I almost killed a motorcyclist just now.

[Coventina]

I was on my way to work.

I was changing lanes.

I always signal, look, and look again, but I never saw him.

Even my sensor, that's supposed to tell me if someone is in the lane, never went off until AFTER I had already changed lanes.

He flipped me off, deservedly so. Shoot, I'd've flipped me off as well. Or beaten me with a tire iron.

I love many things about my 2016 Mazda 3, but I have never owned a car more difficult to see out of. Motorcyclists can be hard to see as it is.

This is not the first time this has happened, but certainly the closest call I've had.

Is it me? Is it the car?
Should I just stop driving?

I'm pretty shaken.

My apologies to all motorcyclists out there.

[PoliticAverse]

1. Were you changing lanes to the left or right? And when you say you looked...

did you actually glance back or use your side mirror?

[Coventina]

2. From left to right. Used my mirrors and turned my head. n/t

[marble falls]

3. Its happened. I've had cyclists almost drift into my car, too. We just all have to pay ...

... attention. Surprised the alarm didn't go off. Mine seems to go off if a leaf drops near the car.

[Kid Berwyn]

4. Always use turn signal...

...when changing lanes. Let it blink a while longer than most drivers. Give the motorcyclists a chance to see what you’re up to. Then, double check mirror, and look over your shoulder. It’s a pain to do, but it becomes second nature with practice.

That said, motorcyclists are supposed to take it for granted they won’t be seen. I’ve had an Operator’s license since 1974. Driver’s don’t see motorcycles, even in broad daylight, when facing them in oncoming traffic with the bike’s headlight turned on.

Glad you and the rider are OK, Coventina. Happens to everybody. What makes you stand out, you want to get better at protecting others’ lives.

[Coventina]

6. Thanks! Those are really helpful tips.

I will put them into practice, and practice doing them until they become habit.

[soothsayer]

17. Yes, Virginia had a good campaign called "See Motorcycles"

I don’t know whether it worked, but I appreciated it as a rider.

There are those apocryphal stories about how natives couldn’t “see” big warships because they’d never seen anything like it before and it didn’t register. There’s some truth in that; you do tend to see things you are aware of, like if you buy a certain model car, and then suddenly notice them everywhere, or if someone you know is pregnant, you see pregnant women all the time.

Awareness is where it’s at.

I’ve had drivers look straight at me and still pull out in front of me. They were looking for cars and I wasn’t one.

[ProfessorGAC]

39. We Have That In Illinois, Too

The campaign is "Start Seeing Motorcycles".
The reasoning is the same as what you described.
Been going on 8-10 years, now.

[soothsayer]

41. Cool!

[soothsayer]

43. I loved this sci-fi story about people who crash on a snow covered planet where everything is...

Black and white. They pull out their red signal flags and bright orange suits and the natives just cruise on past, not seeing them, cuz not used to color.

[Lithos]

5. Check to see if you have a blind spot you're not aware on that side?

Ask a friend to stand to the side and slowly pass them to see if there is a point where you can't see them.

[Coventina]

7. Another really good idea, thanks!

I will do this!!!

[spooky3]

10. And maybe have a mechanic check to make sure all safety systems

are operating correctly?

[soothsayer]

18. Don't check for cars; check for cars, motorcycles, bicycles, horses

Gotta widen your perception prolly. But... they can also come out of nowhere. So just signal and give it a beat or two before you move.

[Mister Ed]

53. Yes! Perform this test. I can almost guarantee you'll find the problem is a maladjusted side mirror.

Many years ago, I had the same experience as you. I almost took out a motorcyclist when making a lane change. And, like you, I was determined to learn from the experience, and make sure it never happened again.

Like most people, I had always adjusted my side mirrors to sight down the side of my car. And what I learned is: that's wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. You don't need to watch the side of your car. The side of your car is never, ever going to hit you.

Driving down the freeway in the right lane, I watched as cars passing on the left would move from my rear-view mirror to my side-view mirror to my peripheral vision. And what I found was that there was a blind spot in between my rear-view and my side-view mirror that was big enough to hide a large pickup truck, and at the worst possible time: right when the passing vehicle was coming up on my flank.

