Almost Crash, and I was the Cager :(

[ajcadoo]

Turning right out of a driveway onto a two lane road in my Scion xB. Left lane had a line stopped traffic waiting for a signal. Right lane, open. So I turn right. As soon as my rear tires complete the 90 degree right, I hear a loud horn and a loud 600cc engine revving from behind. Check the rearview and this Yamaha nearly rear-ends me. I quickly accelerated to not piss this biker off any further.

At the green signal, I quickly turn right onto the freeway onramp. The Yamaha follows quickly behind riding my ass like nobody's business (yeah he's pissed). I get in the right lane and slowly accelerate to ensure I dont get in the way of a fellow rider.

He passes on the left and as soon as he passes the driver side door, he accelerates and WHEELIES past. Funniest part, wearing a T-shirt and some jeans. Nothin more, nothin less.

He accompanies the wheelie with a good ol' fashioned bird flipping while just staring at me. He was literally accelerating to 80 MPH while flipping me off, and watching everything behind him...

And he topped it off with a fully exaggerated shake of the head. About 3-5 times back and forth.

Since getting a bike 2 months ago, I have been a different cager driver. I look out for bikes like it's nobodies business. I know what riders are thinking and I ensure all my moves on the road consider the chance that a bike may be there too.

Sure enough, this bike was invisible to me and I did not see him as I pulled out of the driveway. I don't know if he was in the line of cars in the left lane and pulled out into the right lane as I pulled into it at the same time. I dont know. I felt bad, but the wheelie, T-Shirt, Bird, and Shake of the head just seemed to much for me.

Uber-douche. Limit it to one of the above choices. And boy, was I hoping he hit a hazard on the road and just skid across that pavement while obliterating all his skin on his entire torso. But it didnt happen

[n4mwd]

That guy sounds like a crash waiting to happen. One thing I have noticed is that the faster a bike goes over normal traffic speed, the more invisible he is. But next time, do try to look a little closer for bikes. Not only are they invisible, but they can shoot out of nowhere too.

[Alex]

Not a crash.

/moved to General

[CZroe]

Not to make excuses in your favor, but he was probably as much to blame. If he was speeding later, he was likely speeding earlier.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by ajcadoo

Turning right out of a driveway onto a two lane road in my Scion xB. Left lane had a line stopped traffic waiting for a signal. Right lane, open. So I turn right. As soon as my rear tires complete the 90 degree right, I hear a loud horn and a loud 600cc engine revving from behind. Check the rearview and this Yamaha nearly rear-ends me. I quickly accelerated to not piss this biker off any further.

At the green signal, I quickly turn right onto the freeway onramp. The Yamaha follows quickly behind riding my ass like nobody's business (yeah he's pissed). I get in the right lane and slowly accelerate to ensure I dont get in the way of a fellow rider.

He passes on the left and as soon as he passes the driver side door, he accelerates and WHEELIES past. Funniest part, wearing a T-shirt and some jeans. Nothin more, nothin less.

He accompanies the wheelie with a good ol' fashioned bird flipping while just staring at me. He was literally accelerating to 80 MPH while flipping me off, and watching everything behind him...

And he topped it off with a fully exaggerated shake of the head. About 3-5 times back and forth.

Since getting a bike 2 months ago, I have been a different cager driver. I look out for bikes like it's nobodies business. I know what riders are thinking and I ensure all my moves on the road consider the chance that a bike may be there too.

Sure enough, this bike was invisible to me and I did not see him as I pulled out of the driveway. I don't know if he was in the line of cars in the left lane and pulled out into the right lane as I pulled into it at the same time. I dont know. I felt bad, but the wheelie, T-Shirt, Bird, and Shake of the head just seemed to much for me.

Uber-douche. Limit it to one of the above choices. And boy, was I hoping he hit a hazard on the road and just skid across that pavement while obliterating all his skin on his entire torso. But it didnt happen

When you say "nothing more, nothing less" do you mean no helmet or gloves, no shoes, no socks or underwear?

