Did most of my riding in the late '70s. I tell people that you would occasionally see stupidity on the road then, now it is almost a given. Whether it's distraction, inattention, or just more congested roads, I think it is much more dangerous now.

My 3 point theory as to why box jockeys pull out in front of cycles:

1. Bikes are more difficult to see.

2. I think many people's brains are conditioned to look for objects that resemble cars/trucks. They may visually pick up a bike but it doesn't register.

3. And this is the one that really used to piss me off- I have had drivers look right at me and pull out anyway. Maybe it's an attitude that a biker can't afford a collision regardless of who's at fault.

#3 is related to #2. They look in your direction, but they don't SEE you. They are conditioned to recognize objects and you are not the object they are expecting to be there, so they don't "see" you.

I can’t ride since my stroke….I miss it.

It's been a while now but 2 separate times I had the misfortune of cars pulling out from my right, one from a parking lot one from a side street. The similarity was both were elderly men, mid day, and both times I was on practically new BMWs which were totaled. Neither men were DUI and it was before cell phones, they sim[ply said they didn't see me, in spite of my headlight. I had to spend one day in the hospital after the second one.
More recently I've been noticing a lot of distracted drivers doing things like drifting across into my lane before looking up and jerking back. It seems most people anymore turn right on red if they think you can slow down enough not to hit them.

Being from the Midwest, and I bet Yooper can get this, I personally think the worst time to ride a motorcycle around here is in the first part of the spring. People pretty much went about 3 months w/o a motorcycle on the road and are not used to looking at/for them.

One of my close calls I was riding down the street when a car stopped for the stop sign in a cross street. The lady behind the wheel and I made eye contact. I thought good she saw me. Nope. Pulled right out in front of me. Must had looked right through me. I am pretty sure she heard me cussing her out through my helmet and her rolled up windows.

It isn't just the bikers who need to watch out. I commented to the wife yesterday when we were out riding that drivers are getting worse.

I was signaling to turn left at a traffic light on a 2 lane intersection, and the car coming toward me stopped to let me go (on a circular green). She was totally perplexed when I didn't just go ahead and go. Did I mention she was turning right at the intersection?

I turned to my wife and said "Can you imagine what Jimmy Gatwood would've said to her back in driver's ed for doing that?" Coach Gatwood was the HS offensive line coach when he wasn't teaching driver's ed, and he brought his colorful language to the car with him when teaching driving skills...

357fuzz is correct. And in the Yoop, it can be almost 6 months of no bikes. And another Yoop problem in spring is the remains of all the sand left on the roads from being spread on the the snow. It can be slick as ball bearings!

My motorcycling enjoyment ended on the side of a white Buick. She did a left in front of me and I hit her hard. The next thing I remember was laying in the road with a LEO holding my head. I must have been out for 5-10 minutes. I lucked out and only had a badly bruised leg and cut up right hand. Today that would have killed me.

A week after the bike was repaired, it was stolen. I was happy to cash the insurance check and move on.
Mike

One of the reasons I sold the Harley earlier this year.
That and knee surgery coming up.

Situations like that are why I've transitioned more towards enduro and trail riding this summer. Now I just have to deal with the masses of illegals who take their 16 children to the moto parks and let them all drive shitty 4 wheelers with no skill or gear.

Passed a motorcycle vs. Truck accident just an hour ago. Rider was banged up but walking around. Bike was totally destroyed

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I can’t ride since my stroke….I miss it.

Same here.

As much as I don't want to, I'm thinking I may be ready to give up the motorcycle.

This VFR is THE bike I wanted, for a very long time, and I'm reluctant to re-home it. I love the sound, the power, the Dark Candy Red color. I love being out on it, though I don't get to ride often.

I'll miss the bike, but I won't miss the extra challenges of being out there amongst the other drivers. Driving around last weekend, I ran over (straddled) a chunk of 4x4 post on the road. I cringed a good bit, knowing the car is so much lower to the ground than my truck. There was no thump so all was well, but I wondered how long it would take for someone to run right over it, and how terrible it would be for a motorcyclist.

I've got a very good friend who wants this bike, so I know I can go visit it just about whenever I want.

ATGATT.
Head on a swivel.
I cover both the clutch and the brakes.

I used to have a sticker on the top of my triple clamp that said "Let's be careful out there." (a phrase borrowed from Hill Street Blues) to remind me whenever I started the engine.

Late one night in 1989 I was riding my Sportster to return a VCR tape and was T-boned by a kid in a car. I flipped over the handlebars and landed flat on my back in the road ahead. My right leg was seriously damaged. I spent a month in the hospital and 4 more abed at home, but I'm still walking on the repaired leg and knee. The bike was repaired and sold (last I heard it was bought by a dealer in The Netherlands), but I gave up riding after that--my knee does not bend enough to ride comfortably.

flashguy

I am a certified rider coach for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and coach new riders/those who want to ride but never have. One of the main things we discuss is risk offset - keeping the risk level below that of your skill level. We also discuss 2-4-12 second lead times, following distances, etc. to help them "see" more of what is going on.

It takes experience & maturity to be a good rider, neither of which necessarily come with age. Even then you can't offset every possibility but you have more control over a lot of factors that play into an accident than you might think. Still, it is a very risky hobby and not for everyone.

And yes people can (and do) look right at you and not see you. We refer to it as unintentional blindness (failing to see something that is plainly visible).

~~~Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive.~~~

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:
Been riding since I was in single digit age. I commute to work on two wheels every day that I can.
I always ride like everyone is sincerely trying to kill me.
I never have the ROW, and I’m invisible.
I play a constant game of “what if” as I ride.
And I learned to just “let it go” while behind the wheel of a big rig, believe it or not. If I let every driver’s error around me get my BP up, I’d have stroked out a long time ago.
Plus, on a bike, you’re never gonna win that fight with a vehicle that outweighs you by several orders of magnitude.
I also understand that fairly often, it’s ME being inattentive or complacent that causes near misses. No one is a perfect driver.
Plenty of idiots, both part time and full time, on any number of wheels.

Well stated hudr, I too have been riding almost 60 years. I learned to ride in SoCal, where dipshits abound. Still, even in Montana, I am constantly aware of dumbass, clueless and careless car drivers... but never allow myself to be surprised.
aileron

quote:

And yes people can (and do) look right at you and not see you. We refer to it as unintentional blindness (failing to see something that is plainly visible).

Motorcycle accident Lawyers like to "feast" on those stupid people.