I learned through experimentation that I could eliminate that blind spot by swinging the side-view mirror outward a bit. Once I found that sweet spot, the blind spot was gone. Passing cars would pass from my rear-view, through my side-view, to my peripheral vision without any lapse in visibility. It's true that I could no longer see the side of my car readily, but I found that any time I got to worrying whether the side of my car was still there, I could check it with a slight tilt of my head. Yep! Still there.

It's been decades since then, and I have never, ever convinced a single person that they should perform this test. The suggestion annoys my wife, who says that the position of the mirror is a matter of "personal taste". My friend Andrew says he knows I'm correct, but he just feels uncomfortable if he can't see the side of his car while driving. And so on.

I hope this little public service announcement convinces someone, somewhere, to perform this sort of test, either by watching passing cars on the freeway or by watching a friend walk past your parked car. It just might spare you from ever experiencing that horrible day that you kill a motorcyclist.

[chowder66]

57. I do this too. My side views are away from the cars side. Works great. nt

[birdographer]

58. Or get a little stick-on convex mirror

and attach it to your left side-view mirror. My new-ish car came with one built-in. Everything coming on your left is clearly visible in either the big mirror or the small mirror until they are literally right next to your window. Motorcycles would appear as "not road" in the mirror, something out of place. They don't do much on the right side, though. I completely agree with the turn signal plan, on long enough for a cyclist to move, or at least sound a horn when they see what you are about to do.

[SeattleVet]

59. I've got my mirrors adjusted like yours, for a continuous view from one to another.

Been doing it for several years.

My wife and I also ride, and know how invisible we are, even with super Hi-Viz gear. (We were on a ride a few years ago, and someone later told us that they could spot our helmets from over a mile back.)

One thing that alway amazes people is how much better an automobile driver they became when they also learned to ride.

[unweird]

66. Great Suggestion

Going to check it the first chance I get to go drive the car. New beetles have horrible blind spots.

[CaptainTruth]

67. Agree 100%. I don't need to see the side of my car, I know what it looks like.

I adjust my side mirrors so I can see into the adjacent lanes, the lanes next to mine, to make sure there's no one right behind me in those lanes. The windshield rear view mirror & turns of my head cover the rest of the field of view.

[mia]

80. Thank you!

I'll adjust my mirrors the way that you suggest.

[LizBeth]

11. It is a good idea

[dem4decades]

8. Sometimes you just don't see them and it's your fault, sometimes they're travelling

Extremely fast and it's not. I wouldn't get back on a motorcycle these days if you paid me.

[LizBeth]

9. I do not remember what car it was, maybe my Millenia. But it had blind spots and was very

hard being assured when I changed lanes. I think that is a Mazda too. My Lincoln was terrific in that. This Camry I have now is not great like the Lincoln but much much better than the other. For the censor not going off though, Maybe the guy came up too fast or had changed over lanes.

[moondust]

12. Motorcyclists

should be trained to know they can be very hard to see from inside a vehicle and always try to avoid riding in "blind spots."

[soothsayer]

19. We are! Still, it's scary out there.

[moondust]

26. Thank you

for riding safely!

[soothsayer]

28. Pretend you're invisible and you've got it.

[SeattleVet]

62. Pretend you're invisible, and that anyone that CAN see you will still try to kill you somehow!

I can't count the number of times that attitude has saved my hide since I started riding in the mid-70's. Always expect the unexpected...try to figure out what the stupidest thing is that someone can do, and then be ready to deal with something even stupider! Sudden lane changes, unsignalled right turns across 3 lanes of traffic from the left turn-only lane, random slowing/stopping for no reason and other stuff like that doesn't totally surprise me anymore.

Head on a swivel, and staying hyper-aware of everything going on around you is the key to survival.

[soothsayer]

76. Yes yes and yes yes yes

[hatrack]

13. Convex add-on mirrors for your car . . .

Why they're not standard to begin with I don't understand.

Not pimping Amazon, BTW - but they're cheap, easily available and useful.

https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Spot-Mirror-Convex-Mirrors-GUARANTEED/dp/B0093LYB20

[TheBlackAdder]

14. I watch a lot of YouTube car videos, and while a lot of times it's the car, some the motorcyclist.

.

They're either cutting the lane, which I think is only legal in one state.

They are annoyed and quickly pass on the right, speed down an open right lane when there is a buildup of traffic in the left lanes causing cars to switch to the open lane. This even happens with cars. It's one of the most unsafe driving practices, as people change lanes or allow others to turn in front of them to get to a store, only to find a vehicle flying down the open lane where they can't stop in time.

