Idiots doing U-turns

I was riding along on a twisty road yesterday with a passenger and was
coming up behind this volvo station wagon when they pulled over to the
side of the road... Not too unusual, it's not oncommon for a car to
pull over to let a bike past. Then as I'm just about to pass their
rear bumper their nose starts swinging out into the lane....shit,
they're doing a u-turn! I accelerated past them before they could
block the whole lane... it wasn't too close but only because the
driver didn't agressively perform the U-turn. Still, I don't like
being in a position where a driver could have acted differently and
ended up nailing me!

I went back over what happened and realized a few things..

1. When they first pulled over, I remember thinking that it was a
little odd that their angle towards the side of the road was more than
I was accustomed to seeing with drivers pulling over to let a bike
past. I later realized that this was a giveaway to their next action,
as they were getting into position for a hard circle.

2. They swung closer to the very edge of the road than I was
accustomed to for a car letting a bike past... another thing to
remember as a possible heads-up that they aren't just pulling over to
let you past.

3. I also realized that I was a little distracted by having my
passenger on board, and while I was riding much slower than I would
have if riding alone, my focus was a little split so I wasn't
processing the environment around me (Other drivers) as fast as I
normally would have......lesson learned, even if riding slower with a
passenger, if I'm not keeping 100% focus on my riding it is probably
less safe. :-\

Just thought I'd share that experience/thoughts with the idea that
somebody might add the experience to their list of 'things to watch
out for'. I pride myself on being an alert skilled rider but could
have gotten taken out in this....glad I learned this lesson without
payinga price for it!
Brett
01 Yamaha R1
89 Katana 750

 

For some reason Volvo's deserve more than normal scrutiny.

Perhaps this is a practical reason for the little "thank you" beep
many overtaking drivers and riders offer.

 

:

:
: Motorcycles, double yellow ignore zone.
:

As Bannon is fond of saying...
"The double yellow line means Motorcyclists: Use Caution when passing."



--
Andrew
00 Daytona
00 Speed Triple
http://ultrasupercool.com

The Bikes of Reeky
http://www.ultrasupercool.com/reeky/bor.htm

 

All Volvo drivers are idiots, bar none. When I see a Volvo I get as far away
as I can and NEVER assume anything about what the driver will do next.

 

hey, I resemble that. My wife drives a Volvo S90, and sometimes I have to
drive her old 240 (which is our spare car).

 

It rarely is, but I've been cut off by the same Buick on two separate
occasions. I'm sure that it is the same because it had consular
plates.


R, UB

 

I was riding along on a twisty road yesterday with a passenger and was

I was not going very fast, they had partially repaved the road so I
didn't trust the traction due to the black material that came off the
new surfaces and onto the old pavement in between. I suspect that
most of their attention was to find a good place to turn around and if
they looked behind they probably didn't do more than a quick glance.

Agreed, my biggest mistake here was to assume that he was pulling over
to let me pass. I normally would never trust them that much but as I
mentioned earlier the biggest lesson that I took away from this
experience is to never compromise your 100% focus when riding, which I
had done by allowing myself to be distracted by the presence of my
passenger.

I considered using my horn but decided against it because I didn't
want to risk startling the driver into doing something out of panic
and hitting the gas by mistake when they intended to hit the brake and
I was too close at that point to do a 'hey I'm here' honk.

Brett
01 Yamaha R1
89 Katana 750

 

A couple of years ago, an elderly couple drove off the road near there
and were stuck for several days until they were rescued.

The biggest problem was that when they called for help on a cell phone,
they believed they had been traveling on the Montague expressway when
and got stranded in the woods. Uhh..lemme see now, Montague is a flat
6 lane expressway with stoplights, 20 miles away and running through an
urban setting while they were on a 2 lane rural mountain highway running
through groves of redwoods. Easy to confuse the two I guess.

So yeah, a Volvo on Skyline whose driver gets lost all the time and never
realizes that there are motorcycles on that road is a possibility that
I certainly wouldn't rule out.

 

Get thee some headlight modulators, makes this kind of thing _almost_ non-exsistant!

 

Get thee some headlight modulators, makes this kind of thing _almost_ non-exsistant!

I've heard that advice from several people now. My biggest question
about a modulator is what does it dobut the life of a headlight?
Brett
01 Yamaha R1
89 Katana 750

 

Reportedly very little, as it never turns the bulb on or off, but
cycles it within a given range, but no hard evidence.

I do have one, it's REALLY annoying in a rear-view mirror.

 

Actually it's legal as long as it's not posted that you can't do it.
Kinda like U turns, except in intersections.

Steve
95 Buell S2
96 Kawasaki ZX7R

 

Yes, I've noticed that. Definitely.

What, to pull over to let you pass?

 

I've also noticed that while lane splitting cars are more likely to
squeeze over and make room. If you drive in traffic, it's my opinion
that a headlight modulator is a good idea. Bikes should come from the
factory with them.

-B

 

I've found similar results by simply upping the brightness of my front
end... I replaced my stock 55/60 H4 headlamp with a 90/100W (using relays
and heavy gauge wiring), and I added a pair of 55W foglamps, and folks
seem to see me better. I have it all carefully aimed so no glare is in
anyones eyes, but my highbeam can burn holes in boilerplate

-jrp

 

According to my last MSF isntructor, a recent study showed 3 things
that were roughly equivelent in increasing visibility, they are
(not a ranked order):

Headlight modulator,
Leaving Heading on high beam during the day
brightly colored bike/clothes/jacket/helmet

Bruce

 

so a bright(!) headlamp combined with fog lights (arranged to form a
triangle not disimilar to the profile presented by a lot of Harleys), my
bright red bike, and my bright silver helmet ought to be good for
something, eh?



-jrp

 

Especially if they have a PBS sticker on them. Makes you wonder...