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What was your closest call ???

19K views 131 replies 64 participants last post by  Coho-slayer 
#1 · (Edited)
Thought this might be a good place to share some experiences and maybe some insight from your closest call...

Experiences shared can sometimes be the best teacher...
Hopefully save someone's hide !!!

My closest call...
While cruising one of my favorite two lane roads, I came around a sweeping blind right hander and found myself staring at a cager in my lane.
The idiot was trying to pass four cars and a dump truck...
I was doin 55 and he was about mid-pack in his errant pass...
No one would let him over and we were headed straight at each other...
He was able to get close enough to the yellow line and give me just enough space to go by...
Good thing I didn't panic as there was NO escape...
Nothing but a small ditch and hillside and a gravel drive in that order and all would have surely spelled death for me.
A few miles down the road I stopped and got a pop and contemplated what had just happened...
Almost made me give up riding...almost.


I just shared a couple of techniques in the "What have you done to your Vulcan today" thread and it has spurred me to start this one...

So here goes...
When you are caught in traffic and having to stop at a red light, flash your brake light as if you have a modulator, if you don't already have one.
Next is to scout for an escape route and stop at an angle with you front wheel pointed towards it while watching in your rearview for any cagers that "don't see you."

Chicago_Cheech shared that he got rear-ended in a similar situation and I myself have had at least two or three close calls like this...

I'm sure this has happened to many here as well...

For the sake of some of our newer riders I thought it worthy of sharing...

Luckymann77
 
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#2 ·
This one time, I had to choose between a semi, and - well, a semi. I almost gave up riding . . . ok, no I didn't. I was back on my bike as soon as possible.

This ain't for the faint of heart.
 
#3 ·
Had my share of cars pull out in front of me and left turns and that sort of thing. It happens. Defensive riding and a well maintained bike generally get me out of it.

A couple years ago an uninsured commercial truck with an unlicensed (revoked due to DWI's) driver made an extraordinarily wide right turn out of a driveway and ended up completely into my lane, and side swiping me as I squeezed my bike onto the edge of the shoulder. I managed to keep the bike up with nothing more than a damaged saddlebag. I definitely fared better than he did. He left the scene, I made the report to law enforcement, and went home. Later that evening I was informed he was in custody, and even as much as two years later I was STILL getting "victim updates" from the prosecuting attorneys office. All misdemeanors (no injuries and not enough damage to make it felony hit and run), but with his already suspended license, existing pending stuff and so forth; he was in a LOT of hot water. And so was his company! He worked for an auto-body shop and was picking up a clients vehicle (again, in a truck with no insurance and without a license, much less a CDL)

That was my 'closest call' I guess. Never crossed my mind to stop riding but I didn't ride the rest of the day. We had just started out ride, and that event ended it. Rode home and stayed home the rest of the day. One of those "Let's try again tomorrow" kind of days.
 
#4 ·
I've had a few, people going the wrong way for the near head on collisions. Not seeing mine and pulling out.


My worst, the one that almost ended my riding and my life,

I was on the highway coming up to a clover leaf on ramp, this one In particular is a bad one, you come off it at 25 and the highway speed is close to 70mph. Anyways, I'm in the left lane i see the two young girls coming up the ramp, i slow down just a bit so we are meeting at the same time, i do this regardless that I'm a lane over, well they never looked over and jumped the lane into mine, on my left was a concrete median and on the right the suv.

My handle bar was roughly 3" from hitting the median, on my right the suv, i was closer to the driver then the actual passenger was.

I should have slowed down more I guess, i do know those girls once they saw what happened i could visibly see they were shaken up.

I don't often pray, i thanked god that day.
 
#7 ·
Glad you didn't collide but I have to ask why do you slow down while driving on a highway, especially driving in the left lane, when approaching an on ramp to 'meet' people coming onto the highway? I bet people behind you love that! :eek:

If you hadn't slowed down there would have been no close call at all by the way you described it.

Even if no one is behind you that's really dangerous...
 
