Jump to content
IGNORED

After being nearly killed today...


pbbeck

Recommended Posts

My brother and I were nearly killed today, just so someone could score a parking space. In the image below, We were traveling westbound on Shoreline Dr (purple arrow) after having rolled through green light. We were moving 30 mph - the prevailing speed of traffic - setting up for a right turn at the next light. A car traveling two lanes over to my left suddenly swept across all lanes (red arrow). He was focused entirely on the parking spaces. I beeped. He looked at me with plenty of time, waved, and kept right on going, forcing me to come to a rapid stop. I was wailing on my horn at the time. He just smiled and waved.

 

shoreline.jpg

 

This happened only two blocks from my home, so I shook it off, parked, changed into regular street clothes, and walked down to the "scene of the crime.' The man and his wife were still sitting in the car! I walked right up to the car, and introduced myself.

 

"Excuse me. I'm the guy on the motorcycle you nearly killed ten minutes ago."

 

"I'm so sorry," said the driver. "I didn't see you."

 

"Yes you did. You looked right at me when I beeped. You waved to excuse almost killing me, then you continued to steer right at me."

 

"I'm so sorry. My husband didn't realize you were there until I told him to look out for the bikes."

 

"Ma'am, I'm glad you were looking, but your husband is driving. He saw me and continued to swerve into me. I appreciate that you are sorry, but you nearly killed me. Next time you will."

 

"There won't be a next time."

 

"Oh? Yes there will. You won't kill ME, but you will kill some kid who might not be as alert as I am."

 

He sat there stunned, then I laid the guilt trip on him. "Sir, I'm just trying to get home alive. Please keep that in mind next time you change lanes. Have a nice weekend."

 

PS. I was on the MV. If I had been on the GS, the Stebel horn would have given the driver a heart attack. I would probably been charged with involuntary manslaughter!

Link to comment

Glad you're here to tell the story. I can sympothize... I almost got squished on Hwy 101 this afternoon on the way home. I was lane splitting through 25 mph traffic when an old guy in a Dodge 2500 p/u with the biggest towing mirror I've ever see on a Dodge suddenly tried to move from the #1 to #2 lane... trouble was there was a small VW mirror to mirror with him... and I was right between! As I accelerated out of a messy death I actually had to lean my head FAR away from the truck to miss colliding with his huge mirror. I'm certain if I had the bigger lids on (instead of the city lids) I would have traded paint with at least one of the vehicles.

Link to comment
ncsonderman

I'm glad that you saw it coming! I'm also glad that you went back and gave him a piece of your mind.

 

I always try to let the other driver know that they really made a bad decision. Like the moving truck that nearly got me today. No, I was not in his blind spot. He just thought that since his lane was about stopped he should just jump out into mine which was moving right along. eek.gif

Link to comment

That was great!

If I survive the next near-miss and given the opportunity, I hope to follow your example.

Polite but to the point, hitting it home. clap.gif

Link to comment

Glad you're ok, but I am not sure I would have been that composed in the ensuing conversation. Near death experiences generally bring out a side of me that is not pleasant. Hopefully, both of them learned a lesson and will be more vigilant when driving.

Link to comment

Since I don't live in CA I have a question. If you are squished while lane splitting, who is at fault under CA law?

Link to comment

I admire your composure. I'm afraid that the fear of almost getting run over would have come out as just plain pissed off when I was trying to educate that driver.

Link to comment

Well done. thumbsup.gif I hope your composure assured that the lesson was learned rather than lost in the driver's emotional bluster.

 

Sometimes it seems that educating the rest of the masses will be like emptying the ocean with a teaspoon, but we gotta try because our lives could depend on it.

Link to comment
I admire your composure. I'm afraid that.....

 

.....I would have flipped out bashed his head in with my helmet.

Link to comment
I admire your composure. I'm afraid that.....

 

.....I would have flipped out bashed his head in with my helmet.

 

Yeah, but then you'd have to buy a new one...what fun would that be??

Link to comment
I admire your composure. I'm afraid that.....

 

.....I would have flipped out bashed his head in with my helmet.

 

Yeah, but then you'd have to buy a new one...what fun would that be??

 

It would have given me a real excuse - I just got it on Monday....

 

 

Products Ordered:

NOL-N102|TITA|M - Nolan N102 N-COM Flip Face Helmet. FREE SHIPPING. -

Color: TITA, , Size: M....Reg. Price:

$249.99....Discounted Price: $224.99 x 1 = $224.99

 

thumbsup.gif

Link to comment

It would have given me a real excuse - I just got it on Monday....

