Time to "check your 6"

[beemerboy]

Greetings all,

 

A coworker/motorcyclist got rear-ended a few weeks back while on a Sunday ride.

 

Here's the scene:

 

Said coworker and a buddy are at a "T" intersection of a country road waiting for a car to execute a left hand turn, the intersection is at the bottom of valley. He and his buddy are riding in a staggered position with my coworker on the right/rearward side of the two bike formation.

 

Another motorist approaches from behind (their "6" or rear position) and doesn't see notice the vehicles stopped until the last few seconds. The motorist tries to avoid hitting them and ends up plowing into my coworker as he veers to the right.

 

My coworker has a pillion with him; both stay on the bike (a '98 Harley Road King) as they are catapulted forward. The bike comes to a rest on its left side with the rider's foot jammed up in between the handlebars and forks. Both rider and pillion are okay except for bumps, bruises, and scrapes.

 

The bike is totaled, the driver is ticketed.

 

Now for the surprise. This is a repeat of the very same kind accident almost a year ago. The same two guys except it was the other rider who was rear ended and the accident occurred here in town instead of a country road.

 

Yea, yea, I know. Save the comments about these guys being jinxed (I damn sure ain't riding with 'em!).

 

I just wanted to alert you folks about the importance of checking your mirrors when you're stopped at a light or intersection.

[St_Louis_Don]

WOW, You’d have thought after the first time. He would have both eyes glued to the mirrors while stopped. Thanks for the reminder.

 

I try and keep one eye (the good one) in the mirror when I'm stopped. I've found if I apply the brakes several times while the traffic approaches, they tend to stop a bit further back. Also I try and give myself a good car lengths distance from the car in front of me. And I’ll put myself on the side of the lane that allows me the best exit, if I have to move up in a hurry.

[marcopolo]

Keep it in first gear too, in case you need to move in a hurry. I'm also amazed how close some riders stop behind the car in front of them at a red light; they'd have nowhere to go if they had to escape. Seems pretty basic to me.

[Stormrider]

Keep it in first gear too, in case you need to move in a hurry. I'm also amazed how close some riders stop behind the car in front of them at a red light; they'd have nowhere to go if they had to escape. Seems pretty basic to me.

 

BINGO! Keep your bike in gear and the brake on. If you let off your brake the clown cager will think your about to take off.....then

[W8NONU]

MSF course stresses the need to stay in gear at stops while leaving enough room to get out of the way if the vehicle behind you does not stop. I make it a habit to keep an eye on the traffic behind me. Keeping this distance at a stop light kept me from being hit once by the Fed Ex truck in front of me. He started backing up to make room for a turning semi coming from our left. He did not see me behind him, but because I left room between us I was able to move to the side and not get hit. Works for vehicles behind you as well as in front in a situation like this one. Best to always leave an escape route.

[bross]

WOW, You’d have thought after the first time. He would have both eyes glued to the mirrors while stopped. Thanks for the reminder.

 

I try and keep one eye (the good one) in the mirror when I'm stopped. I've found if I apply the brakes several times while the traffic approaches, they tend to stop a bit further back. Also I try and give myself a good car lengths distance from the car in front of me. And I’ll put myself on the side of the lane that allows me the best exit, if I have to move up in a hurry.

Yep same here, and try to be pointed either to the side of the road or between the two cars in front of me, so I can "lane split" if I have to in a hurry. I always keep an eye on the immediate car closing behind me until they stop and figure, Ok I have a buffer now if someone forgets to stop. One of my co-workers was rear-ended last year, but he had 3 cars behind him! Actually 2 cars and a pickup truck. Not much he could've done in his case cause it's usually hard to see much more than a car or two behind you. Glad they were OK.

[TyTass]

Yep same here, and try to be pointed either to the side of the road or between the two cars in front of me, so I can "lane split" if I have to in a hurry. I always keep an eye on the immediate car closing behind me until they stop and figure, Ok I have a buffer now if someone forgets to stop.