#5 ·
Headed south through Lawrenceburg Indiana right before the turn into the gambling boats a girl in the left straight lane was texting and driving. Well traffic starting backing up because of people turning into the boat and her straight lane started slowing down. Well she decided to come over to the right straight lane and I was in it! Me and the wife was on our Goldwing, she just started over and never looked back or over, both hands were on her phone and she was driving with her wrists on the wheel. She forced us clear over against the curb and never looked till I started kicking her pass. door, then she freaked out. We sold the wing and gave up riding for a few years.
 
#6 ·
This was a few years back. I was on my Kawi 440 LTD and moving with medium traffic at about 50 mph. I was in the right lane and the guy behind me moves over to the left lane to pass. As he's passing me, another cager pulls out right in front of me. I couldn't move left and the car that pulled out was now right in front of me with no room to slow down. I went right and headed for the sidewalk. To my surprise and delight there was almost no curb. I rode about 1/2 a block on the sidewalk until there was a good spot to slow down and catch my breath. A guy mowing his grass gave me a thumbs up for managing to stay on both wheels.

I sold the bike with a dented front wheel and didn't ride for years.
 
#8 ·
Hindsight is 20/20. Given what we know we could all analyze one anothers experience and solve every issue. But sometimes things don't happen in a 'textbook' fashion. The way some people whip out across both lanes, I do the same thing. If I can't speed up a bit to 'overshoot' them, I'll slow down just a bit to make sure if they cut through both lanes, they've got room.
 
#9 ·
I agree with you Romans5.8,
As I have gotten older I'll usually opt for the "slow down" method...
Doing the flashy thing with my front brake all the while...
Not in a panic, mind you, but making sure everyone behind me has my attention...
Yet another reason for the additional lights installed on the rear of my scoot...


Luckymann77
 
#10 ·
I had gotten off some back roads between Lowell and Stanley (small rural towns south of Charlotte NC). I turned right onto a 4 lane road with no middle turn lane because it would drop off into another empty twisty road. At first I was in the right lane for a while but merged left because I needed to go straight. No sooner did I complete my lane change, a cage crossed the double yellow to drive the wrong side of the road around stopped traffic in his lane. Luckily I was directly center of the lane and had room to miss him. It wasn't until I passed through the next intersection did I process the event.
 
#11 ·
Must have been March 14th, when that young woman waited until I was a few feet from her to pull a left turn in front of me. No time to brake, swerve, or even roll off the throttle. I have my poor little Honda all repaired, new forks and exhaust headers, turn signals, brake handle, paint touch up, tool bag repair. Now I'm just waiting for my broken ankle to heal, my fibula is already good to go, three more weeks on the ankle. Lucky I wasn't killed, after my wild somersault over the car. Car was totaled, by the way. :)
 
#12 ·
My close call was last year in July. My wife and I were headed through town at slow speeds when I turned left through a light. As I began to accelerate (still only going about 20 mph) I catch a glimpse of a small pickup headed for me from the left. I locked, he hit my front left side, threw me to the right and my wife over my back, through the windscreen and over the hood of his truck. He had tried to shoot the gap between two vehicles which were sitting still. He intended to go across all lanes into a gas station but didn't see us despite our orange shirts.

We were pretty banged up but nothing broken. While in the ER with my wife I thought "that was probably her last ride" but as soon as someone asked her she said "Nope. We knew there were risk when we started. We have gone places and met people we would never have enjoyed had it not been for riding." Then she looked at me and said "Looks like we are going to need a new bike"

I will say when going through similar situations like that with traffic all around I am even more cautious than before. I don't ride scared as I believe that is a recipe for disaster. But even more than before I expect people to pull out.
 
#14 ·
Mine was unfortunately also not a 'close call.' I came over a crest into a corner covered in gravel in mid April the result of which was me low-siding. Two broken ribs, two broken bones in my shoulder, road rash on my left elbow and left hip was the worst of it. My Vaquero needed a new left saddlebag, outer and inner fairing and the tank is being replaced along with the left crash bar and highway peg. I was able to slow down quite a bit fortunately. Should be riding again in a month or so hopefully. Ride safe!
 
