The widowmaker

[eddiekay]

The local news, every summer, has a few "loss of controls", a few "mc ran into's" but in a high population suburb..like LI... the "oncoming attempted left turn" continues to kill bikers. The cager's walk away or, in yesterdays event, get driven away ( DUI). I believe we're up to 4 fatalities that I read about this season and the drivers answer is always the same..."I didnt see him coming". I'm paranoid-careful at our intersections and had a headlight modulator on my last 3 bikes. I'm convinced it helped.
Do any other urban or suburban bikers do anything real special to stay alive ? I think this is an old subject but one that cant be repeated enough.

[greenaero]

You can move back and forth as you approach to hopefully get their asttention. I try to always assume they may turn in front of me and leave myself an escape route. Wear good protective gear all the time. Despite all precautions the careless driver will do what he/she will do.

[Aggrotech]

i always use high beams and often do the little ~~~ technique (cant think of the name lol) coming up to a stop/intersection


ive done it on straight away and ive been pulled over for it (((

[IF13]

The modulator's a good idea and that back and fourth motion, you mean left and right? I kind of do that all the time to practice my steering.

But yeah, EK, there are way too many news coverage of accidents this season. At least there's one you can sorta count out, right? I heard it was a guy on a dirt bike running from the cops in Brooklyn.

[Panda]

Originally Posted by IF13

The modulator's a good idea and that back and fourth motion, you mean left and right?

SMIDSY.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Aggrotech

i always use high beams and often do the little ~~~ technique (cant think of the name lol) coming up to a stop/intersection


ive done it on straight away and ive been pulled over for it (((

I've heard it called the "SMIDSY weave" (Sorry man, I didn't see you.)

Link to original page on YouTube.

[LNasty]

I like to call it "Serpentine"

[Samer]

What about a head-shake? It sounds silly but I do it. I can't prove that it works but it can't hurt. Maybe it's a subliminal thing, but I think the "I didn't see you" is really "You didn't register properly in my brain". I'm not saying the drivers are lying. I'm just saying, they most likely did see the motorcycle, but their brain wasn't properly prepared or expecting a bike so they made the wrong decision. They were only looking for a car. So my theory is that during that critical moment when the driver sees the motorcycle and their brain is trying to decide whether or not to go, if they see your head shake "no", that might persuade them not to go. Of course, as a motorcyclist you should have a finger covering the front brake and go easy just in case.

[eddiekay]

Actually...I never tthought of that left-right thing...I like it. Maybe the oncoming might notice me because they wont know what I'm doing ? But...yeah...in my county you are likely to get chased for anything unusual. Still...I think it's a really smart idea.

[backinthesaddleagain]

I thought a widowmaker was the old Suzi TM400 Cyclone MX bike, or the Yam TZ750 road racer.

Bike for sale cheap, injury forces sale,

[CC Cowboy]

I hear that loud pipes saves lives. Not sure if it works at intersections.

[eddiekay]

Wonder if loud pipes would work facing forward ?

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by eddiekay

Actually...I never tthought of that left-right thing...I like it. Maybe the oncoming might notice me because they wont know what I'm doing ? But...yeah...in my county you are likely to get chased for anything unusual. Still...I think it's a really smart idea.

I have been told getting pulled over is much preferable to getting run over. I do not know if that is true, I have only been run over. I SMIDSY daily and have yet to get pull over.

I did not SMIDSY until after crashing.

[LoD575]

I use the SMIDSY all the time.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by eddiekay

.........in a high population suburb..like LI... the "oncoming attempted left turn" continues to kill bikers..........

It is very sad, ............the same tragedy repeats in Florida at least weekly.
Last week, a local 20 years old rider died that way.

Try this:

30 mph: the magic speed

...and this:

Keep your controls covered while riding

...and read this:

I can't believe she just pulled out in front of me like that

[Bones85]

Low beam (high beam just blinds other motorists and makes your speed harder to judge) + hi-viz vest/helmet + SMIDSY weave + slow down and be prepared to brake

[dfox]

smidsy all the time.

you shouldn't get pulled over for it. If you do, explain what you were doing, or just say there was a piece of gravel in the road you were trying to avoid. I've done it with a cop waiting to turn, a cop behind me, and a cop in front of me (all separate instances) and nobody looked twice at me.

Bright color gear helps as well. I switched from the black helmet, black/grey jacket that came for free with my bike to a white metallic helmet and white/blue jacket... anything to not blend in with your surroundings.