There is a study to states bikes are invisible to drivers. You should always "look twice and save a life, watch for motorcycles" (I saw this on a bumper sticker).

You might have been thinking "Uber-douche" but that guy was so pissed he wanted to get away from you so fast that his bike happened to pull a wheelie and as he tried to wave he could only muster one finger. As far as the shaking of the head, he was probably thinking you were a Super uber-douche.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by ajcadoo

...........And boy, was I hoping he hit a hazard on the road and just skid across that pavement while obliterating all his skin on his entire torso. But it didnt happen

..........and all because you failed to look a little better and invaded the path of the rider.
Just a typical cager.

Half naked, unprotected, wild and stupid,.............an uneducated and inexperienced rider is still a rider.

Wrong hoping........

[Sigma.40]

While its always good to look, I think it could very possibly not completely your fault. A few years ago I was pulling out of the grocery store onto a 45 MPH road. I saw a sport bike WAY in the distance. As soon as I pulled out he was flying up on my rear end and came inches away from slamming into me. He had to be going at least 120 or possibly even more (with his girlfriend/wife on the back). Of course he gave me the finger, but if he had been going even CLOSE to the speed limit, it wouldn't have been an issue. You can't tell how fast someone is going from that far away and pulled out assuming he was going 45-60 mph, NOT 120+. I believe in "look twice save a life", but sometimes its the bikes fault.

[ajcadoo]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

When you say "nothing more, nothing less" do you mean no helmet or gloves, no shoes, no socks or underwear?

There is a study to states bikes are invisible to drivers. You should always "look twice and save a life, watch for motorcycles" (I saw this on a bumper sticker).

You might have been thinking "Uber-douche" but that guy was so pissed he wanted to get away from you so fast that his bike happened to pull a wheelie and as he tried to wave he could only muster one finger. As far as the shaking of the head, he was probably thinking you were a Super uber-douche.

haha, I should have mentioned a helmet and some shoes (although I dont know if they were boots or what. Couldnt tell with how fast he sped by.

I am sure the wheelie was on purpose seeing as though he had a lot of control of it. But I like that he could only manage to use one finger to wave back.

[dk58]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Wrong hoping........

Agreed. Even in that situation, if I would have seen that rider go down I probably would have passed out behind the wheel. I have seen a lot of riders do stupid things, but I only ever wish that they wise up and start being more careful.

[ajcadoo]

Originally Posted by Sigma.40

While its always good to look, I think it could very possibly not completely your fault. A few years ago I was pulling out of the grocery store onto a 45 MPH road. I saw a sport bike WAY in the distance. As soon as I pulled out he was flying up on my rear end and came inches away from slamming into me. He had to be going at least 120 or possibly even more (with his girlfriend/wife on the back). Of course he gave me the finger, but if he had been going even CLOSE to the speed limit, it wouldn't have been an issue. You can't tell how fast someone is going from that far away and pulled out assuming he was going 45-60 mph, NOT 120+. I believe in "look twice save a life", but sometimes its the bikes fault.

It is hard to gauge speeds like that with smaller objects on the road. But especially if a bike is traveling that fast in such a low mph zone. I think this could have been a factor with my incident. The bike may have just been traveling too fast coupled with my inability to even see him.

[ajcadoo]

Originally Posted by Motofool

..........and all because you failed to look a little better and invaded the path of the rider.
Just a typical cager.

Half naked, unprotected, wild and stupid,.............an uneducated and inexperienced rider is still a rider.

Wrong hoping........

All anger that I had toward the situation was purely based upon how foolish this guy was riding away from me. Being a rider myself, I scoffed at how utterly stupid you must be to wear nothing but a T-Shirt to protect your torso. It just seems stupid. The fact that I was in the path of this bike did make me feel bad, but did not contribute to my anger.

