Ducati Monster Forum

Anybody who has logged a few thousand miles on a street bike has experienced the following phenomena: You are riding along, minding your own business, when a car cuts you off or pulls out in front of you.

I've had this happen to me about five times in the last year, but I have reacted differently at times.  For certain, I attempt to make sure the driver knows about his or her error.

What do you do?

A.) Give the driver 1/2 of the peace sign
B.) Point your index finger at them
C.) Give a dirty look
D.) None of these

Tell your story.  ;D

I can't say always to choice D, but that is my goal.  Car vs. bike, car wins.

Here's what happened to me the other evening.

It was about 8:00 and I was doddering along at about 35 mph on a two-way, four lane road through the center of town. I was on one of the inside lanes when a lady in a minivan pulled right out in front of me and occupied my lane. Well, I pretty much knew she didn't see me way ahead of time, so I drifted over to the right and laid on the horn for about five seconds. Then I passed her, pulled over in front of her, flipped up my shield, turned my head around, and smiled and waived to her, real friendly like, but as if to say, watch where you're going, sweetie.

About a half-mile later I pulled up to a red light, and there she was again, still smiling and waiving.  ;D At this point I realized she had misread my intentions. Nevertheless, and being a married man mind you, I decided I had enough adventure for one evening and rode home to my faithful wife.

Be kind to cagers; it might render positive benefits.  [thumbsup]
   

Definitely not this http://biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=42283 (http://biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=42283)

And if you have to do A/B/C, make sure you have enough room in front of you to gun the throttle, in case the person in the vehicle decides on vehicular homicide.

I have been known to lay on my horn for a solid 10 seconds, or until they realize what they did and figure their shit out. Whichever is longer.

I have Hella Supertones. And BoomTubes. And tinnitus.

20 years ago I used to be quite reactive.  Sadly this has never resulted in a positive outcome for anyone.  The cager hates motorcycle more than ever and I am get all upset, over something that is going to continue to happen.

Most people make honest mistakes, we all have done something so stupid in our cars that we nearly caused another human an accident.

Except in rare cases of a cager being an absolute jerk I think the best solution is to let them hear you with a horn honk and then ride by sadly shaking your head.  Tehy will get the point better if you make them feel bad then if you attack them with a mirror break or flying finger.

Although I will admit that upon occasion I still toss the one finger salute.  It is always for the same reason; a cager over the double yellow coming around a turn.

I'm definitely less reactive, especially when I know the driver doesn't see me and is likely to pull out in front of me. I rarely get surprised anymore because I usually see that they don't see me.

Usually I just give them a dose of horn, a waive, and a smile. Then the reaction from the driver is usually, "Oh shit, I'm sorry." 

I try to reserve the "salute" for cagers who pull into my lane to tailgate me (especially when 2-up).

The rest of the time... see tag lines.  I ride alone...

What to do?
Accept the fact that it will happen. Every time. Move on with your life. It is not our place to teach them a lesson. They will never learn.
If you believe in "what goes around comes around", they will get theirs.

I don't get surprised.  But I make sure to get by their side or turn back and shake my head or my fav gesture the loco sign.  If they apologize, then I say pay attention or something so they can remember this moment or else if its 35mph zone I slow down ridiculously and f with them.  Can't let them go without remembering how close they came to hurting/killing a biker.  

I actually had a lady tap my tyre at a light.  F'n idiot!  

N yes car wins.

Damn cagers!

I have to force myself to just ignore it and move on.  I used to have bad road rage (in a car).  But thinking about it, especially on a bike, it's useless to do anything.  You're not going to change anything.  In fact, it'll irritate the driver more and he'll likely have more contempt toward bikers (not good for the rest of you).

Every once in a while when people don't signal in front of me, I'll shake a finger at them and point to my blinker (which I turn on).  Not sure they even get it.  California (Southern) seems to be notorious for people not using their turn signals.  I'm convinced they think it's optional.  It's maddening.

I live in Southern, Southern So Cal, and we get numerous drivers with Baja Mex plates in our area. They seem to think a 4-way stop means, "Gas it and see if you can beat the others through the intersection."

How do I react? I guess it depends on my mood and how bad they cut me off. Although, I am a teacher by trade, so I usually feel I need to provide some sort of instruction so they can all be better cagers.  ;)

I have used the horn a couple times if I thought the driver just didn't see me, but generally I just fume silently and/or think up all the totally bad-ass methods I *would* use to show the driver the error of their ways, if I wasn't such a wuss.  Mind you, I may be less likely to get shot at, this way.

