I done went and dropped my bike on a wet road right at dusk last night when some A-hole swapped lanes and cut in front of me coming up to a red light at a busy intersection.


It had just rained enough to make the road real slick so I was already braking and slowing down and being extra careful to leave a big gap between me and the car in front of me as we came up to the red light...The cager who cut me off jumped in the gap which didn't leave me enough room to stop safely on the wet road so down I went. I slid down the road on my butt and elbows while my motorcycle spun around, flipped over, and ended up in the oncoming traffic lane. Of course the A-hole didn't even look back.


Several good folks stopped to make sure I was OK and helped me pick up my bike...I made sure it was safe to ride and it cranked right up so I was able to ride it on home. Got a little road-rash on both elbows and a nasty bruise on my left thigh where the bike fell on it, and I was a little sore this morning. It looks like just minor damage to my Harley...some road rash on the primary cover and derby, engine guard, mirrors, left foot peg and highway peg, lower exhaust pipe, trashed both rear turn signal lights and tore up the sissy bar backrest. New lights on order and we should be RTG for the Blues Festival and Motorcycle Show in Freeport next weekend...

 

[QUOTE=skinman13;11682841][B]Of course the A-hole didn't even look back.
Why should they, they didn't crash! And the seldom will look look back. the ones that do, will only look to laugh at your pain. After all, it's all about them. Not you.

Seriously, glad you're okay!

 

Wish you could of had the presence of mind (I know, a little difficult in that moment) to get the tag. Sucks, bro. At least you're okay.

 

Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to do anything about this situation even if you did.

 

Really? The cage choked the lane coming to a red light, in bad weather. If there was a witness I would think that would constitute grounds for at least civil action, if not criminal. At least here in FL. anyways.

 

I doubt even in FL there is a code for "choking the lane coming to a red light." It's just one of those shitty situations that we have to deal with. If you were in a cage you would have applied maximum braking and with ABS you would have been fine. On our bikes, it doesn't work that way. Part of being aware of your surroundings means anticipating the guy in the lane next to you cutting in front of you. We have to look out for ourselves out there.

 

It happened so fast that all I know is that it was a gold colored import. If the road had been dry, I would have had plenty of room to jump on both brakes and safely stop but with the freshly wet road, that wasn't gonna happen. As it was, it was lay it down or run into the rear of the A-hole...I was already braking and skidding so I decided going on down was the best option.

It was surreal watching my motorcycle spinning past me on its left side and then flip over on the right side as I was sliding feet first on my butt toward the rear of the A-hole's car. I remember thinking that I hope that nobody hits it...

One of the guys who stopped to help was more pissed off at the cager than I was...He said he was a rider and someone had done the same thing to him a few days earlier.

 

Sucks man. We all fear that exact situation. It always happens fast.

 

It is not illegal to change lanes at or in an intersection here in Texas as long as you signal...this was just some irresponsible cager who was in a hurry and probably did not realize...or care...that a motorcycle cannot stop that fast, especially on a wet road. If I had hit the rear of that car, then I would have been at fault even though it was the cager changing lanes that created the dangerous situation and not my speed...

 

Exactly right. And the only thing you can do is be prepared for cagers to be terrible drivers. Trust me, here in Austin I get plenty of practice every single day.