Have you been "One of those Cagers"?

[Live2ride]

OK, I know that many people have posted about cagers almost running them off the road or hitting their parked bike, cutting them off, etc, etc. What I want to know is if any of you have ever been "One of those cagers". Have any of you accidentally done something to a biker while driving? Or maybe even while on your bike?


I just remembered that a few years ago I was riding with my mom on our way home from a lacrosse tournament. A white suv was making a right hand turn ,onto the road we were on, while we were at the stop sign waiting to turn left. My mom pulled out after making sure the suv was going to honor their turn signal. When she started to pull out a harley rider slammed on his brakes (so did my mom when she saw him) and he slid to a stop a few feet from our front left tire . The Harley rider was obviously tailgating the white suv like a mother (couldn't have been more than 1-2 yards) and his headlight was extremely dim, like a crappy flashlight with low batteries. My mother, scared to death, rolled down her window and apologized to the man. He then waved for her to go ahead and pull out. I know that it was my mom's fault for not looking after the suv had turned but at the same time, the biker shouldn't have been tailgating and shouldn't have had such a dim headlight.

Luckily I'm vary aware when I drive and personally I have never cut off a biker or caused any harm to a bike. Thanks to ninjette.org I have been much more cautious while driving and always look 2 or 3 extra times for a biker. I didn't realize how difficult it is to see a biker until I joined these forums.

[1994Ninja250F]

I've only been driving for six years, but I'm happy to say I've never come close to hitting a motorcycle. I just make it a point to look once, then look again before pulling out.

The only time that comes to mind was my mom back in the 1980s, almost switched lanes on top of a motorcycle because it was in her blind spot.

[CC Cowboy]

Yes

[phr3ek]

no

[sombo]

Not that I can recall.

[choneofakind]

Unfortunately I'm sure that the rider I almost collided with would say yes, but nothing of my own doing has caused me to be one of those cagers.

First warm day/night of the season. I knew I was going to be out late that night, so I drove instead of riding. I turned onto a main road, almost home. There's a car coming towards me in the proper lane, no biggie. Suddenly there's a third headlight directly in my lane. It didn't register with me what it was until I heard a screaming I-4 downshift, and saw the headlight flash a bunch. Apparently some yutz thought that he could turn on his headlight modulator and pass in the middle of the night without enough space. I swerved when I realized that I was staring down a bike, and I'm quite glad I did, or I would have had a dead rider on my hands. Needless to say, I was going 50 in a 45 and he/she was doing close to 70 and he/she flew past me about a foot off my driver side mirror, clearly in my lane. Scared the crap out of me

[sombo]

Chris, in your case you are 100% innocent. You were not one of "those" cagers. He/she was just clearly one of "those" squids trying to get themselves killed. If you are driving along a road minding your own business in the correct lane and ANYTHING comes directly at you from the other direction in YOUR lane, it's 100% on them for being retarded.

[bbbrandy19]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Unfortunately I'm sure that the rider I almost collided with would say yes, but nothing of my own doing has caused me to be one of those cagers.

First warm day/night of the season. I knew I was going to be out late that night, so I drove instead of riding. I turned onto a main road, almost home. There's a car coming towards me in the proper lane, no biggie. Suddenly there's a third headlight directly in my lane. It didn't register with me what it was until I heard a screaming I-4 downshift, and saw the headlight flash a bunch. Apparently some yutz thought that he could turn on his headlight modulator and pass in the middle of the night without enough space. I swerved when I realized that I was staring down a bike, and I'm quite glad I did, or I would have had a dead rider on my hands. Needless to say, I was going 50 in a 45 and he/she was doing close to 70 and he/she flew past me about a foot off my driver side mirror, clearly in my lane. Scared the crap out of me

Wow. What an idiot. Bad move on the motorcyclist part. This is why lot riders end up on pavement. Thankfully that rider didn't become another statistic. Yikes!

[choneofakind]

I just hope I never see them riding around in town again, or I might have to give them the safety talk. On the bright side, their headlight modulator did alert me to their presence.

*edit*
pardon my pun there. honestly didn't mean to put that there. on the... bright side. lol!
*/edit*

[Snake]

A big NO here. Being a motorcycle rider myself makes me more aware of and respectfull of fellow riders while I am in my cage or on my bike.

[warlord]

Yeah I almost ran into a HD rider who was hanging out in my blindspot. Rush hour traffic on a 4 lane highway, I was trying to move out of the fast lane so faster traffic could pass. Signal, look (headcheck), move and I saw him as I began to move lanes, so I moved back.

On my part, I didn't see him -not at all.

On his part, he needs to realize that at 65mph with wind noise, traffic noise, and music playing those loud pipes may as well be stock. Also wearing a helmet, some gear, and not hanging in people's blind spot is probably something he should consider too.

He continued to hang out in my blindspot for the next couple of miles in spite of the traffic piling up behind us...

[kkim]

I'm very cautious/alert when I drive of anything that looks out of the ordinary that could develop into a possible/potential problem, mainly because of learning to ride bikes at 16 on the road.

Once you become a bike rider and learn to scan and tune your "situational awareness" level appropriate for safety on a bike, it transfers with you to when you jump into your car. At least for me, it does.

My wife hates driving with me as the passenger in her car as I'm constantly "reminding" her of things she obviously misses due to, uh... let's just call it less than stellar "situational awareness".

