**gasp** another near death moment

[elkroeger]

Seems like there's a lot of these near-death jobbies posted here - you guys be careful.

 

So we left the BMWMOA rally on Saturday afternoon, headed north. There's a 30 or 40 mile straight away just south of Madras. 2 lane highway, 55 or 60 mph, and there's a chronic case of 75 and 80 mph drivers. We were continually getting passed. It was a good hot day with the sun high in the sky.

 

I check my mirrors, there's the Mrs. on her 650CS, check my speed, 5 over. Look back up and there's a PT Cruiser in my lane coming straight at me. Before I could react he saw me and bailed out into my shoulder skidding and stirring up a great cloud of dust. So we maintained our course without incident.

 

So that was 100% poor judgement. He didn't see me to begin with, and then he bailed left onto my shoulder (which I was always taught not to do...). But replaying the whole thing in my head, I've been thinking about what my options were. Supposing I could have (or needed to) swerved this way or that, Lori surely would have got nailed. While she was riding in the right side of our lane, and I on the left (as Hough suggests in his book), jamming on my brakes potentially would've resulted in her clipping me. She was maybe 20 yards back, maybe more.

 

The only real avoidance I see that might've been useful is that I was using my 50W moto lights. Perhaps they saved our skin. Immediately after that, we both rode the rest of the trip (daylight hours) with our high beams on. I've always felt that the yellow driving lights are more distinctive and/or visible, so I've ordered a set of yellow bulbs for the motolights. Lori's got a pair of HID trail tech lights that have died for some unknown reason. I'll be out there tonight to diagnose the problem.

 

I dunno - any thoughts on lighting for daylight travel? any thoughts on something we could have been doing to decrease the risk?

 

You guys be safe out there.

 

 

 

[ArmyGuy]

Glad to hear you're OK. I think trying to be conspicuous is great and I don't leave home without my orange, reflective vest. But, there are folks out there that will hit a fully lit up fire truck. If they don't want to see you, they won't.

[Kroref]

+1 for the 50W Moto lights. I think the triangle pattern of the headlite and motolights down by the calipers is helpful due to being a configuration that a driver is not used to seeing and catches his attention.

[russell_bynum]

+1 for the 50W Moto lights. I think the triangle pattern of the headlite and motolights down by the calipers is helpful due to being a configuration that a driver is not used to seeing and catches his attention.

 

+1

 

The Motolights are really good because like you said...they create that big triangle of light that is really distinctive (i.e. gets noticed). It also helps provide multiple points of light which makes it easier to judge your distance and closing rate.

 

The amber bulbs are even better because again...they're different than anything else out there.

 

The other benefit of motolights is they do the job (increase the odds of being noticed) without blinding and/or annoying everyone with your high beams.

 

That said...if you need for other people to notice you in order for you to stay alive, you're not taking an active role in your own survival. Yellow helmets, high-viz vests, motolights, reflective stickers, flashing brake lights, running lights...all of those things are well and good, and reasonable tools to have in your arsenal, but at the end of the day...if you stayed alive because of any of those things, then you need to take a critical look at how you're riding.

[upflying]

Did the PT Cruiser crash after skidding off the shoulder?

Only thing I would have done differently is returned to the scene and wait for Oregon State Police/Highway Patrol to arrive and provide witness statements. The PT bozo may have had issues such as impairment and your witness statements aids tremendously in the LEO services he deserved.

There really is no best advice to offer in riding incidents like these. Lights and high-viz is good but remember CHP tends to avoid use of emergency lights when they are stopped on the right shoulder. Drunks tend to steer towards lights like flies on stink.

We are all going to have our ticket punched someday.

 

[Couchrocket]

HEADLIGHT MODULATOR. This is exactly the type of driver you want to "irritate" w/ one.

[elkroeger]

HEADLIGHT MODULATOR....

 

Ahhh... the modulator. good idear!

 

I agree 100% with the concept of don't rely on the other guy seeing you... but clearly this is a case where from a 1/2 a mile away, two bikes and four headlights were still invisible to this guy. And there isn't any avoidance maneuver I can do (until after he makes the decision to pass...) while cruising down the highway, as I would in town. Seems to me the only real option here IS to be seen.

 

Really, until now, my main worry on 2 lane highways is the guy that pulls out from a side road. But I guess that's the same exact issue.

 

btw - we had a great time at the rally, and found a WONDERFUL pizza joint in Cascade Locks (Pacific Crest Pub) up in the gorge. :-9

[elkroeger]

Did the PT Cruiser crash after skidding off the shoulder?

 

No, I'm pretty sure he just rode his ABS to a stop (Hmmm... maybe he wasn't exactly skidding...). There was a full lane sized shoulder there for him, so in my mirror it didn't appear that he left the blacktop.

 

Had he rolled it, or gone careening into the brush, we most likely would've stopped and dug out the cell phone. Good idea though, thanks for the advice.