#15 ·
A driver (so happened to be a woman), decided at the last moment she wasn't going to blast through a yellow and started emergency braking. Guy behind her started braking as well (I could see he was wobbling his car as he was braking possibly looking for a way out and stopped just centimeters behind her bumper). I think I was changing lanes then and went hard on the brakes as well. Locked up the rear and felt it flickr like a piece of paper. I passed the 2nd car and tapped it with my right saddlebag, stopping at the level of his front and her rear bumpers.

There were other situations that happened before and I've taken lessons home, but this one truly gave me something to think about.
 
#16 ·
The only really close call I've had was while driving a CAGE and almost running over a motorcyclist! I'll never forget that and it happened several years ago before I started biking again.

A lot of cars have blind spots on the right side. Even if you look in your rear view mirror and glance over your shoulder, there's still a possibility a motorcyclist may be rapidly overtaking your vehicle around the right side if there's an open lane there, and you'll miss him. In heavy, fast moving traffic, that's just what happened. I attempted to merge into a right lane at the same time a sport biker was quickly going around me and passing to the right. Once I determined that everything was clear, I nearly ran him over! And it was completely my fault! We didn't collide thanks to his quick reaction, but it scared us both for different reasons. And we BOTH learned from that.

Motorcycles are hard to see in some circumstances. Period. It doesn't help when their driver is too quick on the trigger either. One split second they're not there, the next they are.

I'll never forgot that and think of it every time I'm near to or adjacent a vehicle.
 
#18 ·
Was dating this girl ,thought she was "THE ONE". Was about to ask her "THE QUESTION". When she asked when was I going to sell the bike?


That was a close call.
 
#19 ·
Hehehe.

"If you had to choose between your wife or a new bike; what color would it be?"
 
#22 ·
My close call was on a 2 lane road right out side of a small town (55 mph). I was riding with my wife and came around a curve into a long straight stretch. Guy at a ma and pa's type garage was sitting on the side of the road, had plenty of time to see me as I thought he did. Well he did not. He pulled out at the last minute and me being the young and dumb kid with the attitude of "gas will get you out of trouble", laid the gas down on my 07 Mean Streak and ran the yellow line between that car and an on coming full size Chevy Pick Up. Looking back i probably should have got on the brake and hoped for the best because I am sure hitting the truck head on would probably hurt worse than hitting a car in the rear while slowing down.
 
#23 ·
I saw this thread before this past Saturday. No close calls stuck out in my mind. Surely there has been at least one in 25 years? Well, I guess all that recollecting and coming up with nothing was an omen. Saturday morning arrived and my fate was almost dictated by Bambi.

I was on a two hour ride to meet my riding buddy. It is 4 lane rural highway the whole way except for the 5 mile section of highway off the 4 lane that leads to the little burg where we always meet. I ride the road a LOT. I relish in the safety it provides. Being rural, it is a very quiet with regard to fellow motorists. 2 lane Illinois hwy 61 T's off the 4 lane and goes through a little town called Augusta. It offers a change of scenery so Saturday I decided to peel off and take it.

On 2 lane roads, I think more about oncoming traffic veering into my lane more than something coming into my path perpendicularly. I was putzing along 55mph just a few miles down hwy 61. I had my left hand setting on my tank enjoying the cruise. Before I could get scared and crap my pants, a deer appeared ahead of me. He/she/it came from the right side of the road. I don't recall the terrain being dense with trees or brush etc. All I know is I see a deer coming across my path. Remember, I'm one handed (doh!!). My reaction was to flick my right bar to veer right just a little bit to add a bit of cushion so as to make extra sure I missed the hooved beast LOL! As I said, happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to panic or crap or anything but react with a flick of my bar. I guess I subconsciously calculated the rate at which the deer was crossing my path, realized I was going to miss it and calmly veered right. It was dark brown. I'm sure it had spots. I'm pretty sure once it saw me coming it kicked it into high gear because I remember its little legs shittin' and gettin'! I remember seeing fear in its eyes. As my front wheel cross the path it had taken, it was 2, maybe 3 feet from me.

