Morning commute

[bob795]

I bought GoPro Hero3 Black last week and  have been taking videos of my commute the past several days.
Shooting the video is the easiest part, just press the shutter and the camera starts recording ... The hardest part comes later, it's the editing  

Anyway, here's my morning commute. The actual ride took about 30 minutes but I edited and cut the parts where I stuck in traffic jam and those parts where I had to filter through traffic  

Here's the link:



Thanks for watching.

[Skybarney]

Hey Bob, Stay safe!  I saw a couple of times in that video you inadvertently put yourself in a dangerous position.  In my world lane positioning is everything and I make the assumption that if it is even remotely advantageous for a cager to change lanes they might just go for it without looking.  I try not to put myself in the spot they might try to pull into.

There was also a point in the video where another bike passed a car on the left just in front of you as you were on the right.  Had the vehicle moved right because of the first bike, you were in the danger spot.

Past those things,  nice to see leather and gear     Oh and BTW you are freaking nuts for riding there at all

[DucRS]

Holy chaos!
I thought filtering through L A traffic was bad. Now after all that
I'm assuming you require a 15 min nap to recover

[HotIce]

Hey, I think we have the same jacket! 
Dainese mesh one?

[hbliam]

In my world lane positioning is everything

The video I watched, there were no "lanes." 

[Skybarney]

The video I watched, there were no "lanes." 

And if there were it would not matter.........   

[bob795]

Thanks Skybarney.
I always wear riding gear when I ride. Helmet, gloves, boots, knee, elbow and back protector. Only once I rode my bike without any gear... when the wife asked me to get something from the convenience store some 200 m away and I was  just finished washing the bike.. so I just got on the bike and rode 

hbliam, true there's no "lanes" here....Well there are white stripes painted on the street... but I think its purpose is just as a suggestion 

DucRs, it is chaotic. It's my 12th years commuting on motorcycles and I can tell you it's much much worse than before and I think currently it's in the worst condition.
IIRC, it started about 6 years ago when the government loosen the commercial loan requirements, in particular vehicle loan. People could get vehicle loan with lower down payment and easier requirements. Seemed like loans were just given away to anyone who walked into a leasing company office. Naturally the numbers of vehicles on the road increased, espescially motorcycles, cause with as little as the equivalent of US$ 35 for down payment, you can bring home a 100 cc scooter. 

More people started buying motorcycles. You see more and more motorcyles (and cars) on the road.  The numbers of bikes here are just unbelieveably high... and traffic jam got worse and worse.

To be fair, the people can't be blamed for what is happening on the road here. They buy bikes because they have to. It is something that they must have because public transportation facility is really bad down here.

But hopefully it will be better... the new governor and his lieutenant, is doing their best to fix the problems here, and they're doing great. Google "Jokowi" if you're interested.
Sorry for the rant.

HotIce, yes, it's a Dainese mesh jacket... air frame jacket. Really love this jacket, perfect for my commute it's really comfortable in our hot and humid climate. I added a forcefield insert back protector to give more protection.
I almost got hit from behind by other bike once, he missed me by 2", but still brushed my hand though So afterward I never ride without back protector. I figure at least it will soften the blow 

bob

[duc_fan]

Thanks for sharing.    Reminds me of the Philippines... only without the Jeepneys.  The painted lanes there are also taken as "suggestions".  A 3-lane freeway usually has 5 lines of traffic (roughly... 'cause of course everyone is weaving back and forth).

[DexterMorgan]

Do they have records of how many people there get hit by cars per year?  Seems like it would be astronomical....

[bob795]

Do they have records of how many people there get hit by cars per year?  Seems like it would be astronomical....

Thanks for asking Adam, it prompted me to look.

I can't find the number of how many people got hit by cars, but according to a police report, in 2012 there were 7,817 traffic accidents (not just motorcyle but all vehicles). Those accidents involved 11,795 vehicles (there were 14,594,090 vehicles registered in Jakarta in 2012), and the number of death was 901 people killed.

I myself think that the traffic is chaotic but it's not that dangerous. Why? Because down here the traffic moves at slower speed. In my video in that link, the fastest I rode was no more than 70. I can get to 80 on a stretch of straight and usually empty road not far from home...but most of the time I can only ride at 30 or 50. BTW that's 70 kph NOT mph

[duc_fan]

Manila was the same way.  It's insanely crowded (compared to much of the US), but because it's jammed, you're only averaging maybe 20 mph.  While it looks unsafe on video, I think it's not as bad as it appears, and it's easier to flow through traffic on a scoot than in a car.

I'd probably have something more like a DRZ400 than a Monster, though.    I would be afraid of damaging the Duc.

[NAKID]

Manila was the same way.  It's insanely crowded (compared to much of the US), but because it's jammed, you're only averaging maybe 20 mph.  While it looks unsafe on video, I think it's not as bad as it appears, and it's easier to flow through traffic on a scoot than in a car.

I'd probably have something more like a DRZ400 than a Monster, though.    I would be afraid of damaging the Duc.

Manila was crazy, much like parts of Thailand. I don't think I would ever feel confortable riding there. Being in a taxi is bad enough.

[duc_fan]

Yeah, I may have had a false sense of security... every time I go through Manila it's in my father-in-law's Suburban.   For some reason I have this urge to tackle traffic there on a little dual-sport or supermoto.  DRZ400SM would be perfect.  For exploring the countryside I'd want to stick with dirt tires, though... there are some great places to explore around Baguio and out on the Bataan peninsula.  Anyway... sorry for the threadjack... back to your regularly scheduled programming.