I often see motorcyclists staying in the blind spots, instead of next to the passenger door.

Normally, it's practice to drive with the high beam on, but a lot of times I don't see the headlight turned on.


I live in NJ, where it's kinda high density, and people are on DEFCON3 when driving. Most of the crashes seem to be in the rural areas, when people let their guards down.


My son wants to get his bike licensed for the street and I warn him that everyone I know who has a motorcycle got in at least one accident with a car. It's an inevitability. Hell, half of the car drivers don't see other cars or trucks. Truck drivers are either really professional or just don't give a shit.

.

[genxlib]

16. You beat me to it

See my post right after yours.

I feel like they are a big part of their own problem.

[soothsayer]

21. It's called breaking lanes and it's legal in many states and dc

There are rules. You can’t go more than 10 mph over traffic speed. People are nasty and open their doors into you, not realizing bikes used to be primarily air cooled. Easy to overheat in traffic. Today there are radiators on many.

[TheBlackAdder]

34. Lane Splitting is the official name, per the American Motorcyclist Association & Motorcycle.com

.

“Although lane splitting is allowed in just a few areas of the United States, notably California, it appears to be worthy of further study because it offers a means of reducing congestion in addition to possible safety benefits. It is widely used in many other countries.”
.
.
Legislatively, there has been activity on lane splitting in several states, but only California has enacted a law.

https://americanmotorcyclist.com/lane-splitting/

Montana & Utah have recently added it with tighter restrictions than California.

What is lane splitting?

Or lane sharing, or filtering? The terms are often used interchangeably so we’ll just use lane splitting from here on out. Lane splitting is, as stated in California’s AB 51: “driving a motorcycle, as defined in Section 400, that has two wheels in contact with the ground, between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane, including on both divided and undivided streets, roads, or highways.” As mentioned before, guidelines or rules around these practices change in the few states that allow the maneuver, which we’ll get into below.

Lane splitting in California

Slicin’ through traffic in the Golden State has long been a method motorcyclists have used to get across the state’s congested cityscapes. Interestingly enough, the practice was only signed into law recently. Prior to AB 51, the act of lane splitting wasn’t legal, but it also wasn’t explicitly illegal either. Once the bill was signed into law, the California Highway Patrol presented a list of guidelines for motorcyclists and motorists alike to safely navigate the new law which can be found below:

Consider the total environment when you are lane splitting (this includes the width of lanes, the size of surrounding vehicles, as well as current roadway, weather, and lighting conditions).
Danger increases at higher speed differentials.
Danger increases as overall speed increases.
It is typically safer to split between the far left lanes than between the other lanes of traffic.
Avoid lane splitting next to large vehicles (big rigs, buses, motorhomes, etc.).
Riding on the shoulder is illegal; it is not considered lane splitting.
Be visible – Avoid remaining in the blind spots of other vehicles or lingering between vehicles.
Help drivers see you by wearing brightly colored/reflective protective gear and using high beams during daylight.

Lane splitting in Utah

Utah uses the term lane filtering to describe the practice and defines it thusly: “Lane filtering” means, when operating a motorcycle other than an autocycle, the act of overtaking and passing another vehicle that is stopped in the same direction of travel in the same lane.” Filtering in Utah became legal in May of 2019. The rules are a bit more restrictive than California’s though.

The speed limit must be 45 miles an hour or less
The vehicle(s) a motorcyclist is passing must be stopped
A motorcyclist can’t be traveling more than 15 miles an hour while passing another vehicle
A motorcyclist must be traveling on a roadway with two or more lanes in the same direction

Utah’s laws around filtering will be mostly used in cities with riders being able to move to the front at a red light. Helpful, but not quite the relief from traffic congestion that folks enjoy in the Sunshine State.


Lane splitting in Montana

Our latest addition, Montana’s S.B. 9 allows the operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle to overtake stopped or slow-moving vehicles at a speed not in excess of 20 mph, to filter between lanes of stopped traffic traveling in the same direction as conditions permit, and specifies reasonable and prudent motorcycle operation while lane filtering.

