Two riders were killed in my area recently. The dreaded left turn in front of you that you can't miss. What do you guys do to avoid it? I brake and just assume everyone is going to turn left in front of me.
I suppose some cases are unavoidable but it seems to be the major cause of accidents. They literally don't see us. What can we do to change that?
hi,
well, 4 wheelers are enclosed in their coocoon, they don't see us cause they're busy texting,
or their minds are drifting somewhere else beside the happannings on the road.
therefore, it's our responsibility to get in to their minds to predict the next move, in order to stay alive,
so, ride as the road detects you, don't overtake in high speed,
don't ride along side the cars jammed in traffic, as they always try to escape to the left without signaling,
defently use the horn several times, use high beam on/off also, (front light on, all year long) make all needed procuations to let them know you're there.
always expect the worse and stay alert- its caos out there.
The power of three. Over 30 years ago when Honda 750-4s and Kawasaki 750 ninja's (widow makers, I rode some of them they earned that name the hard way) four wheeler's always pulled out in front of you, ALWAYS! A few years ago when my youngest was in the last semester of college, I bought a used basic Nomad. And the pattern continued until I put a light bar on the Nomad. Suddenly, the pull out rate dropped to about the same as the pull out rate in my truck.
On the Nomad the difference was dramatic. From the first ride with the light bar there was a noticeable difference.
Since then I have owned 3 bikes. A Voyager and a Heritage Soft Tail with the power of three and a Vulcan 900 without. The pull out rate on the 900 was much higher. I only owned the 900 for a short time but the difference was very noticeable.
Riding with awareness and always assume cagers won't see you and will violate your right of way. It is the most common accident. If you watch motorcycle crash videos on youtube the majority are cars turning left. I have the Motorman DVDs and watch them every once in a while to keep my memory fresh. Here are two of his tips:
Put a light bar up front; it will make a big difference.
Wear a light colored helmet or a light colored jacket; black blends into the background too easily.
People don't have to be texting or preoccupied to miss us.
Reflected light is caught by our eyes; but all that information is processed by our brain. And our brain very good at discarding information that it subconsciously determines is irrelevant.
My buddy has what looks like a chrome finish on his helmet with a translucent blue top coat and when the sun or headlights hit it, it looks to be the same color as the blue light from a police car. The height combined with the color has a tendency to get people attention out of their phones and back on the road if only briefly. I also always notice bikes with headlight modulators more quickly than without.
I doubt any of these things would have saved me, as the girl who nailed me didn't even glance at anything except the green traffic light after she looked up from her phone. She would have pulled out in front of a semi, a train, or a police car.
The light bar does help at times. Another thing to remember is that the second you get on the bike you become invisible to everyone until you get off the bike. A statement I've made more than once, if they can't see me in a full size pickup, how the heck do you think they'll see me on a bike?
People being allowed to drive that have no business (or ability) trying to do so. Getting a license in this country is way, WAY too easy and keeping it after trying time and time again to prove to the DMV you don't have the skill is way too easy as well.
Agree with the addition of spots to be seen. The bigger the triangle they make with the headlight, the more likely you are to be noticed.
A headlight modulator is helpful, too. There are some idiots that think that a light flashing twice a second continuously is an invitation for them to go, but I have far less folks turning in front of me with the modulator on than without.
A couple of months ago, I had a school bus turn in front of me at the same intersection that a car had the day before. Only 2 times this year.
I see people post that kind of hyperbole all the time and I do understand the frustration that causes it. BUT......
The OVERWHELMING majority of people on the road DO NOT want to get into any kind of accident and would be emotionally devastated if something they did or didn't do resulted in a death.
Most drivers on the road are reasonably attentive and have adequate driving skills.
It would be better if more people were HIGHLY attentive and HIGHLY skilled; but it is what it is.
If "everyone were out to kill you" as so many motorcyclists like to express; none of us would last a thousand miles.
It probably won't happen without legislating a more thorough licensing procedure; but to improve the safety of our roads (for everyone) we need to focus on real problems, texting, excessive speed, aggressive driving.
We, as motorcyclists; also need to admit that our choices and actions play a HUGE role in what happens to us.
Plain and simple; we are hard to see.
If we don't choose visually conspicuous colors; practice and refine our skills and ride highly aware of our surroundings.
Maybe it's us that's "out to kill ourselves".
Scott
P.S. Not trying to single you out.
A lot of people post those kinds of statements and you're welcome to feel how you like. I just think it's bad advice for the question the OP asked.
What I ment is that all car's,truck's,semi's, some animals, if involved with a bike, at most speeds. Will at best make for a bad day. Hell a bee or bird to the face or under one's helmet at speed is very un-nerving to say the least.
The cages may not be "out to Kill you" but they will or most likely will mess you up good, for good.
All motorcyclist should ride with this in mind at all times. Your fault there fault "YOU LOSE"
Yes most motorist are aware and care to not get into an accident.
There is an alarming % of drivers who do not.
If they cared they would not text/talk/loud radio/etc.
Yes there are a % motorcyclist and cager's that are a bunch of As- h-ls, and ride way to aggressive.
I believe the OP and everyone needs to be aware at all times, and prepare for the worst.
I always assumed (foolish, I know) that people understand when I state they are out to kill you, its a statement to ride that way, not a actual call on the intentions of the drivers.
That said, I think you're right, we have enough us vs them BS going around it'd probably be best we all start being more clear about these statements. If we keep talking hatefully about cagers and always looking down on them why should they work with us on legislation or driving habits that better keep us alive?