[ForceofWill]

Lol I love the people defending some squid wheelie-ing down public streets. If traffic is stopped in one lane of a two lane road, and you're flying down the other lane you're an idiot and an accident waiting to happen. Anybody could just change lanes to get out of that traffic and you'd be a splat. I'd hope everyone here would ride/drive more responsibly. I'm assuming he was sitting in traffic on the left though, and pulled out just as you did since you didn't see him and only had to look down one open lane for oncoming traffic. Guy got pissed he couldn't keep flying by above the speed limit when he changed lanes and proceeded to be a douche afterwards. I would have driven by if he crashed afterwards and had a nice lunch.

[ajcadoo]

Originally Posted by ForceofWill

Lol I love the people defending some squid wheelie-ing down public streets. If traffic is stopped in one lane of a two lane road, and you're flying down the other lane you're an idiot and an accident waiting to happen. Anybody could just change lanes to get out of that traffic and you'd be a splat. I'd hope everyone here would ride/drive more responsibly. I'm assuming he was sitting in traffic on the left though, and pulled out just as you did since you didn't see him and only had to look down one open lane for oncoming traffic. Guy got pissed he couldn't keep flying by above the speed limit when he changed lanes and proceeded to be a douche afterwards. I would have driven by if he crashed afterwards and had a nice lunch.

This is EXACTLY what I assumed after everything had occurred. It was as if he had spawned behind me traveling 40 MPH. I definitely would have seen him if he was in that right lane the entire time. If he had crashed when on the freeway, I would have stopped, T-Bagged him, then kept driving. ;D

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by ForceofWill

I would have driven by if he crashed afterwards and had a nice lunch.

It sounds like the rider was a dirt bag for sure, but don't even talk like that.

He's still a fellow rider and if he splats himself, I would have still stopped to help until the EMT's got there. I've been known to lose my temper and do stupid things myself. I would hate to think that fellow riders would just leave me laying there. You people sound more like cagers than bikers.

As a matter of practice, I never shoot birds at people no matter how much they deserve it. But even if I did, is the penalty for doing so death?

But one question for the OP: Were you on the phone when you pulled out?

[ForceofWill]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

It sounds like the rider was a dirt bag for sure, but don't even talk like that.

He's still a fellow rider and if he splats himself, I would have still stopped to help until the EMT's got there. I've been known to lose my temper and do stupid things myself. I would hate to think that fellow riders would just leave me laying there. You people sound more like cagers than bikers.

As a matter of practice, I never shoot birds at people no matter how much they deserve it. But even if I did, is the penalty for doing so death?

But one question for the OP: Were you on the phone when you pulled out?

Eh, I don't subscribe to the whole, "If someone rides they're a brother." If someone is a ****ing retard, it doesn't matter to me if they ride a bike or not, I don't have to like them and they're not automatically my friend.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by ForceofWill

Eh, I don't subscribe to the whole, "If someone rides they're a brother." If someone is a ****ing retard, it doesn't matter to me if they ride a bike or not, I don't have to like them and they're not automatically my friend.

So if I see you get splattered, your preference is for me to keep riding. Got it.

[ForceofWill]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

So if I see you get splattered, your preference is for me to keep riding. Got it.

I think you're assuming I don't stop and help anyone. I've helped plenty of people in accidents. But if you ever see me ride out a massive burnout into a wheelie only to slam into the side of a bus, feel free to piss on my corpse and keep on going.

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

So if I see you get splattered, your preference is for me to keep riding. Got it.

He was just saying if your going to ride like a turd squid That rider should not be looked at as a respectable rider. >.>

[n4mwd]

And I'm just saying that just because the guy is more of a squid than I am doesn't mean I should leave him on the side of the road bleeding. I tend to get a little squiddy at times, but I would hope that people wouldn't just leave me there because they judged me to be a worthless squid not worthy of medical attention.

