Ride Safe Tip #2 - "Too Close For Comfort"
It’s so un-nerving to see some jerk-wad yoyo tailgating a biker. I can barely handle it when I look into my rear view mirror and see nothing but grill! It’s bad enough when I’m caging, but 100 times worse when I’m on my bike. I know that you know the feeling.
I’ve heard stories about bikers slowing down to get along side the perpetrator, then take a mirror off with their whip. Some have told about carrying a little sack of ball bearings or pennies on their bike, and dropping a few when somebody gets too close. Now I’ve never done anything like that, and I sure don’t recommend it because of the possibility of really getting someone hurt or killed. BUT! I have to admit, there have been times when I wish I had a bucket full to drop. Aaarrrgghhh!!!!
Anyway, what I really wanted to talk about here, is the danger of bikers following too close to cars.
Not long after I started selling motorcycles, a guy bought a bike from me and had an incident on the freeway that sent him to the emergency room. I felt terrible about it, and there may have been a possibility that this was avoidable.
Apparently the car in front of him tried to straddle a board in the road, and one of the car tires hit it. The board was splintered, and flew up to hit my customer in the leg. Yep, it was as bad as it sounds. Luckily he didn’t go down, but he did have to get the splintered board cut out of his leg and get stitched up.
Who knows what’s lurking on the road just beyond our visibility. There could be pieces of semi-truck tires, or a huge pot hole. My ‘potnuh’ never saw it coming!
We’ve all had close calls no doubt, but in this case, he admitted riding close enough to the car in front that he couldn’t see but just a few feet in front of him. At 70 mph, it doesn’t take long to cover a few feet.
When I’m in traffic, whenever possible, I not only like to keep plenty of room between me and the vehicle behind me, but also the one in front of me. Of course we know that if a space opens up, somebody will take the opportunity to plug a car into it.
For safe riding’s sake, it’s important to see the road ahead. This may provide us an escape route. If nothing else, we’ll have the option of more reaction time.
If/when I get too tightly surrounded, I usually twist it on enough to get out ahead of the crowd, or back off and let the stampede get ahead of me. Then I maintain my own spot on the open road for as long as I can.
Hope this helps. Ride Safe!
Comment
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Comment by BBNX on April 2, 2012 at 2:47pm -
Anne, you've hit on a few excellent points. One in particular gets my blood boiling every time..... It is absolutely fucking RIDICULOUS to ride a 800lb bike at road speed, in traffic withOUT the proper attire. Makes me sick to see people riding bikes in t-shirts, shorts, sandals, tennis shoes, etc. And LOTS of times these same morons are wearing a full faced helmet AND gloves. WTF??? Seriously, What The FUCK? A member of a club I rode with some time back laid his bike down wearing a t-shirt and shorts. His skin liquified. This was years ago and to this day he looks like a burn victim, only worse.
I am also very cautious when any vehicle is entering the road in front of me OR making a turn from a left turn lane across my path. I often will back off the throttle OR gun the throttle to get their attention. Eye contact is the key.
We are lucky here in that it's poured multiple times and the roads are clear of sand and gravel. Still a good idea to slow down though.
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Comment by LittleSisterWA (AnneH) on April 2, 2012 at 2:05pm -
I was at my physical therapist the other day and the fellas were talking about m/c accidents they've had to respond to on our local back roads. They were some true horror stories. One gal was a passenger wearing tennies, shorts & a leather jacket. They never did find her shoes. We have a curvey, steep road that after the last curve ends goes into a straightaway. Seems the guy 'hit' the throttle, came around the last curve, and hit a deer. The bike cut the deer in half. The medic says there are a lot of accidents on that road cause the guys like to go full throttle at the top like that. If they guy had followed your tip, he & his gal friend probably wouldn't have ended up sprawled all over the road.
I've made it a practice to always watch cars trying to enter the roadway in front of me. I keep my eye on them until I pass them. Sometimes, I even back off my throttle if they look like they're gonna try to jump it. So far it's worked for me.
This is also the time of year there is a lot of gravel in those curves. When turning, I slow it up enough so I can ride thru w/o sliding through.
Thanks for the tips! Keep 'em rolling!!
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Comment by BranDEE on April 2, 2012 at 10:05am -
Vehicles are a threat to "us" in a variety of different ways. Geno's blog describes one. We need to be aware at all times. Thanks for posting!
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Comment by Caryle Smith on April 2, 2012 at 8:57am
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In California it is 'share the road' and I do see cagers annoyed with that. Remember, they are the individuals who show no courtesy to other cagers cuz, of course, it is their road - they own it. During the rainy season here, cars herd together anyway and when I am in a vehicle or on a bike staying far from the maddening crowd will increase your life expectancy. They are sheeple at times, not wanting anyone to get in front of them and the race is on as their hurried group.
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Comment by Venus on April 1, 2012 at 4:45pm -
I'm the same way, always trying to increase the "buffer zone" around me. And you are right. At 70, "situations" roll up in a hurry.
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Comment by BBNX on April 1, 2012 at 4:26pm
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Great advice Geno!
The guy you noted is fortunate he didn't lay the bike down. Sounds like our riding styles are similar. I tend to get ahead of the crowd if possible.
Thanks for your contribution! And for any of our members that don't know, Geno has a kick ass blog of his own! Check it out at MC Road Trip!
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Comment by Julia Bennett-Burch on April 1, 2012 at 11:31am -
You make some very good points about safety. One thing my Daddy used to say regarding being on the highways and in the city is this "You gotta look extra because they may not be looking at all and so it's up to you to do the safe driving" This may not be fair or keep you safe 100% of the time, but it has helped me avoid a lot of accidents because I "looked extra" and avoided something someone else was responsible for, but didn't do.
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