[Antimatter]

I have to add that I think running with your high beams and additional lighting during day time may actually make things worse. The light may actually obscure your outline against the horizon for a driver headed towards you. I remember seeing a program on camoflage where a tank was hidden by hanging 60 watt light bulbs along the lines of its shape. The tank was put at the top of a hill against a clear, blue sky and it was virtually invisible until you got close enough to see the individual lights. Any time you obscure the outline of your bike you'll make it difficult for other drivers to recognize your presence, often because our brain identifies things by their shape.

 

A headlight modulator would be the solution IMHO, rather than adding extra lighting.

[Survived-til-now]

Good grief........

 

Just two thoughts on this:

 

1. Running on full beam makes it very difficult for a driver to work out the distance to you or to see exactly what you are doing when he does see you. I couldn't recommend it.

 

2. We had a brief from our local traffic police accident investigation team. You post reminded me of an incident one of them described. The victim of head on described the other vehicle as "he just keep coming and I was flashing my lights..." The policeman's comment was that it hadn't occured to the victim to slow down until just before impact, nor to consider swerving off the road or do anything that might have avoided the worst situation of all - a head-on collision. You mentioned half-mile so perhaps that look in the mirror at your wife and at your speed took too long......

 

However. sounds like if you had headed for the shoulder at the last second you'd not be writing now.

 

Andy

[Natche]

Avoid riding at night! Seriously

 

Fewer deer - fewer drunks - fewer risks

[outpost22]

Know that area well. Glad you both came through unscathed (psyche excepted).

 

I also believe in the "triangle" lighting approach and have it on both bikes. There seems to be a noticeable difference between running them on or off in traffic. I have noticed more people turn in front of me or pull out when the auxilary lights are turned off. When all 3 are lit, cages seem to hesitate and stop, reluctant to pull out seeing those 3 lights coming at them. (2 are just 35w fog lights).

 

I quit using the "modulator" a few years ago as everybody in front of me seemed to slow down and drive like snails thinking I was a cop.

[Lineareagle]

First off very glad you and your wife did not fair worse in this encounter.

 

Friends call my bike the 'Christmas Tree', head light, two 520 fog lights - on all the time, a pair of P3 Photon Blasters, high vis tape on the hand guards. Then there is the back.

 

Still I don't rely on this. I think of it has helping the other guy avoid being in an accident.

 

A few observations from this great distance, me here you way over there.

 

From what you said I would consider this highway a high hazard highway. I classify the roads I ride on by several designations and ride them accordingly. Extreme, High, Moderate, Low.

All kinds of things go into my perceptions but what strikes me here is that the speed limit is 55 and everyone is driving 10 - 15 over and you are being passed a lot.

If you are being passed a lot then vehicles coming in the other direction are also being passed a lot. Ergo High Hazard. Thus ALL on coming traffic requires extreme vigilance as at some point a vehicle is going pop out behind an on comer and be in my lane for a potentially long time.

 

Second being passed is a high hazard so if it happens a lot then the hazard is high.

 

You say your wife was 20 yards behind you in the right track. Therefore you two are presenting a passing obstacle of 60 plus feet, equivalent to a tractor trailer BUT you do not present the same visual obstacle because there is so much perceived space. Thus a passing vehicle does not perceive the same requirement of distance required to pass and you can find yourself with a vehicle attempting a pass and misjudging resulting in a cut in and brake or a languid acceleration to get by you.

 

I do not understand the staggered riding thing. Especially on a High Hazard road.

One, it does not present any more obvious a hazard to oncoming traffic until the traffic is in your lane.

Two in a situation where oncoming traffic is being passed the driver might not even see you until he gets out from behind his obstacle, you are hugging the center line your spouse is basically directly behind you from the other vehicles perspective.

My biggest problem is people become rigid in riding like this, follow the leader, where is she? check, check. From the following rider; trying to keep up, having their field of view of oncoming traffic blocked by you. Basically not riding your own ride and being aware of your surroundings and your personal hazards.

 

Think of this.

You are riding as in this instance. An oncoming pickup approaches and a 2x4 slides out the back and into your lane, you swerve but hit it and go down, your riding partner - can they slow down, stop and exit the riding surface safely? If not you have a problem and so do they.

 

Personally I think a much more appropriate safety item if you ride together is a good bike to bike communication system. So she can hang back, let people pass her, allow her to ride the entire lane, increase her awareness of where she is in time and space. Allows you to focus ahead on traffic and hazards, you no longer have to look back to see where she is etc.

 

Without communication when two or more people ride together they all need to know where they are going, ride their own ride, be aware of all their hazards and space themselves out sufficiently to not increase their exposure to disaster.

 

Thanks, In lieu of $.02 to me donate it to BMWST.

 

 

 

[Horse]

 

Glad you survived!

 

A few thoughts:

 

1. 'What to do?' If all else fails, Jump! Take you chances going over the vehicle rather than through it. OK, landing (and the subsequent bits) will probably hurt - but no more than if you'd fallen off at the same speed.

 

So either jump, or at least stand up.

