| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
As to reflective tape- a few years back, Motorcycle Consumer News (IIRC) reviewed a company that made ALL colors of reflective tape, even black- I'd have to excavate the entire office to find that issue though... I've found that the real-deal 3M Scotchbrite stuff is the best... | ||
| Blake |
Phillip, Best advice is like Danger Man and others have already suggested. Basically always ride as if you are invisible. When approaching intersections with vehicles, slow and flash your lights, even hit the horn. The headlight and tail-light flashers would seem by far the most effective at helping others recognize your presence. Patrick's (Aesquire's) description is dead on. Automobile drivers minds just don't process our slim vertical silhouette. They are conditioned to look for an car shape, lower and wider, or big truck shapes. Nothing you can do in the way of color will likely help that. | ||
| Jaimec |
Be careful about flashing your lights... in many parts of the United States that is interpreted as "I am yielding my right of way to you." This is different than a modulator which is constantly flashing. By the way, the number one reason for automobile/locomotive accidents is that the car driver was unable to estimate the closing speed of the oncoming train. Think about that for a second... if the driver could not judge the closing speed of something as big as a TRAIN, what chance do you think you stand as a motorcyclist?? | ||
| Jaimec |
I've also seen guys shaving and coming their hair. My favorite "Face Palm moment" was the jackass with the open newspaper stretched over his steering wheel reading on the highway. He was all over the road! One of those people who really need to get on their knees at night and thank GOD I don't carry a handgun, because I think I would've put him out of MY misery. | ||
| Whistler |
Lately it's not just that the cagers don't see me, it's that they think I should not have any space on the road. It's like I don't matter, they should always have the lane, the right of way. So I ride like I am invisible but I also ride like they are actively out to murder me, with prejudice. | ||
| Chauly |
I want one of these:  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Who you going to be? John or Ponch?  | ||
| Strokizator |
Oh they see you alright, they just don't give a $hit. I can't tell you how many times people have given me the look that says "Here I come. What are you going to do about it?" There's a good reason I don't carry a weapon. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
yeah all of that is why i generally don't carry on the bike. can't be said enough ride like you don't exist because to them you don't. for quite a while when i first started riding i kept trying to be dead right. once i let go of the need to be right and took hold of the need to live things got better. always believe that people in cars will do the dumbest things and act accordingly. because they will and if you want to live to ride tomorrow you'd better. i've done the white jackets and helmets brighter/more lights, loud and i mean painfully loud pipes all the usual attention grabbers and you know what? they still don't care. none of it mattered. so no i dress in black track leathers and ride a black bike and ride faster than most drive but not insanely fast as i don't wanna talk to the popo. no matter what if you go down on a bike you lose and the bike loses and maybe your family loses too. | ||
| Sifo |
Be careful about flashing your lights... in many parts of the United States that is interpreted as "I am yielding my right of way to you." Last year on a nice straight 2 lane road I had a car heading the opposite direction with his left turn signal going start flashing his headlights at me. I had no idea what he meant to be telling me. Damned if he didn't make that left turn right freaking in front of me. I came within a few feet of hitting him with my rear in the air. There's little doubt that he saw me. WTF? Oh they see you alright, they just don't give a $hit. I can't tell you how many times people have given me the look that says "Here I come. What are you going to do about it?"  | ||
| Buellathebuzzer |
I think, in 1976, Mr. Stricker called it "defensive driving." Which to me means good driving/riding habits that defend your life and safety. (I must admit that in my youth my mom accused me of offensive driving. I am no longer young and foolish.) You can't control what other people will see or what they will do. The only thing you have control over is yourself. | ||
| Jayvee |
The police bike may not be needed, just a police style helmet; two-tone, gold/black (around here.) I have hi-viz jacket, yellow helmet, yellow bike, either yellow or hi-viz gloves. Also have this:http://www.whitehorsegear.com/3m-reflective-harnes s And this: http://www.motoport.com/index.php?option=com_redsh op&view=product&pid=20&cid=10&Itemid=15 And this, for when there's mist or fog. It can run a steady yellow light, or a flashing red light: http://www.aerostich.com/off-and-riding/visibility -protection/visibility-and-reflective/lighted-refl ective-waistband.html I added running lights to the front and rear of the bike (Hurt report says front are more needed, notice most Jap bikes come with front-only running lights now.) I added signal standoffs to the rear (same part as used in the front) to emphasize the running lights. Also changing all signals to LED shortly. I have an LED light bar for the license plate frame that I plan to wire to the brake light. I don't remember any close calls since I got the Hi-Viz jacket, but I still use supplemental stuff as the weather/visibility dictates. We have periodic fog on my way to work. That flashing light belt feels a lot less ridiculous then. And even so, ride as if invisible. Don't linger in blind spots, use the whole lane, always signal and early, etc. etc. (Message edited by jayvee on April 05, 2012) | ||
| Whatever |