[KawiRider]

One time I was driving my tuner car on New Circle Rd. I didn't know there was a dude on a cruiser behind me. He pulled up behind me going down the highway really fast, and his bike was quiet and my exhaust is not... I washed my windshield from bugsplat accrued the night before and apparently he got a little shower... This was purely accidental. When I exited the highway and stopped at the light, he pulled up next to me at the ramp and yelled thru my open pessenger window some obscene threat about bikers and me washing windows. I called him a douchebag and told to him to get down the road before I ran him and his punk ass bike over. He didn't like that but he clutched out and went on his way..

In retrospect, I don't think either of us went about it the best way. I think most of us riders know not to ride close enough to cagers, for other safety reasons, to get sprayed. There's my story!

[KawiRider]

on the the situational awareness Kkim..

[Live2ride]

Originally Posted by kkim

...My wife hates driving with me as the passenger in her car as I'm constantly "reminding" her of things she obviously misses due to, uh... let's just call it less than stellar "situational awareness".

Ha, I do the same thing with my gf, she isn't the best driver but I've learned to keep to myself about the small stuff because it's not worth the 2 hour cold shoulder . Even when I'm a passenger I still check the mirrors and blind spots before the driver does anything, I can't help it.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Live2ride

I've learned to keep to myself about the small stuff because it's not worth the 2 hour cold shoulder .

that will change once you're married.

[Xoulrath]

Originally Posted by kkim

that will change once you're married.

It HAS to change once you are married, or you won't stay married long, lol.

As for me, no issues with any motorcyclists, though I had an issue last year, about a month or so after I started riding. I was leaving my dad's and with my family in the car, I started to merge onto an interstate road. After merging, I got stuck behind a vehicle doing about 10 under the limit. So I turn on the left blinker, check the mirror, then follow up with the head check. All is good. So I proceed to get into that left lane. I am halfway in the lane when out of the corner of my eye, I see a car, in the same lane! Knowing that I hadn't fully merged, I quickly got back into the lane I had come from. I avoided the accident. The driver of that car, in an effort to avoid hitting my car, went into the median and spun out but then corrected and was OK, so we all went on our way. It was a scary moment.

I still to this day don't know if that guy was just perfectly in my blind spot, or if it was one of those speed weavers, you know the guy/girl that speeds in and out of traffic much faster than traffic is moving, rapidly changing lanes without signaling. I just make sure to take an extra half second to check the driver side blind spot now, just in case that was my fault. I don't do too well with mistakes like that. My wife hated being in the passenger seat for the next month because I was so worried about causing an at-fault accident, I was double and triple checking before changing lanes (which can be dangerous in and of itself).

[gfloyd2002]

Originally Posted by sombo

Chris, in your case you are 100% innocent. You were not one of "those" cagers. He/she was just clearly one of "those" squids trying to get themselves killed. If you are driving along a road minding your own business in the correct lane and ANYTHING comes directly at you from the other direction in YOUR lane, it's 100% on them for being retarded.

Having worked with learning disabled persons, I can say with some authority that most retain a strong sense of self preservation that would prohibit them from driving straight into an oncoming vehicle at night. So basically, retarded > squids.

[sombo]

Originally Posted by gfloyd2002

Having worked with learning disabled persons, I can say with some authority that most retain a strong sense of self preservation that would prohibit them from driving straight into an oncoming vehicle at night. So basically, retarded > squids.

LOL, ok, you got me there. So they are just idiots then.

[Jinx250]

No, but close. 4 lane main road, I was in the turn lane on the eastbound side of the street. One car coming west bound. It passed and I began my turn. Turns out there was a bike also westbound, but he was far behind the other vehicle, and there was enough clearance for me to turn without him having to stop. But even after my long look, I missed the headlight of the bike. I did, however, have a bike try to do what cagers do to us - he tried to merge into me from his lane. Blinker on and everything, here he comes. And I was staring at him in disbelief. Fortunately the car behind him blew their horn, at which point he decided to look over at me and realized I was there in my cage. I couldn't get mad though - he was an old duffer on an old bike, enjoying the wind in his face.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by gfloyd2002

Having worked with learning disabled persons, I can say with some authority that most retain a strong sense of self preservation that would prohibit them from driving straight into an oncoming vehicle at night. So basically, retarded > squids.

right. let's use idiot instead of retard. hahaha

[Jesse8931]

Once I was on i94 doing about 80 and two bikes flew past me so fast and so close I moved over a little and about hit his buddy. They must have been doing well over a 100. and mind you I was in the farthest right hand lane so the other guy was on the shoulder.

[bluesinorbit]

Nah. When I came out of my mother's womb, I first did a blind-check.


Almost midnight on a weekday, I was heading home on the 605 freeway. Not a car in front or behind me. A motorcycle caught up and zoomed past me. A minute later, I reached down at the passenger seat to find a CD. It took me a little while because of all the junk. Just as I found it, I looked up and there was the motorcycle that had past me a minute earlier... dead stop in the middle of the lane. I swerved out of the way just in time to prevent a motorcyclist on my front windshield.

That was about three years ago. What I can't understand is why he didn't pull over if his bike died.

[wvninja]

I started to merge towards a rider while taking a girl to her prom. I didn't actually merge into the lane just started to "drift" towards that lane with my blinker on. I didn't leave my lane though, and he gave me the stare down.

In my defense he continued to hover in my blind spot for what must've been a mile. In his defense there was "heavy" traffic (heavy for our area) not bumper to bumper. If he would have had a LOUD EXHAUST I would've heard him. This road has a huge concrete barrier in the middle and I had my window down.

Otherwise I'm usually very cautious of my surroundings while driving. I pay attention to cars around me, along with bikes. I hate ignorant drivers, I'd never want to be one myself.