The bill was signed by Gov. Gianforte on March 2 at a public signing ceremony in Helena and takes effect October 1, 2021.

https://www.motorcycle.com/features/is-lane-splitting-legal-where.html

Update: I thought it was legal in most states too, because I would see people do it in DE, NY, NJ, PA and up and down the East Coast. Someone at DU informed me to the contrary.

.

[soothsayer]

36. Hey a new-fangled name! Cool. A bit more intuitive. Like it.

[TheBlackAdder]

37. I updated my past reply. Somene else at DU schooled me on it. I thought it was legal most places.

.

I see riders do it everywhere.

.

[soothsayer]

40. It's a bit scary anyway, just because drivers can be a-holes about it

It’s a jungle out there! Stay safe (and stay in your lane, mostly, ha).

[genxlib]

15. Fortunately no one was hurt

And it is a good thing you feel so strongly about it because that is the only thing that really changes behavior going forward.

But I have to say, where I live in South Florida, the motorcyclists are a bigger danger to themselves than I am to them.

I am on the look out for them just like the bumper stickers say. But virtually every time I have an issue it is because they are driving recklessly. It comes in many forms but I often see racing levels of speeding, lane splitting, weaving etc. I even saw some asshole doing an extended wheelie down our residential street. I know that probably makes him a talented rider but that is just fucking irresponsible on a road that could have cars pulling our are children running into the street.

Rant over. Sorry for hijacking your thread on one of my pet peeves. Glad you and the cyclist is OK

[ProfessorGAC]

45. Wheelie Thing I Saw

Several years ago, I was coming back from corporate HQ in the north shore of Chicago.
Right where the Dan Ryan ends to go east, it meets with the start of I-57.
70% of the traffic went east so I grant it wasn't congested.
Guy on a Japanese bullet bike stands up on his seat, pulls a wheelie and rode it for around a half-mile until a curve that heads us straight south. Standing on the seat!.
I was doing around 50, and he pulled away so fast he had to be going at least 90.
Pretty insane, I think.

[CrispyQ]

20. I'm glad you're both okay!

My main ride is an older truck & it's sooooo easy to look over my shoulder to check my blind spot. I recently drove a more modern car & with the back seat headrests & the slope of the back window I had a terrible time telling if someone was in my blind spot! My husband was with me, so he was my spotter. There are some great ideas above, that I'm going to remember when we get something newer.

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

22. I love my Scion Xb because there are no blind spots.

The Xtra cab Nissan truck I had was pretty good also. My first car a 1980 Honda Accord was not bad but still had a few minor blind spots. I used to have a Chevy Malibu and it was blind spot central. I hated that thing.

I always use my blinker to let others know what I am going to do not let them know what I am in the middle of doing. I check all mirrors and turn my head both ways first to make sure I am clear. I also do not turn my blinker off until I have fully completed my lane change.

Then, there are those cars that seem like they are half a mile behind you and you know you are clear but just before you change they are suddenly next to you. Usually they are speeding.

I do know this guy that can't stand people pulling in front of him even though they are up far of him and in the proper place to do so so he speeds up next to them before they can change lanes. Yeah, he is an asshole.

Sorry you had that experience.

[uncle ray]

33. A car without blind spots is a motorcycle.

I can assure you, you have blind spots, though they may be small. I've yet to see a transparant a-pillar.

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

46. I guess I do have one small one.

When you are going around a sharp corner there is a quick moment when the drivers front side corner blocks your view (particularly while going up hill at the same time.)

I am usually crappy with backing up but with my Xb I do just fine.

My great view might be that the combo of where the windows are for view and my height are just right for me.

[ProfessorGAC]

47. Or A Convertible!

Only the 2 inch windshield supports can restrict vision.
But, it's not zero as you said.
I have an odd curved driveway with a retaining wall along the right side. It's WAY easier to pull out with the top down!
And, that's strictly because there are zero blind spots to the rear.
To make it zero, we'd have to remove the windshield. I don't think many people would buy those!!!

[Blue Owl]

23. Been there!

A few years ago I almost hit a pedestrian backing out of a parking space in a half-empty parking lot. When I got in the car there was no one around. Before I started moving the car I routinely checked behind me and slowly started backing out. Then out of nowhere was a woman walking practically right next to my car, I have no idea where she came from!

So now to this day I am paranoid backing out of parking spaces in parking lots. I wish my car had one of those rear-view cameras (what a great idea!)