[choneofakind]

If you ever get pulled over, being polite/relaxed/personable helps too.

Use that bad motorcycle rider image to your advantage. The odds of a sport bike rider stopping instead of running are low. Just stopping and not acting like a tool to the officer will typically yield you a warning instead of a ticket, especially if you're in proper gear and are acting like an otherwise responsible motorcyclist.

I did just that in my race suit when i was clocked going 17 over (beautiful day, wide open road with great visibility, slightly longer ride planned than I had time for) in a 30. The officer was really pleasant, and straight up told me he was relieved that I didn't try to run when he flipped the lights on and we chatted about the bike for a bit after he checked out my info and gave me a warning. Cool guy!

It pays to be polite.

[Tigerpaw]

Originally Posted by backinthesaddleagain

I thought a widowmaker was the old Suzi TM400 Cyclone MX bike, or the Yam TZ750 road racer.

Bike for sale cheap, injury forces sale,

I thought the "widowmaker" was the original 'busa.

I'm too cheap to spring for a headlight modulator. I do cycle my lights when I roll through a questionable intersection. Funny thing is, I always forget I have a "flash to pass" switch.

Always, always have an escape route.

[ally99]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

It pays to be polite.

Yes, it sure does! By being polite and geared up, I have gotten out of quite a few tickets.

Regarding being seen, I agree with the post regarding the color of your gear. I wear pink and though I do like pink, I mainly wear it because it's a color that stands out on the street because you don't see it often. I'm lucky b/c people seem to see me (and yes, my brights are on and no, they don't blind folks during the day), but even so, I always expect folks NOT to see me and am planning my escape route as I approach an intersection.

[wingman358]

In my opinion the best self-defense on the street is a combination of:

• Imagining that everyone is intentionally trying to kill me - cagers' behavior makes a lot more sense this way. Makes me drive more defensively and helps me anticipate drivers doing stupid ****.
  
• Practicing emergency braking regularly (every time I go out). Basically I try to see if I can pull a stoppie. This also gets my blood/adrenaline flowing and recalibrates my minimum stopping distance "gauge". Also gives me a reminder of just how hard I can hit the brakes while also giving a feel for the current traction. I wonder if it warms up the tires slightly also.
  
• Doing a brake cover anytime an oncoming driver looks like they might be about to make a left turn in front of me. I also watch their front wheels - are they turned already? Are they still rolling?
  
• Making eye contact with other drivers, or at least just watching their eyes - do they see me? Do they seem oblivious to everyone else on the road?
  
• Wearing high-visibility gear. I always make sure to wear something that will stick out from the environment, be it bright red, police neon (I wear a "Scotch Brite" jacket at night and for extended trips), etc. Basically anything thats not dark, gray, or bland.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by eddiekay

The local news, every summer, has a few "loss of controls", a few "mc ran into's" but in a high population suburb..like LI... the "oncoming attempted left turn" continues to kill bikers. The cager's walk away or, in yesterdays event, get driven away ( DUI). I believe we're up to 4 fatalities that I read about this season and the drivers answer is always the same..."I didnt see him coming". I'm paranoid-careful at our intersections and had a headlight modulator on my last 3 bikes. I'm convinced it helped.
Do any other urban or suburban bikers do anything real special to stay alive ? I think this is an old subject but one that cant be repeated enough.

i use the presence of a larger scarier looking vehicle that cars are scared of being hit by

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by dfox

smidsy all the time.

you shouldn't get pulled over for it. If you do, explain what you were doing

This happened to me;
Cop: I pulled you over for swerving at the intersection back there
Me: Yes sir, I only swerved once, it's a technique for getting your attention to help you see me, you had your left turn signal on
Cop: Well it worked, Been drinking anything tonight?
Me: No sir, I just wanna get home safe tonight
Cop: Give me a minute (takes my lic. and insurance to cruiser)
Cop: Your free to go, be careful out there
Me: Thank you sir, have a safe night

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

I did just that in my race suit when i was clocked going 17 over (beautiful day, wide open road with great visibility, slightly longer ride planned than I had time for) in a 30.

You lucky dawg you. The haven't shown me no mercy. 10 over in da cage in the construction (no workers present) at 10:30pm on the way back from Mid-O = $125 fine

[choneofakind]

ouch!! Were those State troopers that pulled you over? I'd assume it was that huge construction zone on 71?

