Monday, June 22, 2009
Almost Died Today
Well it wouldn't have been that bad but I would have been in some serious pain! I was on the way to work, on my motorcycle, and some lady just about blew a stop sign right in front of me. I was cruisin down a residential street and approaching a four way intersection that was only a two way stop, not in my direction. This lady didn't even do a California stop (slow and go) she hardly was slowing down and was looking the opposite way of where I was coming from. I had to slam on my brakes, locking up the back tire fishtailing pretty severely. Luckily my tire made a bit of noise, which it doesn't always do being as they are so soft, so the lady turned and looked in just enough time to slam on her brakes and let me by. Not quite the closest call I have had but it got my heart pounding none the less. I only hope they will always be close calls and never an accident.
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22 comments:
Were you going the speed limit?
Of course not, but I was not going very much over it. For one I am on a bike and can stop faster than a car could, two, she ran a stop sign. If I would have hit her I guarantee it would have been considered 100% her fault in the eyes of the law.
My cousin lost a leg when a truck ignored a stop sign and he was on a motorcycle. Almost 6 months in physical therapy, almost died. Not being at fault doesn't help when you are injured.
That is very true serinitis... but I LOVE to ride my motorcycle. For me the reward is worth the risk. I am an aggressive rider but I am also very defensive at the same time. Beyond that I put it in the Lords hands.
"I am an aggressive rider but I am also very defensive at the same time."
James, respectfully, that's nonsense. The two are mutually exclusive.
"Beyond that I put it in the Lords hands."
In other words, you leave it to chance?
I never understood what is expression meant. Do you "believe" in a supernatural force/being that will alter the course of natural laws and intervene in the event of a potential injury to your person. By what criteria? To what end?
Seriously James, this saying has always perplexed me. Would you care to elaborate or is it just a figure of speech?
cheers,
Richo
Richo-
I don't believe being an aggressive rider and a defensive rider are mutually exclusive. In fact I feel that in order to be defensive (especially on a bike) there is a certain amount of aggression that is required. As far as leaving it in the Lords hands I use it and believe it means that when my time is up it is up. One of my favorite quotes is "He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned." We may have a difference of opinion on this but I hope that helps you understand my point of view.
I predict you won't even have the bike by the end of 2010... your friend Casey will ask to "borrow" it. Then he'll sell it for rent money or some other scheme, and you'll never see it again. :-p
Just you wait... Serin only makes nice with people to take advantage of them.
But as a Christian you should be happy to die, right? Because you get to go to Heaven.
But actually, you don't get to go to Heaven; you are in the ground, mouldering away the years waiting for the Second Coming, Judegement Day, THEN you get to go to Heaven. "For he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead." Not "For you shall go to Heaven directly after dying and have ever lasting life on a cloud playing a harp."
No you idiot.
You just put it in my hands.
You're unemployed with no health insurance, I'm sure.
If you get into an accident, it'll be ME, not the Lord, who will be paying your bills because you were a moron.
There's no room for aggressive ANYTHING on city streets. If you want to be aggressive, find some abandoned back roads, and do us all a favor, be sure to be riding fast enough that any screwup will kill you instantly and save the rest of us from having to pay for your long term care.
You and Casey deserve each other.
For one I am on a bike and can stop faster than a car could...
Sorry that's rubbish. Most modern cars could outbrake bikes...
Anyway, haven't you got a horn on your bike? Had you got a run off worked out?
"I had to slam on my brakes, locking up the back tire fishtailing pretty severely... the lady turned and looked in just enough time to slam on her brakes and [b]let me by.[/b]
Were you going the speed limit?
Of course not, but I was not going very much over it. For one I am on a bike and can stop faster than a car could, two, she ran a stop sign. If I would have hit her I guarantee it would have been considered 100% her fault in the eyes of the law."
What are you, twelve?
1. The fact you could not stop in time and had to rely on her coming around illustrates you were going to fast for conditions. Period. As a person who has rode bikes continuously for thirty years, I can say with some assurance that your riding days are numbered.
2. "The eyes of the law" So you think that's what you biggest concern is, eh, James?
Like I said, your days are numbered. If you want "God" to "call you home", then do the rest of us a favor, and go drive your cage into a wall at 90; but leave the bike at home -- it gives the rest of us a bad name.
Actually Arthur, most motorcycles can come to a stop in a shorter distance than most cars. Obviously it depends a lot on both the specific equipment and the skills of the driver/rider.