 

Well since you put it that way, let the beatings commence until morale improves! thumbsup.gif

Link to comment
It would have given me a real excuse - I just got it on Monday....

 

Well since you put it that way, let the beatings commence until morale improves! thumbsup.gif

 

Now I'd have a use for the old helmet

Link to comment
Lineareagle

Well done.

Reminds me of many, many moons ago watching from my VW bus a guy pass me and several bikes and then cut off the one in front.

 

Well they were all on HD AND were fully patched AND had probably practiced what then ensued before.

 

They dropped back in single file.

Pulled out lengths of chain and proceeded to pass the offender and offer some encouragement to never do that again on his fenders!

 

Your approach was much more classy, hopefully more instructive, but I am sure not as much fun!

grin.gif

Link to comment
Les is more

Wow!

 

I appplaud your attitude. Those people will remember your reasoned approach much more than they would have acknowledged or thought twice about an angry tirade. Good heads up play!

Link to comment
Since I don't live in CA I have a question. If you are squished while lane splitting, who is at fault under CA law?

 

Safe to say the truck would have been. He was making the turning movement, myself and the VW were traveling straight. Only other factor would be if my lane splitting was unsafe, but I'm confident with my speed, the overall traffic speed, and whatnot that wouldn't have been an issue.

 

sorry for the thread hijack.

Link to comment

You are a better man than me! A day does not go by that someone who thinks they are the only person on the road cuts me off or some other stupid move. Especially here in South Florida where it seems turn signals are never used.

 

Nice graphics too!

Link to comment
Since I don't live in CA I have a question. If you are squished while lane splitting, who is at fault under CA law?

 

I have no idea. In this case I wasn't lanesplitting.

 

I'm not sure why I wasn't more enraged than I was. I suppose I cooled down in the time it took to go home, change clothes, and walk back that direction (I was going down that way anyway for some dinner.)

 

Lately I've come to the conclusion that if, as a motorcyclist, I take every opportunity to be polite and courteous that I can, it may change a few people's prejudiced opinions about us as a group. In another thread there was some talk about waving to cars that move over when you are lanesplitting. I do that. In addition, I give an appreciative left-hand salute to cars that could have turned left in front of me but didn't out of caution. In the city I stop for old ladies and mothers with children who are in the crosswalk. The little kids always wave. I wave back. At traffic light, when someone asks the stupidest question about my bike or about riding (for the 3rd time that day), I try to smile and answer in a friendly way (unless they're a squid! wink.gif

 

I'm not Mother Theresa, and I hope to not sound holier-than-thou, but I figure nice always gets you farther,

Link to comment
tricklizard

I really appreciate the way you handled that. Guilt goes much farther than anger. Every time I have seen someone “teach a lesson” it just ends up bad. The worst part, is that driver could take his anger out on other bikers in the future. Just like speeding in neighborhoods or other rude acts, the mistakes and misjudgments of a few strongly affect the many. Visiting my in-laws the other day, one of their neighbors starting running down motorcyclists because some “dumb kid” keeps speeding down the street, regardless of the presence of children. After being approached, the “kid” only goes faster now and revs the motor. So this guy (not realizing that I have three motorcycles) tells me how dumb all motorcyclists are. Again, I appreciate your patience and reason. thumbsup.gif

Link to comment

I would have told that sorry SOB to get out of the car and engage me in an ass kicking contest to see who's got the biggest boot right then and there! After you left that jerk and his wife or whatever had a good laugh you can bet on it. At the very least I would have put the mother of dents right in his door!

Link to comment

You dealt with it well. I had a similar experience recently and it reinforced the idea that they're all trying to kill you. Or just assume that all cagers are idiots.

Link to comment

Glad you made it through that! I have seen on a daily occurence situations like this in Phx. I for one have issues with people and their antics when it comes to driving in general let alone a m/c being involved.

 

About a year ago I wrote an editorial in the AZ Republic in Phx wanting better info to cage drivers about m/c riders and crashes. To my surprise they printed it. What was even more surprising is that the paper began a several day campaign of articles giving cage drivers awarenesss issues about m/c riders in AZ. With that...I don't think that we can preach enough about safety and the like. In any event I am glad that you made it a point to get their attention about the haphazard driving you were subjected to. Maybe, just maybe, it will help the rest of us out someday.

Link to comment

Why didn't you get the jerks name, license plate number, take a photo, and file a complaint at the closest police department? confused.gif

Link to comment
Why didn't you get the jerks name, license plate number, take a photo, and file a complaint at the closest police department? confused.gif

 

The reality is the police would have done nothing. Short of an accident in which the police can cite/arrest for any infractions prior to or immediately after an accident with probable cause, the statutes do not allow for traffic cites based on citizen complaints. A LEO must on view the infraction unless an accident takes place. That is the norm is most if not all jurisdictions.