 

Me too. And of course this is done from one side or the other of the lane, out of the center spill zone and in the view of the cager in front. I want to be able to move quickly AND decrease the likelihood of the cager in front deciding to back up.

 

Had that one happen a couple weeks ago. Guy in front decided to rethink his lane and started backing up to move to a space in the left lane. I moved left and he stopped (I think) when he saw my motion. It was close though I doubt it would have amounted to much other than bike damage (which is bad enough).

[Francis]

In addition to checking your 6 I try and squeeze the brakes and flash the break light until I see the driver stop behind me. Here in heavy city traffic I like to have a stopped car behind me as a buffer for the cars that are behind him. Again here in the city managing the traffic behind you is a life-saver technique because we usually are going to get hit from this position.

[pmdave]

I second the notion about leaving more space ahead of you for maneuvering. And I prefer being in one of the "wheel tracks" to the sides, not in the center of the lane.

 

Checking your mirrors should be a habit associated with braking or stopping. Make a point of always checking your mirrors when stopping, and it's more likely you'll spot a rear-ender in time to move out of the way.

 

Advocates of "lane sharing" (splitting, filtering, white lining, etc.) suggest that it's safer to be off to the side than in position to become a motorcycle sandwich, both when stopped for a signal, and when dribbling along in stop-and-go traffic.

 

Some related notes:

 

1. If your brake light looks like the brake light of the car ahead of you, a following driver might not perceive there is a bike in between.

 

2. There are LED tail/stop units that cause the brake light to flash several times when you apply the brakes. Releasing and re-applying the brakes will cycle the flashing again, which can really help your conspicuity from the rear.

 

3. If you are towing a trailer, the brake lights on the trailer, and the color of the trailer should set the trailer off so it is obvious to a following driver that there is a trailer behind the bike.

 

4. Lights in the red spectrum have the characteristic of making it difficult for a viewer to judge distance. Too bad someone wasn't clever enough to know this sooner. Yellow-Greeen brake lights would have been a better choice. Moral: make sure your tail/brake lights are big, bright, and conspicuous. For additional conspicuity, add some reflective sheeting to the back of your saddlebags. For daytime riding, consider a brighter colored jacket and a light colored helmet. (as opposed to say, standard cruiser-wear)

 

However, in spite of all your efforts to get others to see you and not run you over, your task is to get the #$%& out of the way.

 

pmdave

[Ken H.]

Boy I can relate to this one. I just barely missed the exact same thing not too long ago. Story here - And then she hit...

 

Always, always have a planed escape path!

[Survived-til-now]

Wow, lots of good advice here. I have always remembered not to have my forks turned when waiting to turn across traffic in case I get shunted and pushed into oncoming traffic.

 

However, commuting into the city I always take the bike out of gear at lights because i burnt out the clutch rod bearing on my 1150RT by holding it in all the time

 

I'll certainly rethink how I stop in queues of traffic though - thanks for the reminder.

 

Andy

[smiller]

I probably worry about being rear-ended more than any other kind of accident, especially in stop-and-go traffic. Obviously a very dangerous exposure for someone on a motorcycle. And of course most states prohibit lane splitting... for your safety...

[Mike]

Being stopped at a stoplight always makes me a wee bit nervous. I did see a guy on an HD get tapped a few years ago. Bent some metal, but it wasn't all that serious.

 

I will leave the bike in gear until a point when I feel it's safe to click into neutral. If there's no traffic behind me, or if I'm stopped in a queue of traffic and there are a couple of stationary vehicles behind me, then I'll sit in neutral. Otherwise, I keep it in gear. Even as you're decelerating, it's worthwhile to ensure that you're downshifting to an appropriate gear for your speed, just in case you need to make a sudden adjustment.

 

I also make sure to click my brakes a couple of times as I see cars approaching from the rear. I've got one of these Kisan plate surrounds, which flashes the center section of LEDs for a period of four seconds when the brakes are activated:

 

 

However, I always assume that I need to be ready to accelerate out of the way.

[Ken H.]

because i burnt out the clutch rod bearing on my 1150RT by holding it in all the time

Well you're not suppose to hold it in all the time!