[Luvninja]

This thread makes me sad, I wouldn't want to ride with you. If I did something stupid, you'd just keep on riding and leave me. Just because the squid (ppl have the right to wear,what they want, I'm atgatt) got pissed and over reacted doesn't justify your "wish" of him getting hurt. I'm on the riders side on this one, he may not of been going the limit but you don't know that, you "never saw him" this ones on you not him.

[Malicious Logic]

Lol, some of you people should really listen to how you sound. Really OP? You didn't see a rider and when he gets pissed at you, you suddenly hope he goes down on the highway? In his eyes, you almost killed him because you couldn't take the time to pay attention.

And I like that things went from you not seeing him to the assumption that he MUST HAVE obviously been speeding because the fact that you didn't see him is 100% his fault, amirite? You said you didn't see him so how do you get to the conclusion that he was 'flying' down the road?

Not trying to defend anyone, just saying you sound like a 'typical cager'. His gear or lack thereof doesn't mean he deserves to die on the road. The situation is simple. You cut him off due to a combination of possibilities (lack of attention on your part/lack of being visible on his, etc.). In my eyes, the way he rode away after the fact has zero to do with the near-accident or justify it in anyway. Wheelie-ing? Yeah, stupid. Flipping you off? *shrugs* He thinks you cut him off. Take it like a man. His lack of gear is irrelevant.

[Malicious Logic]

Originally Posted by Luvninja

This thread makes me sad, I wouldn't want to ride with you. If I did something stupid, you'd just keep on riding and leave me. Just because the squid (ppl have the right to wear,what they want, I'm atgatt) got pissed and over reacted doesn't justify your "wish" of him getting hurt. I'm on the riders side on this one, he may not of been going the limit but you don't know that, you "never saw him" this ones on you not him.

+1

[ForceofWill]

Who ever said they wished he would get hurt because he chose not to wear any gear? The OP is talking about his ACTIONS in this situation. Leave it to the bike forums to skim through the post and just ASSUME that the person driving the car is wrong and the poor innocent biker was in the right. You're just assuming that he cut him off. Think about the situation he described, it's likely the dude whipped out from the left lane as he was turning. It's a lot harder to miss a bike when you only have one lane of traffic to look at.

READ

[Malicious Logic]

Originally Posted by ajcadoo

Uber-douche. Limit it to one of the above choices. And boy, was I hoping he hit a hazard on the road and just skid across that pavement while obliterating all his skin on his entire torso. But it didnt happen

You were saying?

[Malicious Logic]

Rather than reading and analyzing the facts given, it seems you're the one who wants to jump to conclusions about the rider because of his lack of gear and going 80 on the highway, because that's so uncommon.

[ForceofWill]

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

You were saying?

lol, that quote proves your point?

[ForceofWill]

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

Rather than reading and analyzing the facts given, it seems you're the one who wants to jump to conclusions about the rider because of his lack of gear and going 80 on the highway, because that's so uncommon.

Seriously? Read my first post in this thread, I was the only one actually thinking about the situation. Once again, I didn't even mention what he was wearing.

[Luvninja]

It's the fact that the OP wished this guy to have his skin obliterated on his entire torso that is wrong. WTF! You assumed HE was in the wrong, we (malicious & I) suggested people not jump to conclusions since the op stated he didn't know where the hell the rider came from therefore the cager can be and likely were in the wrong. But again, its the whole "i wished" part that has me shocked in this whole situation, especially from such a small thing.

[Malicious Logic]

Originally Posted by ForceofWill

lol, that quote proves your point?

You said that no one wished for him to get hurt. Looks to me like they did. Also, I agree with your guess of what happened up to the guy getting pissed cuz he couldn't fly by. Not sure why we're jumping to the conclusion he wanted to rip and roar. Is it possible? Yeah but it's also possible that Ajcadoo didn't do a double check, the bike had already switched from Left to Right and was coming down the road when he Ajcadoo pulled out, thus Ajcadoo not knowing where the biker came from and the biker being angered that he was unintentionally cut off.