+1

The more mature you are, the more you realize this is the best course of action.

Avoiding the issue is the best course of action. Riding isn't a chess game -- no replays.

I dodge and if possible, just after said "overlooking" they get a blast of obnoxious exhaust noise so they go "where the hell did that come from."

JM

I think I got about five instances of this behavior just during today's lunch hour.  Sheesh!

I try to get their attention and give them a subtle wave to let them know they nearly killed someone.  On rare occasions when I have no escape path, or at least not a comfortable one, I've stuck a foot in a door.  That generally gets the driver's attention in a hurry, though sometimes not in the best way.

I used to get their attention and flip 'em off but now I just think it's stupid. Now that I've been commuting everyday for a year, I just accept that it happens no matter how safe you are or try to be. You have to minimize the risk. I'll speed up over the speed limit just to get in the open spaces between the packs of cagers on the highways. They still never see you because they're texting or talking on the phone. My worst fear is getting rear ended at a stop light because the driver just isn't paying attention.

I thought about putting stickers on my helmet or my bag saying, "Hang Up & Drive" or "Put the Phone Down". I don't know how much of a difference it would make. Cagers will read it and still do it. I had a driver the other day cut me off (within inches), trying to merge on the highway, flicked me off, all while on the phone. I so wanted to put a dent in that car....

Yeah I just let it go, not worth it.

I was in a situation once where a car illegally cut off a minivan in front of me mid turn and my options were eating the bumper or dump the moto. I avoided the minivan and my bike was on the ground. I was so pissed when I saw the punk who cut off the minivan in the intersection still talking on the phone oblivious to what he just caused. I walked up to the driver, still in full gear, and asked to see his license. He was still f'n talking on the phone and asked me why. I said, "you just caused an accident and I want to give your information to the police when they get here". He thought about it for a sec, put the phone down, reached for his wallet and started to roll through the red light. The only thing going through my head was don't let him get away, look at his plate... I held on to his open window frame as he accelerated. I'm running along side this punk's car and now I'm thinking, I'm trying to stop a car by grabbing onto it! Idiot! I let go, lost my balance, fell to the ground, helmet taking a hit right on the chin, leather jacket taking some rash. Witnesses who saw it said they tried to get the kid's license plate but no luck. EMTs came to the scene cleaned me up and I was released at the scene. Bike had the typical damage: bent handle bars, mirror, barend, footpeg...

I should've just looked at the license plate and reported it. It was a busy intersection with witnesses. After all the car did cause a non collision accident and my bike had damage. But in the heat of the moment I wanted to confront the guy, especially because I saw he was still talking on the phone.

Then I see stuff like this and it's no wonder why cagers hate bikers. I have no idea what the backstory is to this but when I saw it, it made me want to reply to this topic. I don't know what to think of squids. I just try to stay away from them. OK maybe the guy in the video isn't a squid...but if it was me... just let it go dude. With all the crazies out there, just minimize the risk.

Mods: sorry if this vid rubs anyone the wrong way, remove if it offends.
Never Take A Bike To A Car Fight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B3uv9NWXek#)

Situation 1: Old man was changing lanes without using his signal. Luckily he saw me last second and moved back into his lane. He pulled up next to me and apologized. I gave him the  [thumbsup] and said it's okay just be careful.

Situation 2: Man in van changing lanes, I honk and flash my lights and he still continues to merge. He nearly pinned me between the wall and his van. Of course he was on his phone I gave him the 1/2 peace sign and zoomed away.

Situation 3: I was lane splitting and came to a red light. To my right was a girl on her iPad. She rolled down her window and said my bike was loud [Dry Clutch] and ruining her video. I'm guessing she was recording herself? I shrugged it off and ignored her. Light turns green and she deliberately moved left as I was accelerating almost dropping my bike. I almost sh*t myself. I caught up to her and gave her the 1/2 peace sign and she returned the favor. I proceeded to simulate a money shot to her face which left her speechless. I zoomed away once again.

Keep in mind we have all screwed up at one time or another.  Today I double parked to let a passenger off.  A bicycle passed me on the right as my passenger opened the door, missing the bicyclist by not much.  Was he wrong?  Yes.  If a car comes to as stop in the middle of a street wit a passenger the likelihood of a door opening is pretty good.  Was I wrong?  Yes.  I didn't put the flashers on soon enough and assumed the passenger would look before opening the door.

