Dear reader,
As I type this I am still shaking. I just rode home from work. I've never been so scared from a ride, I can honestly say I was terrified. About 5 miles from my house on a very busy highway (two lanes each way and a center turn lane) a truck pulled out into the road. I was riding at about 55mph and this big red truck hesitated to pull out and then did it anyway. By the time I reached this truck's position, it blocked my entire lane as well as part of both lanes on either side of me.
The most terrifying thing is knowing that if I had taken one single second longer to assess and act, I would not have been able to walk away from the result. I had probably two seconds to act and I chose to take the only path out I saw, which was still a risk. I sped up and moved into the lane to my left, the middle turn lane. I cut off this truck's path of movement because it's the only way out that I saw. Braking was not an option. If I were to brake too hard, I would fishtail and lose control of my bike. I had about 65 feet from the point of acting, to reaching this vehicle.
I have no mercy for this driver, they shouldn't be on the road. They were well aware that I was oncoming and so poorly judged that they could make it to the turn lane before I could make it to them. If you ever have to hesitate or question whether you 'can make it' when there is a motorcyclist involved, stay where you are or just stay out of the fucking driver seat. You have metal and plastic on all sides, if something happens then you will survive the collision with a <225kg vehicle. A motorcyclist has a helmet and padding. Fuck off.
When I pulled up to the red light immediately after this encounter, a car next to me had the passenger hanging out of her window and the driver was waving to me. She shouted, "Are you alright!"
I was in shock. I pulled my visor up, and wide-eyed, I replied, "I just almost died!"
I didn't know what else to say. They seemed to become a little more frantic and I realized they were hoping for better news. The driver was holding his thumb up with a serious smile, trying to show me some encouragement. The passenger repeated herself, "Are you alright?"
I shrugged, "I'm okay." I could feel myself shaking.
I learned to ride in a really awful area as far as drivers and traffic go. I'm used to people pulling out in front of me, used to people stopping short, to trying to merge into me.
I've never had a person slink out and sit in front of me to block so much ahead of me. I can't even blame this one on snowbirds, most of them are gone. This is just the result of stupid people.
I know this isn't a very long post, and I'm sorry. I just really wanted to rant and I hope you enjoyed it.
Sincerely,
Anonymyst
but to most of us conflict gives a sense of existence, the feeling that we are alive...
I commute everyday on my motorcycle, and your title ‘Today’s threat to my life” made me laugh. But not AT YOU. WITH you. When I first started riding I was worried I was going to do something stupid and crash my bike. While that’s still a very real possibility, the greater threat is the person in the minivan watching a YouTube video while they’re driving. Sorry it happened to you. Glad you’re ok.
Don't worry, I understand that you understand haha.
ALSO, DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY WATCH VIDEOS WHILE DRIVING?
Thank for the riders' support! <3
...and do their eyeliner. Because people are crazy.
It is easy to blame the others in these scenarios, and while most of the blame definitely rests on their shoulders, there are things you can do to ride defensively and prevent these opportunities. Watch the wheels of cars that are coming on your road. If you see them start to come out, you should slow down to give yourself more time to react. Good on you for keeping the rubber side down!
It doesn't matter how right you were if you're laid out dead on the concrete.
You're very right. I had begun to slow down, but realized it wouldn't do any good. I had thought he would speedily move along to the turn lane, but instead he crawled across the road.
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Glad you're safe.
Get an action cam. It is interesting to see what kind of idiots you get to see on the road and capture them. Here's what I faced on the highway long ago:
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