Not trying to defend anyone, just don't think it's right to hope the guy gets seriously hurt because of the situation, or to say that you or anyone should pass by him if he did crash.

[ForceofWill]

Originally Posted by Luvninja

It's the fact that you wished this guy to have his skin obliterated on his entire torso that is wrong. WTF! You assumed HE was in the wrong, we (malicious & I) suggested you not jump to conclusions since YOU stated you didn't know where the hell the rider came from therefore you (cager) can be and likely were in the wrong. But again, its the whole "i wished" part that has me shocked in this whole situation, especially from such a small thing.

First of all, I'm not the OP, this didn't happen to me. I came in with an alternative view after everyone had made up their mind that the OP was automatically in the wrong. And this is the internet, I doubt the OP seriously wishes mortal injury to that dude.

[ForceofWill]

Originally Posted by ajcadoo

Since getting a bike 2 months ago, I have been a different cager driver. I look out for bikes like it's nobodies business. I know what riders are thinking and I ensure all my moves on the road consider the chance that a bike may be there too.

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

You said that no one wished for him to get hurt. Looks to me like they did. Also, I agree with your guess of what happened up to the guy getting pissed cuz he couldn't fly by. Not sure why we're jumping to the conclusion he wanted to rip and roar. Is it possible? Yeah but it's also possible that Ajcadoo didn't do a double check, the bike had already switched from Left to Right and was coming down the road when he Ajcadoo pulled out, thus Ajcadoo not knowing where the biker came from and the biker being angered that he was unintentionally cut off.

Not trying to defend anyone, just don't think it's right to hope the guy gets seriously hurt because of the situation, or to say that you or anyone should pass by him if he did crash.

I agree it's possible that Aj was at fault. But when I read the OP, including the part I've bolded, it seemed to me like he would have seen that guy if he was already just cruising in the right lane. I don't think it was fair for everyone just to go off saying that he's an asshat for not seeing a biker that was obviously in the right.

"Yeah but it's also possible that Ajcadoo didn't do a double check, the bike had already switched from Left to Right and was coming down the road when he Ajcadoo pulled out"

I would think this situation would be more of a gray area to who's at fault, but still most likely the bikers fault. If you aren't in the right lane, someone pulls out into it, then you decide to swap lanes at your current speed if you hit them from behind it's still your fault, no matter how fast you still want to go.

[Malicious Logic]

Originally Posted by ForceofWill

I agree it's possible that Aj was at fault. But when I read the OP, including the part I've bolded, it seemed to me like he would have seen that guy if he was already just cruising in the right lane. I don't think it was fair for everyone just to go off saying that he's an asshat for not seeing a biker that was obviously in the right.

I agree. I think that the reason many did come to that was because of his reaction afterward and his ill-wishes for the rider. As for the bolded part, I honestly just ignored that part. 2 months to me isn't a long time in the saddle and while it may have indeed made him more aware when he drives in his car, I don't think it means he's exempt from blame in any traffic mishaps involving not seeing a bike.

[n4mwd]

I'd still like to know if the OP was on the phone when he pulled in front of the rider. That question has not been answered.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by trixter

couldnt he have just been picking his nose? Does it have to be a phone call?

Yes, phone call or text. Picking and driving has not been shown to be that distracting - except to other drivers. I've have dozens of people pull out in front of me and cell phones seem to be a common thread.

