Traffic scanning

[bmx2moto]

I was talking to one of my friends after a ride yesterday and he mentioned something about me swerving into another lane after a left turn car decided he didnt want to make a left anymore and pulled into the lane without looking. He told me I swerved kind of hard, excessive i guess. I didnt think so, I am pretty aggressive on the streets. Especially now that I live in central San Diego and there are a LOT of people. More accepting than in LA where most people hate motorcycles, or thats how it feels to me.

When I ride I MUST know everything and everyone around me. My brain is constantly expecting a left turn car to jump out, or someone cut across 3 lanes to cut me off and then follow me for 3 blocks (which happened last month). I think thats called driving defensively, always having an escape plan if someone does cut you off or something happens. One of my favorite techniques is to completely avoid the traffic all together by lane sharing up to the light once all the cars have stopped. That in itself is a problem too because you have people who want to merge before all the traffic behind you catches up and they dont want to wait, at least in that situation you dont have trucks and cars immediately next to you and you can take evasive maneuvers.

I constantly check my mirrors. Especially when I see a situation that I expect to go wrong (I expect every car I see to be some crazed anti-motorcycle killing terrorist) I even check the people at the lights directly behind me because iv had people creep on me. I cant imagine why, but someones bound to be having a bad day and jealous im on my sexy motorcycle that doesnt have to deal with traffic and want to make me suffer like them.

I dont think im paranoid there are just TOO many F****** people in Southern California for me to ride any other way.

As a disclaimer to myself I really enjoy ridding and this whole mentality that everyone is out to kill me doesnt drive me crazy because most people dont do crazy things and i almost never have to ride side by side with cars

So im curious how you ride. Do you even check your mirrors? and if you live out in the country im jealous but do you still ride defensively in town or just cruse around carefree?

[unimog]

That's very similar to how I ride and I'm in NJ where there's way too many people that should not be allowed to sit behind the steering wheel.

[ptgarcia]

Like you I'm constantly scanning my mirror and watching cars like a hawk. You have to because half of the cars on the road never see you.

[vash]

I ride aggressively in traffic as well.

I try to ride in a manner that would have me in and out before the cars can even react to me being there.

Im always between cars in slow traffic to avoid rear ends and side swipes, the height of my bike has also saved me many times from people running red lights. i wouldnt have seen the top of the cars across a busy intersection if it wasnt for the DRZ.

the MRD keeps drivers awake when their beside me.

[JEB1962]

That's very similar to how I ride and I'm in NJ where there's way too many people that should not be allowed to sit behind the steering wheel.

You got that right about NJ drivers. Parts of NJ are pretty and rural but other parts are not. Everywhere I go I drive like I'm the invisible guy on an invisible bike and I'm just waiting for someone to pull something stupid. ?

I am usually not disappointed and I could've been killed a hundred times a hundred if I wasn't very alert and waiting for something!?

[Devondan]

Yup .... My tips : Ride defensively, keep your distance, ride smoothly and try not to need to use your brakes. When overtaking stay in the shadow of death for as little time as possible. Don't waste your breath shouting at the idiots around you-stay cool and just get out of their way!

Dan

[schrode]

ride wheelies everywhere. it gives a smaller profile, less chance of getting clipped.

[smrookie]

Same here in "Dja-booty.":thumbsup:

[Abroktu]

yesterday I saw some guy (new rider) on a sporster, he almost got rear ended from some chick on a cell phone just because he was going the speed limit and she was not.

I ride more like you do, but after riding for over half my life I have seen many styles. some people are to careful while others run red lights with no clue. Those cruiser guys are the worst they ride like it is in style to be unsafe. I have a friend who is 300+lbs and rides a mean streak, he insist on lane sharing, it would be okay if he knew how to ride.

Never trust a cager.

[IRON MAIDEN]

I get cut off in my big azz truck all the time. Idiots change lanes and such without looking. So many morons out there. Even good drivers make mistakes now and then so it's best to just expect it to happen so you are ready for it. I drive like how you are talking on both my DRZ and my C5 Corvette. I may be more nervous about it in my Vette.