Damn, where did THAT come from I thought to myself. Never had I had a call that close with a deer. Several times I have seen them cross the road as close as 20-30 yards ahead of me in all the miles I've ridden. The law of averages catches up eventually!
 
#24 ·
June 2011 just got my license - practicing on a newly paved country road that may see 15 cars on a good day. I'm going about 25 - 30 mph around a long swiping left turning curve. The field grass was no more than 14 inches high for as far as you could see ahead on both sides. In a flash I could count the eyebrows on the deer that was next to me on my left side. By the time I registered what I was seeing, it leaped in front and somewhat over me. I literally had no time to panic (given a couple more seconds I surly would have)! I reflected and justified the situation later as, "A miss is as good as a mile". But to this day, I don't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about deer!


Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App
 
#25 ·
I have had two. The first one I was riding down a four lane road. I scan ahead and see a car at the next intersection. I am doing 45mph (speed limit 40) but start slowing down. Sure enough they pull out. Brake, brake and clutch, back tire locks up and starts to go sideways. I let off that brake and it gets back in line and I have slowed down enough to avoid hitting their back end.

Another one, I was riding to meet up with the Christian Motorcycle Association for a ride (a friend was a member). As I pull into a grocery store parking lot where they are meeting, a mini van goes across my path. I had already laid a friends bike down that day (with very minimal damage), so I was already on edge. Slowed down enough to avoid them.
 
#26 ·
So far the closest run-in I've had was almost taking a pigeon to the head. I saw it out of my right peripheral vision and ducked as fast as I could. Fortunately it all happened so fast that I didn't have time to do anything stupid with the bike.
 
#27 ·
Nothing worst than getting your butt puckered, I hate suicide lanes, having a car in it waiting to turn, then seeing another car flying up to a stop sign, hoping like heck he's going to stop, all while, letting off gas and covering brakes
 
#28 ·
Ironic that this is a current thread and I hit a bird yesterday morning. Hit my lower fairing, rolled up my leg, and off my shoulder. Needless to say there was a mess to clean on the bike and me.
 
#29 ·
My closest call ever was on the highway. Three lanes in each direction. I was cruising along at 70-75 mph and everything was just lovely. I was coming up to an on ramp and noticed there were a few cars getting on the highway so I merged into the middle lane. I was side by side with a car on my left who's kids were plastered to the windows looking at me and the bike (which I think saved me) and while the cars were getting on the highway we came up on a tractor trailer that was going rather slow. The merging cars decided they were going to pass the truck and moved into my lane. The one car almost pinned me between him and the car with the kids. I think the mother of the kids was just telling the kids to sit down when she saw what was going on and moved onto the shoulder to allow me some room. I beat the hell out of the other car's driver's window (yes he was that close) just before I moved over. After the whole ordeal was through I made my way to the next exit so I could check my pants for skid marks at the McDonald's there. The lady and her kids followed me there to ask if I was ok. After telling her I was fine, just a bit shaken up, I thanked her for her quick reaction and bought her and her kids lunch. I think she was more pissed at the other driver than I was. I was just thankful to be alive at that point.
 
#30 ·
Last Summer I was running about 60 down a 2 lane remote highway. Only me to be seen in any direction. I see three turkey buzzards ahead of me in my lane feeding on road kill. I'm about 1/4 mile away. I don't slow down ... keep thinking ... surely they'll see me and fly. They did fly at the very last minute. They were really close ... within a foot or so of my head ... those things weigh about 20 lbs. It would have hurt like h**l if I had hit one. Now I slow down and cover the front brake for things like that. Not very exciting, after reading the above posts ... I learned some things reading them. Thanks .....Old
 
#31 ·
Another deer story; A couple weeks ago near Crater Lake it was just starting to rain after miles of sunshine. I had the dark glasses on and with the rain, shield down thus vis through the wet windshield not good. I looked down for a second then upon looking up the deer had just past in front of me. But there's usually always more than one, I missed the second deer by inches. this would have ruined my entire day. My riding buddy behind me was screeming at me.
 
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