 

Seriously though, I'd be hard pressed to believe a clutch rod bearing failure was directly due to holding the clutch disengaged for periods of time at a stop light. Me thinks the failure was coincidence.

 

Besides, given the safety margin a quick escape offers vs. the cost of a bearing, vs. being scrunched, I'll put the bearing at risk!

[SANTA]

thats all nice to say we need to pay attention to our six... but suggest just one or two of us mount a set twin 0.50 cal on a swivel turret back there and if they get to close... let'm have it...

 

i think that had that happened to me the driver would have been going to the hospital... and i'd be doing jail time but the message would have got through...

[myshkin]

You can also press both turn signals to make the directional lights on both sides to flash if you see someone coming up too quickly. I have seen or heard of a lot of HD's Being rear ended. Are there any stats by brand? I am wondering whether the height of the rear light and design contribute to the risk of being rear ended which is one of my big fears.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

My opinion on this, FWIW.

 

Two biggest dangers are stop and go traffic and stopped as the only vehicle at a stop light at night. I have lost 2 friends to the latter.

 

For the stop and go stuff, I now position myself at one or the other extreme edges of the lane, and alternate my attention between what is going on in front and what is going on behind. If, at any point, I see what I preceive as a threat, I'm splitting and the law be damned.

 

The alone at the light thing I handle with a right turn, a U-turn and another right. Or I'll just go through the darn thing. Again, risk of a ticket as opposed to risk of death, I'll take the ticket every time.

 

I really don't spend much time worrying about tail gaters. If one becomes bothersome, I just disappear. Right, left or forward. I'm gone. Unless said dunderhead is driving a late model Porsche Turbo or something faster, I have all the speed I need to pull away.

[russell_bynum]

My opinion on this, FWIW.

 

Two biggest dangers are stop and go traffic and stopped as the only vehicle at a stop light at night. I have lost 2 friends to the latter.

 

For the stop and go stuff, I now position myself at one or the other extreme edges of the lane, and alternate my attention between what is going on in front and what is going on behind. If, at any point, I see what I preceive as a threat, I'm splitting and the law be damned.

 

The alone at the light thing I handle with a right turn, a U-turn and another right. Or I'll just go through the darn thing. Again, risk of a ticket as opposed to risk of death, I'll take the ticket every time.

 

I really don't spend much time worrying about tail gaters. If one becomes bothersome, I just disappear. Right, left or forward. I'm gone. Unless said dunderhead is driving a late model Porsche Turbo or something faster, I have all the speed I need to pull away.

 

I agree...and that's pretty much what I do.

[AviP]

My opinion on this, FWIW.

 

Two biggest dangers are stop and go traffic and stopped as the only vehicle at a stop light at night. I have lost 2 friends to the latter.

 

For the stop and go stuff, I now position myself at one or the other extreme edges of the lane, and alternate my attention between what is going on in front and what is going on behind. If, at any point, I see what I preceive as a threat, I'm splitting and the law be damned.

 

The alone at the light thing I handle with a right turn, a U-turn and another right. Or I'll just go through the darn thing. Again, risk of a ticket as opposed to risk of death, I'll take the ticket every time.

 

I really don't spend much time worrying about tail gaters. If one becomes bothersome, I just disappear. Right, left or forward. I'm gone. Unless said dunderhead is driving a late model Porsche Turbo or something faster, I have all the speed I need to pull away.

Or a Viper!

 

Whenever I execute a left turn and I don't have a dedicated left turn lane, I pay equal attention to my 6 and my fromt. I align the bike in such a way that I have an escape route that's not necessarily into oncoming traffic.

 

In all other turn situations, I spend about 1/3rd time to my 6 and 2/3rd to the turn itself.

 

It has worked so far, but then I hardly have any rural experience where this seems to be more problematic.

