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A topic isn’t done once everything has been said....it can’t end until everything has been said by everybody.

So, here’s my deal and a story that contradicts me....

I am aware of my surroundings when I stop at lights. Like others have said, I may put my bike in neutral but only after I am surrounded by cars that are stopped and clogging up any escape route. But I also have been taught that being in gear is the accepted strategy....and for good reasons.

Now my story.....

Sitting at a gas station exit onto a well travelled 2 lane road - exit is about 200 yards from the 2 lane intersecting with a major 4 lane state highway to my left. So the 2 lane road is always packed in tight when the light is red. I’m trying to turn left, but waiting on the light to change and traffic to clear. This will take a while, so since I’m in a driveway/parking lot of a business with no one around me-I shift into neutral and wait. Then I notice multiple cop cars with lights flashing speed into the intersection of the 4 lane and 2 lane roads. Immediately I know I am about to witness a high speed chase not 200 yards from me. Exciting!!! Then, it dawns on me that there is another entrance to the gas station off of the 4 lane that is located behind me with gas islands in between. Before I can react - remember, there is a long line of traffic in front of me trying to get into the intersection that is now blocked by cops - I see the stolen vehicle enter off the 4 lane with his route being between gas islands, with the only exit from the station being where I’m now parked in neutral. If I had been in first gear, I could have reacted. But since any escape route would have been in the ONLY direction he could take out of the station, I very likely could have made the situation even more dangerous for me if I reacted and moved. So I was frozen at the mercy of this kid’s driving ability. Amazingly, he made it through the station and out on the road as if he was Sunday driving. They got him very shortly after he turned in front of me. It would have been no advantage to him to hit me as he maneuvered to turn right in front of me, but his managing to avoid me was impressive as he weaved between the pump islands at a pretty good clip. So this story offers no real insight into the question of gear/neutral, but it is related. In my case, the best answer would have been to get off the bike and move away from the exit. But there was no time to think about that as a viable option.

Funny....the thing I remember most vividly was the facial expression of the kid in the shotgun position. It was like they were cruising without a care in the world. Stolen car....almost assuredly going to jail in a short while, but calm as could be. I’d have been freaking out.