[AnotherMother4Peace]

35. I have a rear-view camera, but still check it several times. I was

backing out of my driveway, and out of nowhere these little guys came zooming by on their skateboards. So I've cut back the hedges, and back up very slowly. I always backup slowly, but now I'm extra slow, and double check all sides.

[SeattleVet]

64. You can get a decent after-market backup camera for pretty cheap.

They have wireless ones that are super easy to mount and run. You can also get wired units installed professionally, for a few more $$.

Backup cameras stared phasing in 2016, and by 2018 all new passenger cars sold in the US were required to have them. Our 2016 Subaru Crosstrek came with one, and we love it.

[Boxerfan]

24. My best advice to cyclists or anyone who uses small vehicles in traffic.

Mostly for MC's though and I used to commute over the GG Bridge in commute hours every day on a small motorcycle. And I worked at Golden Gate Cycles to feed my MC roadracing habit.

Drive like all the other cars can't see you - and they are out to kill you. Prepare for the worst and drive defensively. You have ZERO right of way rights when it comes to a collision because it's all about mass & you loose.

Glad you had a wake up but it happens. And he may have been zipping along expecting people to like use signals and such-how quaint.

[rickford66]

25. There's a blind spot even when you turn left.

Best to look twice. If something is there, maybe it has moved. The first two cars I owned had no rear view mirrors, so I'm used to always turning. The other advice about turn and lane changing signals is important. Signal early. Too many give a single blink after. I want to know what you're gonna do, not what you just did.

[BannonsLiver]

27. Motorcycles are a constant irritant on the roads.

Either you’re trailing behind them at 70 hoping they don’t lay it down in front of you and you turn them into road pizza or the dudes on crotch rockets are zipping in and out of freeway traffic at 90 mph.

[Maraya1969]

29. I took a defensive driving course after the court told me I had to..One thing that

was great that I learned was how to set up my mirrors. For the left mirror he said to put you head all the way over so your cheek is on the window. Then set it the way you normally do, (which I can't remember exactly but it is so that you can see when a car comes up past your left bumper)

Then to do the right rear view you move all the way over to the middle of the car and adjust the right mirror the same way.

This way there is no blind spot at all. When you stop being able to see something in the rear view (middle) mirror it is already in your right or left view mirrors.

When I learned to drive I remember we had to turn around sometimes to see things. This way you never have to turn around.

And then when I got my new car that shows what is behind you as soon as you put it in reverse I was in heaven.

I don't know if I explained it right but it is possible that you may have your rear view mirrors set up wrong. If so I hope this helps.

[dobleremolque]

61. This. ↑↑↑

Been using this mirror adjustment type since I took my defensive driving course decades ago.

You'll know you're set up correctly when the vehicle on your left starts to disappear from the right edge of your outside mirror and simultaneously appears on the left edge of your center inboard mirror, then as the vehicle on your left begins to slip off the edge of the center mirror, it appears in your peripheral vision. Ditto for the right side mirror adjustments.

[Maraya1969]

75. Couldn't completely follow but that is exactly what happens!

You never lose a car. It's great.

[Diamond_Dog]

30. It seems to me

The newer cars have narrower windows than my creaky old ‘05. My son confirms this, who just looked at a whole bunch of cars before buying a new one. Especially hatchbacks, some SUVs as well. That back window looks like a mail slot. I guess it’s for safety. Smaller window and more steel. But I’ve looked at and sat in newer cars that God help me are almost impossible to see out the back or side of. I blame new cars!

That said, I’m glad you are OK and I hope that guy on the cycle keeps a better distance away from cars now.

[yonder]

31. I've ridden motorcycles for over 50 years with countless

encounters like that and a few "but I didn't see him" accidents. Last month, I sold the last street bike I'll ever own for those reasons. My number is up and I don't heal as well anymore. Since the advent of cell phone use it has only gotten worse

Savvy motorcyclists can do a lot to minimize their risks by maximizing their visibility which includes staying out of car driver's blind spots, anticipating driver moves and not advancing too quickly into any risky positions by using/misusing a bikes generally superior acceleration. Bikers are just not seen in the same way. Especially careless bikers.

I'm glad this didn't turn into something serious, Coventina, but there's also the possibility that the rider was behaving foolishly by advancing too quickly into the "zone of death". Don't beat yourself up. An accident was avoided, lessons learned and that's what counts.