 

2. Why weren't you seen? If it was a head-on situation, there are several reasons why the oncoming driver may not have seen you, or may have seen you but not understood what they were seeing:

 

a. Looming; this is a phenomenon where something approaching you doesn't really change much until a critical point where it 'pops' out and becomes 'real'.

 

 

b. Understanding; here I'll leave it to a book author:

 

The Habit of the Three Invisibles

 

From a long out of print, 1976, American book called 'Living With Your First Motorcycle' by Henry Gregor Felsen

 

Riding in traffic, you need the habit of being invisible in three different ways.

 

Most cycle accidents involving another vehicle, involve a car. Most of the time - about 70 to 80 percent of the time - the accident is the fault of the motorist. The usual excuse is "I didn't see the motorcycle."

 

Most of the time that's the truth, even if the driver of the car was staring right at the cycle.

 

Most of the time the accidents that are the fault of the motorist are the fault of the cyclist. It doesn't seem to make sense to say that, but it's true.

Most drivers on the road today are over thirty years of age. Most have never ridden a motorcycle or received any instruction or information about how to share the road with a cycle.

 

It is up to the cyclist to remember that and not to expect the auto driver to understand his problems.

 

Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of cyclists are too young to drive cars, so they don't know the problems of the auto driver. And they do things that invite accidents, like not knowing that a car has many blind spots when it comes to a little machine like a cycle, and if you ride in a blind spot, you're inviting an accident that is technically the auto driver's fault, but really the cyclist's fault for getting in a dangerous position.

 

So to be safe, you develop the habit of the three invisibilities.

 

Think of this:

In order really to see you, the motorist must be able to see you three ways.

 

1. He must see you physically.

2. He must see you mechanically.

3. He must see you emotionally.

 

 

1. You assume when you ride that he cannot or does not see you in those three ways, even if he is looking right into your baby blue eyes. And you think for both.

 

In order to be the most visible physically, you wear bright colors, turn your headlight on, day or night, avoid riding in his blind spots, and give him every chance to see you.

 

In this country our driving eyes are still trained to look for big cars and trucks. We are learning to adjust our eyes to look for small cars, but motorcycles still sneak up on us, get lost behind a window post, seem farther away than they are, and, being small, seem to be travelling slower than they are.

 

So we make mistakes and hit cycles.

 

Have the habit of thinking physically invisible.

 

2. Motorists who do not ride cycles and who see it physically do not see it mechanically.

 

They do not know that a cycle has greater traction problems in bad weather, and it has to slow down for street conditions that a car can ignore. Expecting the cycle to start, stop, and behave like a car, they don't know how to give it a chance and pile into it.

 

So, you assume that no motorist understands your road and bike problems and expect the worst. If you expect it, you won't get it.

 

Remember your mechanical invisibility.

 

3. Seeing you emotionally.

 

If the car driver thinks of all cyclists as Hell's Angels and hoods, noisy nuisances who flout law and order, get in his way, and are looking for trouble, you're in trouble, even if you're wearing your pin for perfect attendance at Sunday School.

 

The motorist who does sees not you, but his idea of what all cyclists are like, is dangerous. He won't give you a break even if he sees you physically and mechanically, and in a shoot-out his big car has your light bike outgunned.

 

Assume that the motorist is hostile toward cyclists until proved otherwise, and hold your habit of feeling that you are emotionally invisible.

 

Perhaps I should add a fourth category, that of seeing you legally.

 

Your cycle is entitled to a full lane of traffic. You ride left of center, where the traction is usually best, and so cars won't treat you like a skinny bicycle and try to squeeze you into the curb. The motorist doesn't know your rights. He wants to get by, and you seem to be blocking him. He thinks you are an arrogant road hog and might give you a bad time in return.

I am happy to say that my own state of Iowa—and we're one of the big cycle states in the country—is doing something about that. When you get your materials to study for a license to drive a car, it includes how to understand and share the road with cycles.

 

Too bad that more cyclists don't seem to know. If you treat your cycle like a toy and squeeze between cars, don't expect them to yield a full lane to you when you need it. Know your rights, ride according to them, and watch out. Being in the right is fine, but it doesn't stop the bleeding.

 

Remember the habit of the three—or four—invisibles, and you won't get into situations where the motorist is to blame and you are in the hospital.

 

c. Camouflage; lighting has been mentioned earlier. During WWII 'Yehoudi' planes were trialled. These were anti-submarine, in the days before radar, and had lights in the leading edge of the wing, adjusted to ambient sky, and could get close enough that the sub couldn't dive in time.

 

d. Limits on perception; as part of the 'looming', a bike and car closing on a highway are likely to have a closing speed of 120-140 mph (or 170 - 190 feet per second) - so the few seconds it takes for a driver to identify a bike (otherwise just a 'dot') means you've travelled hundreds of yards closer without either of you taking any action.

 

e. Dot on the screen; if you're a dot in the distance, it only needs a few flies or road dirt, or a stone chip on the car's screen and you're effectively invisible!