no idea why though, perhaps cars stopped in front. I applied the brakes as normal but for whatever reason my rear brake locked up and my rear wheel started to slide to the right. Luckily it wasn't too bad so I managed to regain control. Kind of scary though. Anyone know of any tips on regaining traction after starting to skid in the rain? obviously release the brake... but what else? Oh, also about 3 minutes later an old guy in a car decided to change lanes while I was RIGHT beside him... I sped up a bit and got in front. I turned and looked at him with a "WTF!?!?!" look on my face... lol, and he had the nerve to honk at me!

It may be just me, and it's not my intent to flame you, but if I read correctly you released the rear brake after a slide started? If I do read right, and it varies greatly with different people with different skill levels, this can be so, so bad. It is the wrong thing to do, especially for newbies! IMHO folks with lots of experience, especially those who learned in or ride in dirt, can pull it off with ease. But newbies normally get hurt doing this.

Are you relatively new to riding? Have you considered an MSF or other safety training or beginner's riding course? At the very least, now that Old Man Winter in settling in, get some books about riding. Get some DVDs. Something. Anything. Please, do this before you hurt yourself.

[Beans]

Perhaps "release the brake" wasn't the best way to put it. More like "ease off the brake". An MSF course is definatly going to happen in the near future.

[rbentnail]

Originally Posted by Beans

Perhaps "release the brake" wasn't the best way to put it. More like "ease off the brake". An MSF course is definatly going to happen in the near future.

Good deal, on both counts.

[arceeguy]

Originally Posted by A-J

.......Moral of the story - the cager and the biker were equally wrong. The cage had no way to "know" the road was clear without actually starting the turn, and the biker did nothing to make himself more visible when approaching an intersection with limited visibilty due the panel truck.......

No flames, but I don't agree with you that both were equally wrong.

While the rider could have made himself more visible, the cager should not even consider starting the turn unless he knows that all is clear. This would mean waiting for the big panel truck to make his turn.

My wife was in the exact same scenario that you described, except that the outcome wasn't just a "*whew*". She hit the fool broadside. Luckily, she was in a cage herself, and was buckled in. She walked away from the accident with no injuries. Both cars were totalled, the nitwit in the other car suffered a broken wrist and a couple of broken ribs.