My reaction depends on how serious it is. Tonight, A guy in a pick-up decides to whip a u-turn without any warning and almost takes me out.

I pulled around to a safe place and my blood was pumping; I mean, it was "that" close.

I gave him the dirty stare for about thirty seconds, shook my head, and went on my way.

But when my life or limbs haven't been threatened, I react rather calmly.

  

I ride like I expect the cager to do the wrong thing. They usually do.

Yes, I agree.

The Rider's Curse

"A PLAGUE OF HONDA ODYSSEYS UPON YOU!"

The last two days people coming out of the gas station haven't seen me but i saw them not see me first so i've be able to downshift and slow down until they see me.
I've started to do the John Cena you can't see me with my hand lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kkjr4qcrkE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kkjr4qcrkE)

 I once kicked a car that cut me off, and he used his car to knock me down. Now I just get out of the way and go.

One of the reasons I bought a helmet camera, I'd keep myself calm and later on I'd review the footage and if it was severe enough I'd take a trip down to my local PD and have them review it.

Usually if they have that oh make the beast with two backs I didn't see you look, I'll wave and not give it another thought.  If they are being completely make the beast with two backsing stupid, I'll give them a salute or wtf head shake.

I think the stupidest thing that happen to me recently was, I was sitting at a light, left side of the far right lane, just past the start of a right turn lane. People are passing me to make a right turn and then one guy just stays in my lane and goes by stopping so I'm next to his gas door.  Look around and people are giving me the I don't know wtf he's doing look. Light turns green he goes cutting in front of me. I happen to get next to him at the next light, look over and he's reading a news paper. All spread out across his steering wheel.  I revved my engine and have him a head shake.

The new Cycle World has a very relevant 1 page article by Nick Ienatich (sp?). Same guy who wrote THE PACE.  It discusses staying out of others blind spots as a huge priority for bikers. Many bikers don't do this at all.  A lot of these close calls can be prevented and if you're having a lot of them, you're doing something wrong. There is no way to avoid it though- someone will try to turn into you on a regular basis if you ride enough. I try to accellerate past blind spots and watch the front wheel of any cars in other lanes that I'm passing.

I have two bikes. An r1200gs Beemer and my S2R. The Beemer sounds like a Singer sewing machine and the monster with full exhaust & open clutch sounds beastly.

I rarely get cut off on da monster.

Just sayin'. Loud pipes. That's the solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yeipzl1uZY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yeipzl1uZY)

Nuff said.

Like most of the posts here, I just ignore it and move on.  Anger swells but after a minute or so I am cooled off, so I try to just be patient knowing I will cool off.  Sometimes I pull next to them and indicate that they cut me off---no middle finger or anything aggressive, just a kinda "what the heck are you doing??" gesture.  This is because I think sometimes they don't know and by making them aware, I may be alerting them to their carelessness.  Most likely not, but for that 1% I think it is worth it as it may save the next biker.


Parking, however, is another mess.  I am more likely to retaliate for someone that damages my bike due to shitty parking.

I treat every car on the road (even if its driven by a family member) as a potential death threat. Give them a lot of room and expect them to do the wrong thing!!!.  Its a different story if I am driving my truck.

I usually try for 'D' and recite their license plate # over and over. I also have a habit of narrating their life's story in my helmet. "Look at this Dumb F*$% driving like they were huffing paint....." Point is, that doesn't help. In Charleston, SC, there are so many types of cagers, rednecks, humanitarians, humanitarian rednecks, others.... I pretend I am prey, my best defense is to leave. That being said, had a Silver Chevy Pick up feet from my tail, not sure what I did to piss him off but I slowed down to let him pass, he got closer and honked so I made a quick turn into a side street and stopped, he followed me and now I knew it was not longer random stupidity. Did a quick U-turn and left his big truck to do a 15 point K turn. I was in a different town before he got back on the road. Wish I had his plate though.

You need dash cam, both front and rear facing camera.

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=70891.0 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=70891.0)

"Keep Calm, They're Cagers". We are too. Except  ;Driding on two wheels makes us better cagers....

Depends on how much Sudafed I've had for my sinus condition. ;D

I give the combo honk/rev/headhsake and my personal touch a thumbs down. Not enough for someone to get agitated enough to run me over but gets the point across. But if you want to startle them back, nothing works better against a minivan than bouncing off the rev limiter for a couple seconds.

Just get a really loud exhaust
It scares people...

poop a little....