I'll step off my soapbox.

[The Mouth]

56. I ride and I've almost killed lane-splitters

Check, signal, check again and had a fellow whip past me like I was stopped yet I was going 60.

Totally shook me; I doubt they even noticed they were going so fast. This was last week!

Love riding, current bike is a Sportster and previous one a Suzuki GS1100, love bikes.

I totally feel the OP's shock and horror; even if the person I hit was 100 percent at fault it would really, really suck in all regards.

[yonder]

73. Yep, lane splitting, legal or not, is a crazy thing to do IMO.

Beside being inherently dangerous because it puts one into a perpetual "zone of death", it pisses off drivers in a major way, enough that some drivers will do what they can do get back at the biker. If your air-cooled ride is overheating, turn it off or pull over. Small price to pay when your life or future health is on the line.

[The Mouth]

77. I consider it analogous to wearing a KKK hood in Compton or Harlem

It's technically legally within your rights; it's also really really dumb and has a significant probability of leading to an unpleasant and painful end result.

[yonder]

78. Good analogy. Stay safe on that HD.

[EX500rider]

60. "Savvy motorcyclists can do a lot to minimize their risks by maximizing their visibility.."

Just wearing HiVis colors on the jacket and helmet are a big help and having a bright colored bike, a 10 year study in New Zealand showed it cut accidents by about a 1/3.
And the sad thing is lots of riders want black bike/helmet/jacket...about the worse color to make your self noticed in.

[yonder]

74. ...

[Doc Sportello]

32. Psychology studies have shown why car drivers don't see motorcyclists

They have shown that drivers (and others) see what they expect to see in a given situation. We expect to see the shape and size of a car. Missing a motorcycle is usually not intentional or bad driving. You shouldn't be that hard on yourself.

[Mosby]

38. You can minimize the blind spot on your left

By leaning forward towards the steering wheel and then looking at the side mirror.

[GulfCoast66]

42. Not saying this is your situation but many people do not correctly set their side view mirrors.

They set them to see the back of their vehicle to help in backing.

In reality it should be set much further out to see the entire lane next to you from the point of your side window to the point your review mirror picks up the line of vision.

I leaned this when driving large box trucks many years back. And it’s critical when pulling a trailer.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

44. It a horrible feeling when you know you made a near tragic mistake

Been there, done that.

Properly adjusting the side view mirrors helps eliminate blind spots. I used to adjust them so I could see behind and slightly to the side. Almost a duplication of the center rear view. Proper adjustment has the side view mirrors viewing much further to the side. Take a peek at:

[Politicub]

48. You did nothing wrong. People who ride motorcycles accept a higher degree of

risk. The risk radiates to the mental health of those who care about them.

My husband was in an accident when he rode a motorcycle — I was so stressed worrying about him when he was riding. Then sure enough, he was in an accident. He was lucky, I suppose, that he only had a broken femur, wrist and road rash that removed the skin from half of his face. But he is alive, and I am grateful for that. He never got back on a motorcycle.

Now, I don’t know where the attitude comes from that you deserve to be beaten with a tire iron or berated. Motorcycles don’t have tire irons, so there’s that.

[malaise]

49. Glad you missed

[FM123]

50. Wow. So much good information here, I am going to pass it on to my family members.

[11 Bravo]

51. I rode for years, and raced professionally for a short time.

I learned to always assume that every automobile on the highway was trying to kill me.

(This is not a dig at you. Bikes just tend to become invisible in traffic.)

[Kaleva]

52. its been shown that people see what they are looking for.

if you were looking for cars and trucks, you may not "see" that motorcycle even if its in plain view.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

54. Sorry to you and the motorcyclist!

Those situations are frightening, especially when one person is riding a bike and could be seriously injured or killed.

I've had two situations in my lifetime in which I actually hit somebody, but thankfully both were at extremely slow speed.

(1) While driving to work around 5:30 am in the Winter, my windows slightly fogged-up again after I left my home. At a red stoplight, I started turning right on red and hit some guy who was crossing the street! He rolled off the hood and I stepped out to ask if he was okay and to apologize. The guy just grumbled and kept walking! I asked again if he was injured whatsoever, and he waved me off as he continued on his way.