[707drz]

I always scan the roads. I try not to use my mirrors to much cause I've noticed f I get in the habbit of looking back and forth from mirrors to road I tend to not notice a ton of potentail problems. Plus our roads up here in the bay area are pretty bad so I need to keep my eyes ahead to look for pot holes

and such. I live in wine country which brings a ton of out of towners that visit the tasting rooms and in return gives me swerving tourist on un formilur streets baging for trouble

[Jambi]

I've been riding and driving since young and the one piece of advice, which I consider gold, was given to me by my beautiful father ?.

"Treat every other person on the road as if they were an idiot".

I still use this same mantra every day I'm out on 2 or 4 wheels.

[jhondius]

Same story.

[keithb]

Well, it seems to be the same world wide.

Here in soggy old England we’ve also got plenty of:

Fat, sweaty, balding businessmen trapped in their Mondeos in the middle of a massive midlife crisis,

Persons at least 104 years old who really shouldn’t be behind a wheel,

Mid twenties yummy mummies in enormous Chelsea tractors, cell phone glued to ear, drum n bass on the stereo, 18 month old in the back screaming fit to wake the dead.

17 year old boy racers in badly souped up, rarely insured corsas or similar buzz bombs who think their middle name is Jenson.

White van men.

We’ve also, to be fair, plenty of good, observant, proficient, awake drivers.

Have to agree with previous posters, assume everyone is an idiot.

OK. Rant over. Thanks for listening. Ride safe.

[Kyle C]

i ride defensively just like most of you. and i always run "what if" scenarios through my head. what if that car up ahead of me decides to turn in front of me etc. its saved me a few times on my bike and while driving my truck.

[JEB1962]

Giving the cagers a little slack, I really like the ones that have " Watch for Motorcycles" stickers on the back end of their cages. But, never, ever, assume the road is safe, period!

In 32 years of riding on the street, Ive had 2 unavoidable objects suddenly appear in my path. A car and a deer. The car blew through an intersection, never saw me until I T-boned her. Believe me, T-boning her was better than her T-boning me! Bushes were blocking both our views and I only had a moment to react.

The dang deer was chasing tail and hauled ass right into my path! Killed him. Both times I was up and over the handlebars and flying, and relatively unhurt afterwords. Let me tell you, it is very exciting sliding on your back side down the road. Not something for the faint-hearted. This happened at night and again, not much time to react. ATGATT and God Bless my Guardian Angel!

?

[bmx2moto]

I always watch my mirrors for cars coming up on me at lights and if they are coming up kinda fast i pull in the clutch and drop it in first and make sure I have somewhere to hide from being rear ended.

[Mephistophiles]

I was coming back from my parent's place last Sunday and pulling up to an always-dangerous 4-way stop down the road from my house. This particular intersection has been the site of a few close calls for me due to a high concentration of local idiots I guess. Anyways my turn to go, and big old Buick at the stop sign perpendicular to me jumped the gun and cut me off...frustrated and thinking the car behind that couldn't possibly try to screw me too...I take off into the intersection...then the VW Jetta that was BEHIND the Buick pins the gas and almost T-boned the hell outta me. I stopped just in time (directly in the middle of the cross) as the chick whizzed past the front of my bike turning to go the opposite way I was coming so I was face-to-face with her for a moment. All I got was a stupid deer-in-headlights/"ooooops did I dooo thattt?" look.

Right after I had done the little emergency stop and was raising my arms to give the old dual-bird and scream "F****** ****!!!" I realized it was my room mates mother. She lives 100 yards from that intersection. I later thought, the only explanation for such an amazingly oblivious, ignorant, and belligerent move that was she was drunk...and go figure...she's an alcoholic. I told my buddy to pass on to his mom, she's an *******. (In nicer words). At least she always makes me a margareta when I come over.

[JustinF]

Right after I had done the little emergency stop and was raising my arms to give the old dual-bird and scream "F****** ****!!!" I realized it was my room mates mother. She lives 100 yards from that intersection. I later thought, the only explanation for such an amazingly oblivious, ignorant, and belligerent move that was she was drunk...and go figure...she's an alcoholic. I told my buddy to pass on to his mom, she's an *******. (In nicer words). At least she always makes me a margareta when I come over.

??:lol:

Ride like your invisible, and do the passing, not vise versa.

[Ryel]

Drive to survive by Curt Rich

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