Delray
Well-known member
Riding season just started around my hometown of Rochester, New York and already there's a fatality caused by the #1 reason for motorcycle accidents and deaths: cars turning in front of bikes.
I generally like every minute of every mile on my BMW. But cars about to turn in front of me are a definite PITA to deal with. I never take a single car for granted. I assume this one will not see me, that one is texting, this one will hit the gas at the last second. So I always give myself enough space to "leave myself an out" (thank you, New York State Learner's Permit Manual). I weave. Blink the brights. Slow down and pull to the right if the lane is open. I assume every encounter can be a collision unless I avoid it.
Particularly irksome are the creepers ... vehicles that appear to see you but keep their tires moving, getting a rolling start to accelerate just as you pass. Only on a bike, you don't know that! Maybe they're just turning and don't see you.
There's no time for meaningful eye contact or understanding. You either trust or slow down, weave, etc. Several times every week in South Florida, cars will keep creeping into their turn as I approach, pushing me to the right, causing me to slow down to leave myself an out. Stubbornly, I keep slowing as long as they keep rolling. Occasionally this produces a literal standstill. I swear one of these times I'll be forced to slow so much I'm going to just stop, put down the stand and get off the bike.
God forbid I interrupt the smoothness of their turn across my freaking lane!
A lot of riders just trust or take their chances that the turning car sees them. Most are fine. Some die every day. One just did in the beautiful, rolling hills of the Finger Lakes south of Rochester. A 52-year old man just out for a Springtime ride, enjoying life.
Watch those creepers. Don't take a single one for granted.
Man killed in motorcycle accident on County Road 10 in Canandaigua NY identified
The crash remains under investigation.
www.democratandchronicle.com
I generally like every minute of every mile on my BMW. But cars about to turn in front of me are a definite PITA to deal with. I never take a single car for granted. I assume this one will not see me, that one is texting, this one will hit the gas at the last second. So I always give myself enough space to "leave myself an out" (thank you, New York State Learner's Permit Manual). I weave. Blink the brights. Slow down and pull to the right if the lane is open. I assume every encounter can be a collision unless I avoid it.
Particularly irksome are the creepers ... vehicles that appear to see you but keep their tires moving, getting a rolling start to accelerate just as you pass. Only on a bike, you don't know that! Maybe they're just turning and don't see you.
There's no time for meaningful eye contact or understanding. You either trust or slow down, weave, etc. Several times every week in South Florida, cars will keep creeping into their turn as I approach, pushing me to the right, causing me to slow down to leave myself an out. Stubbornly, I keep slowing as long as they keep rolling. Occasionally this produces a literal standstill. I swear one of these times I'll be forced to slow so much I'm going to just stop, put down the stand and get off the bike.
God forbid I interrupt the smoothness of their turn across my freaking lane!
A lot of riders just trust or take their chances that the turning car sees them. Most are fine. Some die every day. One just did in the beautiful, rolling hills of the Finger Lakes south of Rochester. A 52-year old man just out for a Springtime ride, enjoying life.
Watch those creepers. Don't take a single one for granted.
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