No sugar coating.
Account Suspended
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 898
Likes: 1
RE: No sugar coating.
Can't say I completely agree with the rearending, but I have had thepickup that was previously infront of me get hit. Beause I was paying attention I was able to move. Fortunately, I didn't have the bike in neutral. The driver that got hit saw it coming also and hoped I would move. His big ol' F-350 took the hit from the Accord much better than my bike would have. The Ford emblem was knocked off his receiver hitch. He Honda didn't fairquite as well. Among other things, the hitch ripped through the valve cover.
I agree a lot of bike accidents are caused by the rider. My boss scared me yesterday when he took a blind corner way to fast. We had been going the other way on the corner about an hour earlier and I noticed a bunch of mud and dirt in the other lane due to truck traffic. There is also a big sign warning about truck traffic. I don't know how he managed to get lucky enough to miss it other than he is a rookie street rider and let the bike drift wide. It's a spot where trucks make a right turn on to a left curve so the outside edge of the road wasn't mucked up. He ended up making a hard left on the white stripe. I talked to him about it when we got back to the office. He's a good guy that knows he's a rookie and listens to what I tell him. We've ridden together quite abit.
I also agree that every cager is out there for the sole purpose of causing my demise. If you don't ride with that thought, you get squished.
I agree a lot of bike accidents are caused by the rider. My boss scared me yesterday when he took a blind corner way to fast. We had been going the other way on the corner about an hour earlier and I noticed a bunch of mud and dirt in the other lane due to truck traffic. There is also a big sign warning about truck traffic. I don't know how he managed to get lucky enough to miss it other than he is a rookie street rider and let the bike drift wide. It's a spot where trucks make a right turn on to a left curve so the outside edge of the road wasn't mucked up. He ended up making a hard left on the white stripe. I talked to him about it when we got back to the office. He's a good guy that knows he's a rookie and listens to what I tell him. We've ridden together quite abit.
I also agree that every cager is out there for the sole purpose of causing my demise. If you don't ride with that thought, you get squished.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 8,423
Likes: 2
From: Ellenwood, GA - The Ghetto Part
RE: No sugar coating.
ORIGINAL: Yellotang
Yes, and I think what he is saying is, we have the choice to wear gear that is colorful enough, with flashing lights on then enough to be seen. And to top it all off what I really really really believe he is saying is, no matter what, we are the ones that have to watch out for these situations in all circumstances! The other drives are not going to be looking out for us period! And by accepting this fact, we will be more dilligant out there on the road.
In other words, we need to get our heads out of our a$$es when we ride!
ORIGINAL: SgtThump
I'm not following... If I'm sitting at a light and get rear ended by a car, how is that my fault? I'm clearly missing something... If he's insinuating that you should be alert enough to pull away when you see the car coming up, that's just stupid.
ORIGINAL: Yellotang
..."I believe that every crash involving a motorcycle is the fault of the motorcyclist, including those in which the bike is rear ended when stopped."...
..."I believe that every crash involving a motorcycle is the fault of the motorcyclist, including those in which the bike is rear ended when stopped."...
In other words, we need to get our heads out of our a$$es when we ride!
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 891
Likes: 1
From:
RE: No sugar coating.
The truth is really ugly sometimes. And, there is a lot of truth in this thread. A bike stops faster than world class cars, which stop much faster than anything else out on the road. Since I gave up driving a standard small car, I have not been hit from the rear. The bigger the vehicle that you drive, the less often you will be read-ended. You are not just operating your vehicle, but every vehicle behind you when the braking begins.
As for the other drivers out on the road, I remember that my eye doctor rides a bike. He says it scares him to death when he sees one of his practically blind patients on the road!
As for the other drivers out on the road, I remember that my eye doctor rides a bike. He says it scares him to death when he sees one of his practically blind patients on the road!
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,972
Likes: 1
From: King William, VA.
RE: No sugar coating.
while at the light there are two things to remember, always have a way out somewhere you can go, second watch your rear view mirror for danger and third keep it in first gear so you are ready to move
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 411
Likes: 0
From: Dayton, Ohio
RE: No sugar coating.
I think most of you are missing the point. You are taking the original authors statements too literally.
Reread Yellowtang's reply post again and again until it makes sense! This isnt about whos fault it would be at the traffic light.
" The other drives are not going to be looking out for us period! And by accepting this fact, we will be more dilligant out there on the road.
In other words, we need to get our heads out of our a$$es when we ride!"
Reread Yellowtang's reply post again and again until it makes sense! This isnt about whos fault it would be at the traffic light.
" The other drives are not going to be looking out for us period! And by accepting this fact, we will be more dilligant out there on the road.
In other words, we need to get our heads out of our a$$es when we ride!"
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 293
Likes: 0
From: Minnesota
RE: No sugar coating.
I will take his point that there is a lot more that I could be doing to ride safely. Let's leave "fault" out of it.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,691
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RE: No sugar coating.
My father always told me "He was right, dead right, as he sped along, but he was just as dead as though he had been wrong." I can agree as far as a philoshopy for riding, but most certainly not in terms of a legal principle. I'm sorry, someone rearends me at a stoplight I expect them to pay for damage to the bike, injuries to me as well as any incidental expenses like lost wages and legal fees if they try lieing their way out of it.
Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 176
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From:
RE: No sugar coating.
I have always ridden like I am invisible because no one can see me at all while I am riding. You can be hidden behind a mirror of a vehicle very easily. It doesn't take much to put a MC in a blind spot of another vehicle. Anyone can be rear ended at a stop sign/light especially if you are on a MC. Too many people are too busy with other things when they are driving, we all know that.