Link to comment

Seems to me then that you have recourse to file a charge of vehicular assault or attempted murder. You stated that the individual saw you or at least his passenger alerted him to the fact that you were in harms way. Despite that, he maintained a course of action that would have resulted in your injury or death had you not taken evasive action. Never mind that his one brain cell mission was a parking spot. He saw you (or knew you were there) and continued on a collision course.

I feel we gotta do something to get people like this in the justice system and off the road. Maybe the District Attorney would not take the case. But just maybe, he would send some uniformed officers to this jerks residence to do some investigation. Having the uniforms come into your house and grill you about your actions with an explanation about the possible penalties if convicted might send some sobering thoughts through this jerks grey matter.

I am duely impressed how you handled yourself. Good on you for not doing violence. However, this dim wit is still on the road. It is just a matter of time until he pulls another similiar stupid act. Next time, the victim may not be as fortunate as you.

Link to comment
Why didn't you get the jerks name, license plate number, take a photo, and file a complaint at the closest police department? confused.gif

 

Funny you ask. On the the ten-minute walk from my home to where I found the guy, I walked by quite a few police officers. Downtown Long Beach has become a ghetto nightclub strip, so there are always tons of cops on foot. I asked a seargent what the protocol was for filing a complaint about a wreckless driver. His verbatim response was, "There's no point. Unless we see it, there's nothing we can do about it."

 

AZKomet his the nail on the head.

Link to comment

frown.gif

If there is no justice and violence is not appopriate, then the only thing left is revenge.

 

Ne Obliviscaris (never forget) - Clan Campbell

Link to comment
Sidmariner

You are extremely lucky.

 

I lost my 22 year old brother to almost exactly such a circumstance. A pickup truck driver pulled out of a shopping market parking lot near a busy intersection. While trying to bolt across two lanes of traffic to get into the left turn lane on the far side he went straight over my brother on his 650 Suzuki. My brother died of a broken neck a few minutes later.

 

The trucker got off by saying he couldn't see my brother because his headlight wasn't on. There wasn't enough left of the headlight in the wreckage for the cops to dispute the claim.

 

The death, which occurred 19 years ago, kept me and my second brother from taking up riding for all this time, just out of respect for my distraught parents.

 

Brother's Last Ride...

Accident3.jpg

 

Link to comment
KingBiscuit

This type of near miss has happened to me a couple of times and my understanding of "road rage" increases each time. We need to do all we can to make the general population aware that we are on the road and deserve the same respect as other vehicles.

 

At the other end of the spectrum are the squids that put themselves in danger and give the rest of us the bad name. Recently in a small town north of Columbus, a young guy was killed when an elderly woman turned left in front of his bike. There was outrage in the biking community over it....they failed to mention that the police report showed that the bike was going close to 90 mph in a 35 zone. I guess my point is, that in order to get the respect we deserve, we as motorcyclists need to act responsibly and attempt to get other motorcyclists to do the same.

 

Dan

Link to comment

Sid, You never get over such a great loss. Thanks for sharing. Your story is just another reminder of how important it is to ride safely.

 

I will never understand that defense: "His headlight wasn't on!"

 

If they could see with enough clarity to discern whether or not the headlight was on, couldn't they SEE the bike?! confused.gif

Link to comment
DaveTheAffable

Lately I've come to the conclusion that if, as a motorcyclist, I take every opportunity to be polite and courteous that I can, it may change a few people's prejudiced opinions about us as a group. In another thread there was some talk about waving to cars that move over when you are lanesplitting. I do that. In addition, I give an appreciative left-hand salute to cars that could have turned left in front of me but didn't out of caution. In the city I stop for old ladies and mothers with children who are in the crosswalk. The little kids always wave. I wave back. At traffic light, when someone asks the stupidest question about my bike or about riding (for the 3rd time that day), I try to smile and answer in a friendly way (unless they're a squid! wink.gif

 

I'm not Mother Theresa, and I hope to not sound holier-than-thou, but I figure nice always gets you farther,

 

Well done. It's a strange culture and day we live in if people look down their noses at you for your trying to take 'The High Road'. I have no vision that we'll change ALL the drivers attitudes. But if your, mine, and a few others gracious approach saves ONE rider, it's well worth it. The problem is we'll never know who DIDN'T get hit in the future. But where this approach can be applied... I agree.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...