However, those very fast stops introduce very high levels of risk on motorcycles that are not present in a four-wheeled vehicle. Loss of control and sliding is the big one.
Which is why, as you noted the right way to ride a motorcycle is NOT to count on your ability to stop fast, it's to make sure you always have an "out," preferably two, no matter what happens. If you don't have one, then you're going too fast.
A DC rider here.
James, if you're driving aggressively on a cycle, you're going to wind up in a nasty accident eventually. DC traffic on the beltway is awful for me on my cycle, and I can ramp up speeds quickly, but I'm always distrusting of any car, highway or neighborhood. I've had to go up onto medians, switch lanes rapidly, and stop quickly to avoid getting smashed. Drivers do NOT know to look for you, and they aren't.
I've had 4 years of no accidents, but everyone has an accident at some point. If you're being aggressive, you're going to increase your chances of an accident.
In the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course, they talk about being a possessive rather than aggressive driver, where you drive as if you're a car, so you act more visible, sit upright, and position your bike in its most visible point at all times.
Good luck though if you continue to drive aggressively, you'll eventually get a "NO DEAL" from a car driver who didnt see you.
Rboy-
I guess I would be a possessive rider then. I consider that aggressive though because in order to get the positions to be the most visible you sometimes have to be aggressive. I have three years and only one minor lay down under 10mph, my fault and a good lesson learned. The best advice I have ever hear and I share with everyone who rides it "ride like you're invisible (not invincible)"
FalseCasey-
I am employed FYI, but your right about the no insurance... thanks for offering to cover the costs for me... haha
Anonymous about dying-
I believe when you die you are no longer subject to time and therefore go straight to heaven, and no I am not afraid of dying, only the pain that might come just before death.
Everyone else-
Thank you for your concerns, it's nice to know people who have never even met me care so much.
Anonymous said- "1. The fact you could not stop in time and had to rely on her coming around illustrates you were going to fast for conditions. Period."
That is ridiculous! So if your cruising on the freeway and someone looses control crosses over to oncoming traffic right in front of you and you can't stop in time... you were going to fast for the conditions, period, it doesn't matter you were going 5mph under the speed limit... Come on use your brain.
James,
There's a big difference between anticipating that a driver might roll through a stop sign (which happens everyday) and anticipating a car flying through the air and taking you out (which happens only in movies.
Anticipating the former, and allowing for it in your driving, is the essence of defensive driving. As an instructor we know once said "assume the other guy is an idiot who will always do the wrong thing."
If you're driving in any urban or suburban area and not considering that somebody might dart out from someplace you can't see them, then you're not being defensive, and your BS redefinition of what "defensive" means puts you in perfect company with Casey's definition of what constitutes "criminal conduct."
Essentially you both make the same argument. You argue that "I avoided the accident, therefore I must have done the right thing. He argues, "I wasn't arrested and prosecuted, therefore I must not have committed a crime."
You guys are the perfect explanation for why we are seeking to get out of this state. Too many idiots like you, who will expect us to pay for your mistakes.
We'll be looking for a locale where guys like Casey are social pariahs and/or in jail.
Straw man. You weren't cruising on the freeway; you were riding on a residential street and approaching a junction.
Your hazard assessment in that situation has to include the possibility that a vehicle will enter the junction without seeing you. And it's your job to ensure you remain safe and in control if that happens: by having either room to stop or room to escape.
Sounds like she was just being an aggressive driver. Good for her.
"I have three years and only one minor lay down under 10mph"
But a number of close calls, of which this one -- in which you escaped a collision because the other driver saw you at the last minute -- was apparently "not the closest".
Dude, you gonna be an organ donor!
lawnmower-
Yes I have had several close calls over the years. Some, not all, of which I was perfectly within the laws of the road. I have been going UNDER the speed limit and had people pull out in front of me to the point where I almost hit them or laid my bike down. Close calls are part of riding. I don't know a single rider who hasn't had at least a close call. As far as my freeway analogy, it was to point out that just because someone could not stop in time does not mean they were the one in the wrong.
Ok so I figured when I first posted this post I would make the story real dramatic to evoke emotion from the readers... well it worked. I didn't really almost die, in fact that is cleared up in the first sentence of the post. The lady stopped and I was able to basically go in a straight line past her. I slammed on my brakes initially because I could tell she wasn't paying any attention. If she would have kept going without stopping I'm betting, after some braking, I could have just gone behind her. I am heavy on my bake brake anyway so the fact that it locked up is not a big deal, I have locked it up just coming to a red light. It really wasn't that bad.
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