Ducati Monster Forum

Is it just me or do drivers in Dallas think human lives on motorcycles are expendable?  

I'm ready to sell my motorcycle.  I've been "run-over" every time I get on my bike; people look right at me and aggressively move over into my lane/space knowing I have no choice but to get out of the way or be smushed.

Holy crap. I'm pissed.  You can't enjoy meaningful rides in the country without dealing with the homicidal morons in town just to get to out of town.

Maybe I'm more sensitive to it now because the exact same thing happens to me when I'm in my Abarth; small car = expendable.  Be crushed or get out of the way!

@#(&*%6 it!  Anyone have a one ton, 20 year old, ratty-ass pick up for sale?  Play the game or DIE, mutha &#$#@a.

End of rant.

Carry on  ;D

I feel you Cher . . our Suzuki Swift weights xactly 1000kgs minus the 30 liters of fuel so total weight would be 1030kg . ..  I feel ya

The one advantage you have is acceleration and mobility.  I say install some form of DIY paint or feces cannon on the bike and wire it to the hand controls.  Anyone gets close, fire away.  If they come after you, use the bike's advantages to escape.  Would be especially fun with convertibles.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for legal or physical consequences resulting from this advice.  I will, however, take credit for positive benefits.

It's not just Dallas.  Living in Florida, I experience the same thing.  Usually I keep a cool head, but sometimes I just want to follow people and set their car on fire.  Just the other day was out riding and some guy in a car was cutting through traffic getting right up on people and I watched him nearly clip a couple bikes that were in front of me a couple car lengths.  I think I would break the board if I ranted about all the things other drivers do that get's my blood boiling.

Stay safe.

As someone who is proactive at avoiding bad drivers -and has gotten run over anyway,

Yes, I understand. 

Nail on the head Cher.   Drivers in Dallas are getting worse.  I say we move to Deutchland.

Haha!  Yep, I've thought of a dirty-tricks, rear-facing launcher.  Simple to do with parts readily available at any Toys-R-Us; plastic Nerf dart gun.  Hack away all but the barrel and the spring loaded trigger mechanism; pitch the rest. And, purely coincidentally, the barrel of a Nerf dart gun is the exact diameter of a spark plug… SO!,

You could assemble three of these rear facing modified launchers in series on each side of the bike behind the seat for a total of six launchers, with a trigger mechanism on the handle bar somewhere.; you'd be a rolling Hedgehog  [evil]

Unfortunately, collateral damage could be unacceptably high.  

So I just wear my back protector and leathers - ATGAT.  

However, I have ordered several inexpensive dash-cam-type cameras for my bike and my micro car.  At least my estate will have all the legal tools necessary to prosecute the livin' #@!& out of a homicidal moron.

 [Dolph]

I actually have another solution that does not require moving beyond the borders of this great nation of ours.  Pix coming soon  [bacon]

As a guy who lives on his bike and now has the "softer" version of your Fiat all I can say is, yes, it happens a lot.  I just blame it on jealousy.  When I'm in my Fiat I don't worry so much.  Yes, that asshat in his 7 Series or King Ranch Ford might "try" to cut me off but I don't really move.  Fiat's are cheap to fix, BMW's nay so much.   [evil]

I've had the Fiat scratched on both sides and the body work cost $60 total at the dealership.  I consider your Abarth the perfect urban assault vehicle for Dallas.  Just remember the tonnage rule if they are coming in with any significant speed.  ;D 

On the bike I just ride a bit (lot) more defensive. 

Interesting thread. I just read the editor's column by Richard Backus in the  November-December issue of Motorcycle Classics magazine; he did a Benelli-sponsored vintage tour of northern Italy last year, and he reflected on the contrast between the deferential acceptance of motorcycles he observed there versus the hostility of motorists that he has personally experienced on the roads in Sunny SoCal (it seems legalization of lane-splitting hasn't diminished the sense of entitlement of some motorists). In simplest terms, the motorcycle has been a symbol of the Italian worker's noble struggle for financial independence since the post-WWII period. Comparing that to the image of motorcyclists in America as lawless hooligans as portrayed in The Wild One around the same time, Backus concludes that although Hollywood may have painted motorcycles with too broad a brush, it might have accurately captured the ambivalent attitudes toward motorcyclists embedded in the Amerian psyche: a fear-tinged envy that can erupt unexpectedly into naked hostility.

Like I said, interesting thread.

This morning on the way in to work I was almost hit by a van....and I am in a full size pickup truck!  I think a lot of problems are caused by distracted drivers not paying attention.

Oh well....we always have the Arkansas roads to go play on a few times a year!  Ready for spring to get here!

Happy New Year's everyone.

Swanny

Give it 5 years and so many cars will have sensors that warn them of things in their blind spot, of lane drift, and that will automatically brake in emergencies.  To be sure, this won't completely end the problem of careless or distracted driving, but IMO it will increase overall road safety for riders like us.

Actually, I do have a 20-yo ratty-ass pickup - a '94 Nissan Hardbody D-21 2.4L 6spd manual, though, not a 1T - but I like it precisely because it doesn't have any sensors on it...it even predates the airbag mandate! [laugh] Nimble in traffic, hauls a bike or two now and then...I think I'll keep driving it until the rust catches up with it.

Yes, but is it for sale ?

If you can't beat 'em, crush 'em.  (Yeah, I'm talking retribution and I have had my coffee…)

I guarantee you my 8,000 lbs missile will outrun that fiat  :P

Sure, maybe you can do 110 while I do 100 for the first 50 miles.... but then you'll have to stop for gas.   [laugh]

Incorrect.    I run diesel.  [roll]

That has been discussed, at least in Europe, as a potential problem. I see it as a wonderful opportunity: passing what I discover to be a texting/reading/coffee'ing driver, get back in our lane five feet in front of that car - sending the asshat forward - SURPRISE [evil]

It will teach them to pay attention, but it could also make them more agressive(afraid?).... and it will make life more dangerous for the vehicles behind the targeted car.