On multilane in-town roads I ride in the right lane, try to ride to the rear of a cage as a marker in their left lane with enough clearance so that if that cager pulls into my lane without warning there won't be a crash, and far enough to the rear so that if they use their right mirror they can see me. Headlight modulator may help (I don't have one) but with local shops very near the roadway and the local building color scheme trending to bright colors along with some flashing signs that makes it more difficult for drivers pick out and see bikers from the surroundings. I ride as though no one can see me, don't execute stupid or provocative maneuvers, yet I don't believe that most cagers have vendettas against bikers.
On multilane in-town roads, I try to ride to the rear of a cage as a marker in their left lane with enough clearance and far enough to the rear so that if they use their right mirror they can see me.
Just make sure you are looking over the top of them if they are making a right turn and another vehicle decides to join into the flow as that original cage gets out of the flow and makes the turn.
Happened today, the cage made a right turn, the new cage made their right turn into the flow from the parking lot and zipped across all 3 lanes straight over to the left turn lane.
They cant see you at all back there when hiding behind another cage
That's kinda what hyperbole means.
"exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally."
People say it to make a point; and yes, I do understand that point.
Riding a motorcycle is always risky business; and more-so when sharing the road with 2 ton autos; piloted by comfortable, insulated from the risk, drivers.
There just isn't much for a new rider to take away from it.
The OP isn't a new rider; but you can bet there's one reading this thread.
If a new rider doesn't understand the inherent risk in riding; he's not going to parse the meaning out of hyperbole.
If he's really trying to understand how to mitigate the risk. Then he already gets the point and will benefit the most from specific technique advice.
Some-one turning left in front of you is one of the most dangerous situations because it gives you very little time to observe and/or react.
But, most interaction with cagers is a lot less "instant".
One of the best things I could advise is to start observing patterns in drivers. What they drive, color and age of car, age and gender of driver; are they alone, how close are they to the car in front of them. What they're wearing, what time of day and day of week. What part of town and what type of road are you on, is the speed limit going to increase/decrease soon.
After a while you develop a marginally reliable intuition about drivers. You know when they're going to change lanes before they do; you know when to hit the gas and get a good distance ahead or hit the brakes and get a good distance behind.
I think it creates a confidence that's necessary to avoid turning a low risk situation into a high risk situation out of fear.
Now, believe me there's been times when I cursed and called cagers just about every name in the book for being so F-ing stupid!
I just think I'm (and probably most people) a better rider when I'm calm and making confident decisions.
Since you started this thread there has been another fatality from the left turn in MO. Many here know of Don Myers and his custom bars for the Vaquero. Unfortunately there will be no more.
That's awful. I read an article on the crash but it didn't state whether or not he was wearing a helmet, does anyone know? I've only had one close call personally and it was a car headed toward me that turned left in front of me. It wasn't a lock it up and lay it down situation, but scary non the less. Gave me first hand experience regarding the vanity of a single front disc vs. the function of two on a heavy bike.
I totally agree with the idea that bright lights on a bike are very effective to drawing attention. Loud pipes are not all that helpful IMO. Just having some cheap led's on during my 5k km ride to the west coast in 2015 made a difference I believe.
One thing I want to add to this post....8 months after the last addition....is the benefit of LED lights at night. I'm talking about the set that shines on the engine and bounces off the chrome. I saw a video on cruisercustomizing.com and the girl doing the install was asked "what the benefit was of LED lights" and her reply was more or less that it was BAD ASS!!!!
My belief has always been that if it's something that makes you stand out from the crowd, then you get noticed by a few more people. If someone notices the blue lights around your engine and think "that's pretty cool" or even "that looks stupid", then you've MADE that person notice you and they now know that you're there and are less likely to hit you. To me it's all about doing what I can do to get as many people around me to see me first. That way I have a smaller chunk of the cages out there that I have to avoid.
If I had unlimited funds, I would do the head light and tail light modulators, LED headlights for the extra brightness, spot lights, LED engine lights, hell even keeping your chrome shiny might make a difference. And then the WOLO horns and/or loud exhaust.
Sometimes, there is nothing you can do. Some idiot, off duty fireman, with inadequate insurance is determined to kill your minor daughter as she and a friend are on their way to choir practice at church. The friend has a concussion and some other injuries, but no broken bones and no severe injuries. My daughter got flown to Las Vegas with a broken right leg and both forearms broken. She had surgery on the leg Friday, right arm Sunday and more severely broken left arm today. She will set off the scanners for the rest of her life. She will recover, but it will be months.
Review your policies. What you have is not enough. Stupid driver has only $50,000 liability, which goes nowhere in a trauma center. I have $100,000 underinsured motorist coverage, which is not enough.
That's very unnerving, the concept of under insured motorist coverage makes no sense to me, if someone can't/won't carry enough insurance then I have to pick up the tab for their legally allowed irresponsibility? The industry is broken and offers coverage with no association regarding what repairing a person can actually cost. Why someone would be allowed to operate anything heavier than a Schwinn on public road with only $50K worth of liability insurance is beyond me, in most parts of the country that'll cover the first 10-15 minutes in a trauma ward, not including the helicopter ride there!
This discussion has certainly made me want to jump in with my opinions. First let me say that fifteen years ago I was tboned in an intersection while riding a Gwing. Put me through the windshield and twelve days in the hospital. So, the driver stated he didn't see me of course jumping a red didn't seem to be a real concern. I was wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans and of course black helmet. I only just started riding again this year I have a vest that is fluorescent orange and my helmet has three reflective stripes. I have been told that the vest is very visible and had an RCMP constable want to know where I bought it so he could get one for himself. As stated before being visible is a high priority but will not cure the idiots that don't pay attention to their driving. We as motorcyclists have to be very defensive in our driving as 70% of the other drivers are not. Just one added comment I have sta in an office overlooking a very busy intersection for and hour or so and the number of people stopped at the light playing with phones, gps and kids in the back seat just phenomenal.
Stay visible and drive defensibly !
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