[adamjenkum]

Hard to say what I would do in a situation like that if a dudes wheelieing and flippin the bird. if he crashed he is probably such a douche he would say i caused him to crash. and if i didn't contact his bike I am not involved i can just forget i saw it. I get in 1-5 near misses every day on my lil ninja and it doesn't even make my heart beat fast anymore. Drivers in charleston sc are horrible if they can hear you sometimes they'll speed up to try and mess me up. just today sum guy in a small suv signaled and was halfway changing lanes and i had to pass him in the same lane he was in. I think i scared him more than he scared me even though i would be screwed if he love-tapped me.

getting pulled over scares me more than near misses with death.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by trixter

I dunno there is a group around here that would have blamed the rider for anything and everything that happened. It is a group of riders no less that insist that when one of their own jams their brakes on in front of you and you go wide in a turn to avoid wrecking into them that it was your fault for choosing to ride in the first place.

They also get all uppity over this because it seems that a few other forums like BARF and some others in the area blame them for doing stuff like that all the time.

Wow. Link?

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by adamjenkum

I get in 1-5 near misses every day on my lil ninja and it doesn't even make my heart beat fast anymore. Drivers in charleston sc are horrible if they can hear you sometimes they'll speed up to try and mess me up. just today sum guy in a small suv signaled and was halfway changing lanes and i had to pass him in the same lane he was in. I think i scared him more than he scared me even though i would be screwed if he love-tapped me.

getting pulled over scares me more than near misses with death.

Now that's a bad area. I would definitely be running video if I lived there. Of course we should all be running video.

Usually if a cager does me the courtesy of using his turn signals to change lanes, I usually reciprocate by braking and letting him in. Then I swerve around him because he's in my way.

I agree on the getting pulled over thing. I've only been pulled over once and the cop arrested me. Illegal use of a motor vehicle on a dirt road in the middle of the woods which is a misdemeanor. I had to go to court but it was thrown out by the prosecutor. Consequently, I don't trust cops that well any more. I suspect the real reason was that he didn't want me riding up on his pot farm.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by trixter

I dunno there is a group around here that would have blamed the rider for anything and everything that happened. It is a group of riders no less that insist that when one of their own jams their brakes on in front of you and you go wide in a turn to avoid wrecking into them that it was your fault for choosing to ride in the first place.

Since I have been on this forum, there have been several dead biker threads where everyone assumes it was the biker's fault - even when there is no evidence to support it. It usually goes like this:

1. Biker must have been doing something wrong.
2. Cage pulls in front of biker.
3. Biker gets killed.
4. The biker deserved what he got because he was asking for it.

And the only guy who can tell you what really happened is dead.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Since I have been on this forum, there have been several dead biker threads where everyone assumes it was the biker's fault - even when there is no evidence to support it. It usually goes like this:

1. Biker must have been doing something wrong.
2. Cage pulls in front of biker.
3. Biker gets killed.
4. The biker deserved what he got because he was asking for it.

And the only guy who can tell you what really happened is dead.

Link to a single one that states that. Your points above are what you erroneously believe or erroneously repeat in threads like that, but you miss the point time and time again.

The only unerring truth is that our lives are our responsibilities when on the bike. Since we can't count on any other motorist to be anything but incompetent, we need to take that into account and behave/ride/plan to limit the risks as best we can. Deciding whose fault it was, deciding who deserved what, are silly tangents that miss the core point. If you're pegged, there probably was something that you could have done differently. If you don't believe that, I don't know how one gets back on a bike right afterwards as if they were just flipping a coin on when their time is up.

Back to the topic of this thread though, not a fan of the OP's thoughts. Clearly the rider thought you cut him off. Clearly you thought you couldn't have seen him in time. One of you is wrong. On the off-chance it was you, wishing harm on the biker because he was angry at something you did on the road is pretty piss-poor. But - it's an object lesson that if you as a fellow motorcyclist can jump to that attitude immediately, imagine the general populace on the roads who aren't motorcyclists....

[Boom King]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

And the only guy who can tell you what really happened is dead.

More like he/she is unable to describe the situation from their perspective as they are no longer present in the living world. Using the term "what really happened", is assuming that the biker's word is the only truth. In my experience, I've seen bad drivers and I've seen bad riders and I bet you few of them would ever find or admit to fault in themselves.