[keithb]

The scenario you just described is EXACTLY WHY I HAVE HYPER LITES ON MY BIKE. There is absolutely no mistaking when they come on and people SEE THEM. I know there are exceptions to the rule. I also know I have witnessed many times in my rear view mirrors when they come on and the look on the drivers face when they see them and hit the brakes. PRICELESS. Not to mention saving my arse. It's a minor investment vs. being seen and that is what it is all about right?

[Boffin]

The scenario you just described is EXACTLY WHY I HAVE HYPER LITES ON MY BIKE. There is absolutely no mistaking when they come on and people SEE THEM. I know there are exceptions to the rule. I also know I have witnessed many times in my rear view mirrors when they come on and the look on the drivers face when they see them and hit the brakes. PRICELESS. Not to mention saving my arse. It's a minor investment vs. being seen and that is what it is all about right?

 

So why did my son have a car fail to stop and run into the back of his large bright blue bus at about 30mph today? Because some people are Not Looking and no amount of farkles can save you from that - so do not rely on them, develop an escape strategy.

 

BTW, no one on the bus was injured, the car driver suffered minor injuries. The car is a write-off, the bus engine is a write-off, maybe the bus too.

 

 

Andy

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Keith,

Bet to differ, I don't want to be "seen" so much as preceived. Conspicuity didn't help my friend in his Corvette when a drunk came over a hill at about 60 and rammed him, no sign of skid marks. He was waiting for a light at the foot of the hill with his brakes on. Bright yellow car with big, round tail/brake lights. He is not with us anymore.

 

In traffic in particular, folks are more apt to be on cell phones to explain why they are going to be late. Did I mention I hate cell phones?

[russell_bynum]

The scenario you just described is EXACTLY WHY I HAVE HYPER LITES ON MY BIKE. There is absolutely no mistaking when they come on and people SEE THEM. I know there are exceptions to the rule. I also know I have witnessed many times in my rear view mirrors when they come on and the look on the drivers face when they see them and hit the brakes. PRICELESS. Not to mention saving my arse. It's a minor investment vs. being seen and that is what it is all about right?

 

Go talk to a firefighter and ask if they ever have anyone pull out in front of their BIG RED FIRETRUCK with LIGHTS and SIREN on while they're honking that horn that makes people 2 blocks away wet the bed.

 

If people pull out in front of firetrucks rolling code (which they do), then there isn't a darn thing that you can do to/on/with your motorcycle to make yourself visible.

 

Don't get my wrong...hyperlites are a good thing, but you could set the bike on fire and stand behind it in a pink tutu playing the Sousaphone while juggling chainsaws...if the cager doesn't look up, it isn't going to matter.

[keithb]

Guys

My comments about Hyper Lites was not meant as a panacea for avoiding rear end collisions but a commment that they can get one's attention because of the intensity of the flashing. I know they are better than just the brake light. Hell I was rear ended at 40 mph in a car about 20 years ago so I know full well what whiplash is all about. Just my .02.

[JonathanE]

Go talk to a firefighter and ask if they ever have anyone pull out in front of their BIG RED FIRETRUCK with LIGHTS and SIREN on while they're honking that horn that makes people 2 blocks away wet the bed.

 

If people pull out in front of firetrucks rolling code (which they do), then there isn't a darn thing that you can do to/on/with your motorcycle to make yourself visible.

 

Don't get my wrong...hyperlites are a good thing, but you could set the bike on fire and stand behind it in a pink tutu playing the Sousaphone while juggling chainsaws...if the cager doesn't look up, it isn't going to matter.

 

As usual, Russell has a way of saying exactly what I would like to say, but better.

 

Sometimes it helps to save your bacon by being more conspicuous, sometimes it don't. If they aren't even looking, you're toast no matter what you look like. These are the cases where you better be trying to stay out of the way, not just trying to make them notice you, cause they are trying even harder to ignore you.

[Ken H.]

being seen and that is what it is all about right?

Well I won't beat up on you too much more because several people have already made the point. However I would offer that the short answer to your question is - no. We must always have a defensive posture of us avoiding 'them' when on a bike, not doing things that may, or may not, help them avoid us. Remember, when on a bike we are always on the loosing end of the deal.