Protip: make sure not to get pulled over for speed by a Statie or a Sherrif. Neither tend to give warnings. The locals officers seem to be a little more reasonable.

[c-dog]

Originally Posted by backinthesaddleagain

I thought a widowmaker was the old Suzi TM400 Cyclone MX bike, or the Yam TZ750 road racer.

Bike for sale cheap, injury forces sale,

I was thinking this would be a thread on the 04-05 ZX10R. That was it's nickname too - if I remember correctly.

I get really scared going through intersections too. I always pay careful attention to all directions and I slow down a little going through, just ready for the worst.

[jackliu239]

I posted in the other trend, I think install 2 additional light at fork or fairing facing forward will help. Because when cagers looking for traffic, they often look for 2 points of light, just like the car headlights, sometime a single point of headlight will not register in their brain, so I think install 2 additional fog lights one at each side often motorcycle might help with that.

http://www.amazon.com/TMS-Waterproof...pr_product_top

[adouglas]

Good stuff on the weave. I'll have to start doing that.

Something I haven't seen mentioned here is that there are two kinds of left-turn accident scenarios, one far more dangerous than the other. I suspect but cannot prove that more left-turn accidents are caused by this than straight SMIDSY situations.

I'm sure there's a name for it, but I don't recall so I'll call it the "masked" turn.

It goes like this: You're behind an SUV that is stopped at the intersection, waiting to turn left. So you move to the right to pass him. Oncoming, left-turning traffic cannot see you until you are literally already in the intersection. Chances are good you won't see them either, again until you're already in the intersection.

The answer here is to assume that there WILL be an unseen car turning in front of you, every time you are in this situation. Keeping speed down and awareness up until clear is the only way to avoid the accident.

[Panda]

Your "masked" turn reminds me a little of this - http://www.msgroup.org/CASESTUDY1.aspx?num=5

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by Panda

Your "masked" turn reminds me a little of this - http://www.msgroup.org/CASESTUDY1.aspx?num=5

I absolutely disagree with the author's conclusion. The green car turned when he/she saw that the white car had passed - that's not the same as making certain that the oncoming lane is clear. I would fault the M/C for not maintaining "lane dominance", but that's just a contributing factor, not the main cause.

[Panda]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

I absolutely disagree with the author's conclusion. The green car turned when he/she saw that the white car had passed - that's not the same as making certain that the oncoming lane is clear. I would fault the M/C for not maintaining "lane dominance", but that's just a contributing factor, not the main cause.

I absolutely disagree with your disagreeing.

The driver in the car had an unobstructed view of the oncoming car for 1000'. I can't remember if the author did the math in the article but it takes about 17 seconds for a car to travel 1000' at 40mph.

How long do you have to watch a single car and see nothing behind - 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds? Put another way how is it somebody else's fault if I obscure myself from vision and then they hit me because they can't see me?

From the driver's perspective

- You clear the space visually for 17 seconds
- Nobody else is on this road
- The car passes
- You still don't see anything
- You turn

....and then some jack hole on a bike rams you because he doesn't know how to counter steer and hasn't learned not to tailgate

[Ytse Frobozz]

I find that people are more apt to notice me and give me space if I'm doing a wheelie and if part of my bike/self is on fire.

[deeno415]

Originally Posted by Ytse Frobozz

I find that people are more apt to notice me and give me space if I'm doing a wheelie and if part of my bike/self is on fire.

Or, if you SMIDSY like this (guaranteed attention):

[nightrider]

and here I was thinking you were referring to the 04-05 ZX10r...

[Løckøut]

I had a guy pull out in front of me yesterday, right before I found the metal in my tire. He saw me in time, and while I had other places to go, I stayed in my lane and watched, knowing he had seen me; I got to watch a Chevrolet Sonic turn into a rally car as it hopped the curb avoiding me, and waving to me.. and then, screaming at himself.

As for the 'SMIDSY' deal... honestly, if I see a blinker on the close side of a vehicle, I do a quick check over my shoulder [If I hadn't just done it anyways, I watch avenues of approach and the surrounding vehicles constantly] If there's a car on my side, I just brake and get behind them, in case the driver sees them and not myself. If I'm all by my lonesome, well I suppose I just go along like normal. I've never had a real crash yet.. I imagine I'd notice it and get creative, though. Vigilance is of the utmost importance.

[JeffM]

SMIDSY every time, all the time.

Widowmaker (yeah, I'm old)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjK_XBtQN38

Jeff