(2) I tapped the back of a pickup truck with my small car while in the process of stopping behind a line of vehicles at a stoplight. That was many years ago when I was married and had a 6-year old stepdaughter, who was hyperactive and kept kicking the back seat until a fabric seam ripped. I turned around to yell at her to calm down, but I wasn't at a full-stop and barely tapped the back of the truck.
We stepped out and the pickup truck driver said there didn't seem to be any damage, so just forget about it. Then he heard the stepdaughter who kept crying and screaming that I'd go to jail because of the accident, since she was young and didn't understand legal matters at all, and I saw his facial expression as he heard it. It's like he suddenly suspected that I had a warrant for my arrest or something, so he said we should stay put as he called the cops!
So we ended up aggravating a bunch of other drivers because we continued to block traffic until the police arrived! People honking, flipping is off, etc.
A cop finally arrived and screamed at us to get the hell off the road, and I got a small fine for unassured clear distance during a later court date.

Edit: The cop was mostly furious because we blocked traffic over such a non-event in terms of damage, and I kept repeating it wasn't my damn idea! It was the pickup truck driver who kept insisting that neither of us move until the cops arrived... especially ME! The whole situation was deeply embarrassing to me as other drivers cursed and honked over the idiocy. It was nearly Christmas too, with lots of people out shopping and far more traffic than normal.

[bucolic_frolic]

55. We've all had a dumb moment

I say practice self-awareness in quiet moments. It will help when you're doing dangerous things - carving a roast, operating power equipment, driving. Renew vigilance, we tend to become complacent, like it's no big deal. Perhaps a wide rearview mirror clip-on, two side mirrors if you only have one.

[DanieRains]

63. Motorcyclists Have To Realize They Are Ghosts

No one sees them.

They have to ride as if they are a ghost, or they will someday most likely have a problem.

If you ride, and don't always leave yourself an "out" you won't last long....

Danie~

[Richard D]

65. There is also a chance . . .

. . . that the motorcyclist was speeding and came into the lane after you checked.

[TlalocW]

68. There is a set-up for your mirrors

It's different for each person - where it eliminates blind spots. Your side mirrors get angled out more which seems counterintuitive as most people have them angled in, but that's redundantly just showing you a different (and incomplete) view of what's already in your rear-view. By the time, a car disappears in my rear-view, I see its front in my side. I still physically move my head when changing lanes, etc, but I can't count the number of times that's saved me from even thinking of starting a lane change.

Don't be so hard on yourself. I don't want to bag on motorcyclists, but a not insignificant amount of them do stupid things. I was once driving home through a residential neighborhood after school had been let out, with kids walking home, and I was doing the lower-by-law speed limit and had a motorcyclist riding my ass. He wanted to pass on my left but couldn't because of traffic, and then poof he was gone. I thought he had turned off until I realized (thanks to my mirror adjustment) that he was on my right trying to go between me and the curb. We were coming up on a parked car, and there was no way for me to slow down or stop so he could pass (because I was taken by surprise by his stupidity), and he had to slam on the brakes. He didn't hit it, but he came close, and his bike toppled over as he had gone into a sideways skid. He was able to hop off his motorcycle, doing that awkward dance trying to stay upright, so he wasn't hurt. He got back on, and he eventually gunned it and passed me and within HALF A BLOCK, pulled into a driveway of a house with, "Start Seeing Motorcycles" signs in the yard.

TlalocW

[Rocknation]

69. Was the motorcyclist also changing lanes, or riding between them

Last edited Thu May 20, 2021, 01:11 PM - Edit history (3)

in which case HE was mostly as fault?


Rocknation

[Traildogbob]

70. Be careful

According to North Carolina DA your car is a weapon. Police can legally shoot you in the back of the head. Unless...... you are plowing through BLM protesters. That is absolutely legal.
Appreciate your concern for bikers though. Many don’t care. Had a 16 year old idiot, texting, hit me from behind as I was stopped for road work ahead. Hit me at 50 mph, threw my Yamaha 1100 over a hundred feet, and drug me down the highway trapped under his skid plate for 90 feet, back grinding asphalt. The local cop was not gonna charge him until he saw me almost jump out of the hospital bed, and the tending medical nurse, said, “What the fuck!”. So he charged him a Failure to slow down. No alcohol check, no phone check, claimed it was against his civil rights. Cop has history, went to speak to Chief, he would not see me. Desk cop threatened me. “Back the Blue”. Right.
At least you cared and were shaken.
Everybody is at risk driving anything these days. 70 million people voted for trump. That’s a lot of idiots on highways.

[wysimdnwyg]

71. I own a full-size pickup and a motorcycle

It's interesting how much you learn about driving when you cover both ends of the commuter vehicle spectrum. A few tips for both riders and "cagers" (those who drive enclosed vehicles in rider slang):

1. Stop looking for cars/trucks. Look for people. There are many ways a person can be travelling, including walking, riding a bicycle, riding a motorcycle/scooter/trike (I'll shorthand this to "bike" from now on), or an enclosed vehicle ranging from a small car like a Miata all the way up to an 18-wheeler (I'll shorthand this to "car&quot . If you look for a car, you'll only see cars. If you look for people, you're more likely to see the full spectrum.

2. Don't pass on the right. Sometimes it can't be helped, especially in traffic. But as a general rule, no one should be passing other vehicles on the right. It's hard enough to see your blind spot on the driver's side. The passenger side is multiple times more challenging. And don't let anyone fool you; almost every vehicle has a blind spot. Don't believe me? Get in your car and look in your mirror. Now turn and look (like you would while driving - not like you would while backing up). It may be small, it may be large, but almost every vehicle, including bikes and convertibles, has some area where you can't see by turning and that your mirrors don't cover. Maybe it's because your mirrors need to be adjusted. Maybe it's because your line of sight while turning isn't great (you're likely only getting about 60-70 degrees at best). Now try on the RIGHT side of the car and see how much the C-pillar blocks your view. In lots of cars, the C-pillar alone blocks enough to completely hide a bike.

3. Drivers are stupid. I'm including bikers as well as cagers here. As soon as you think you know what that other guy is doing, he's going to do something else. Often it's something stupid. I've been lucky so far on my bike, but I can't tell you how many times I've had other drivers pull out in front of me or come over into my lane, even when I know 100% for sure they knew I was there.

4. Pay attention! This is the absolute, #1 rule all drivers should follow. I like to think I'm constantly aware while driving my truck. When I get on my bike, I go into what I call "hyper awareness". On my bike, I can tell if a car is going to run a red light/stop sign. I can tell if a car is going to come over into my lane. I know instantly if a car pulling out of a parking lot ahead of me cracks the tires. When I see a car that might turn or pull out in front of me, I wiggle a little so the headlight gives a strobe effect, making it easier to see me and judge my speed/distance. And still, I've had my share of close calls.

5. Use your turn signals. There's no better way to avoid surprising other drivers than to actually use your turn signals. On my bike, I recognize that my signals are harder to see. If I need to turn and there's someone reasonably close behind me, I augment this by using hand signals. And as another poster suggested (more politely than I), don't turn on your signal when you're half-way into the other lane. Turn it on and wait a beat (or three) before you start moving over. This will give anyone on that side a chance to slow down or otherwise adjust.

6. For cagers, don't trust your sensors. If they go off, great, but this is still relatively new technology. It's prone to errors. Not only this, but some are set up to start with a light and don't activate the noise until it's practically too late. Further, as with red light sensors, bikes may not be large enough to set off some blind-spot sensors.



All of this said, it sounds like you did what you're supposed to do, and the biker didn't follow rule #2. Don't get TOO worked up about it. If he was speeding and about to pass you on the right, that's on him. If you did all you said, a biker to your right likely would have seen the signals and done one of two things: speed up to move into your line of sight, or slow down to give you room to move over. Bikers can't afford to trust cagers will see them, so it's incumbent upon us to be prepared when you don't. (And this is coming from a biker who has flipped off his share of cagers over the years.)

[DontBelieveEastisEas]

72. Perhaps Lean Forward

Some people have stiff necks. And even if you do not, this idea works for me.

I lean forward a little bit and it changes the angle of the side mirrors to let me see things more directly beside me.

Also, I adjust the mirrors so that they don't waste the angle by seeing my car's sides. I adjust so that they see as close to 90 degrees away from me as I can while not allowing too much space unseen along the actual physical side/metal of my vehicle.

[Skittles]

79. it can happen

I took a left at an intersection, right around the time the sun was going down - I wasn't drinking or anything and I DID look but for whatever reason, I just did NOT see a small truck who would have t-boned me if he hadn't been paying attention and braked hard.There are lights at that intersection now.