I was changing lanes is traffic. It was fairly bumper to bumper, so I was stopped and trying to change lanes... and you all know how damn wide my bike is with the hard bags. I was wearing my nerd vest and had my brights on too, in mid afternoon. The people in the lane I was leaving kept inching around me on the right. I finally turned around and said to this chick with an open window. "Do you know what you are doing is illegal?" She said, "NO, I didn't know that." I said, "Yeah, you can get a ticket for that!" I didn't have time to explain that lane splitting is only legal in California, and if you are a car it is illegal to "share" a lane with an mc. The problem is that 90% of drivers may see you, they just do not give a shit. PERIOD. They feel so swaddled in their cages they don't think that your bones will crumple like paper even hitting you at a low speed crash. Unless, they PERSONALLY, ride, or know someone who has had a MAJOR accident or died riding they have absolutely no clue. 80 MPH big rig driver heading down 95... reading a book. Another tailgater at 80 MPH going down 95 in an SUV. Tailgating me, I get over, he passes me and starts tailgating Michael. We are both wearing HI VIZ vests. The guy was texting. 80% of our society has the effects of a technological lobotomy. UNDER 30, grew up with MTV. UNDER 20, grew up with FB and texting WHILE DRIVING. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: first town to illegalize ANY CELL PHONE USE in NC. Hands free, blue tooth, texting already illegal, unless parked out of traffic. They can only ENFORCE with a primary reason to pull over, reckless driving, inattentive driving, speeding or an accident. I, sad to say, believe it will not make a difference. I think all licensed drivers should get to watch the goriest motorcycle accident footage they can find to get their driver's license. AND, one DUI, license revoked, none of this 4th, 5th, 6th OWI they have in Wisconsin. | ||
| Jaimec |
The technology exists to build cars out of a material that will block ALL cellphone signals. They use that material in movie theatres in Japan, I understand. Of course, you know the majority of brain-dead cagers would scream bloody murder to their politicians if they ever did mandate using that stuff in civilian cars so it'd never pass. Nice to dream, though. My solution would be the car becoming essentially a kind of "Faraday Cage" when it is in motion... blocking all cell phone signals until the car comes to a stop and is put into "Park" or "Neutral." The instant the car starts to move, BANG!! All cell communication ceases. I'm reasonably sure that technology ALSO exists today. | ||
| Blake |
>>> AND, one DUI, license revoked, none of this 4th, 5th, 6th OWI they have in Wisconsin. A'men to that! With some 40,000 drunk driving fatalities per year, our lax penalties for that crime have always boggled my mind. Who do you blame, big booze? | ||
| Jaimec |
Drunk voters. I remember when NYC wanted to impound the cars of drivers for their FIRST offense. That got beaten down quickly, unfortunately. When I took Driver's Ed back in the mid 70s, I remember the teacher pointing out several times that when you get behind the wheel of an automobile, you are in control of a potential weapon of mass destruction. The fact that you can KILL people, and that is a responsibility you accept when you get your license, seems to be the first thing people FORGET when they get behind the wheel of a car or truck. I always said, if I were to become a hit man for the mob, my weapon of choice would be a car. Shoot someone? Go to jail. Hit them with a car? Pay a fine, get a slap on the wrist, and go right back out there... | ||
| Whatever |
It is the main reason I avoid "biker bashes" like the plague. One beer and you are already impaired. I skidded 30 yards a few days ago on my way to work at Starbucks, and SOMEHOW managed to keep the bike upright and come to a stop before the intersection. Thank God that I was awake when I left home that morning... or according to the Motor Police from my Bike Safe class I chatted with, I came pretty damn close to high siding. The closest EVER after 60K of riding on two Buells to doing some serious damage to myself. I explain the whole thing on FB... IMPAIRED means... drugs, prescription or otherwise, alcohol, being excessively upset or excessively tired. I do my damdest to not do any of that... OR EXCESSIVE SPEED. I was exhausted and dehydrated after my shift that day... so I got a huge glass of ice water and drank that and sat in the parking lot a good 15 minutes and tried to get my mind right before I got on the bike again. That is the way we should treat driving a cage, too, but I would say 5% of the driving population does... and people die from it. Including my friend Victor, who made it through three tours of duty in Vietnam to get wiped out by a 16 yo girl on a cell phone. Left a daughter and wife behind. Rarely there is a day I get on my bike that I don't think about him. | ||
| Xodot |
Jaimec_ re: "be polite" can also use "POLarICEco." for similar effect! | ||
| Sifo |
I want these banned from drivers ASAP!  http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/google-be gins-testing-its-augmented-reality-glasses/ | ||
| Gixxer86g |
I agree with those who say that the vast majority see us, but just don't care. Watch what people do to trucks and buses. They see them, but it doesn't matter. Whatever is going on in their tiny little POS lives is much more important. | ||
| Aesquire |
Unless, they PERSONALLY, ride, or know someone who has had a MAJOR accident or died riding they have absolutely no clue. Fact. Some of the People that look right at you, that you think are copping a 'tude at YOU, don't even see you. You do NOT EXIST in their world. I can't emphasize enough that no matter the color, no matter the lights, pipes, etc. you are invisible. Heck, even a train horn has a 50/50 chance of them panicking and running right into you, trying to avoid the train. I used to drive a '72 Polara. My father was a traveling drug salesmen ( had a different meaning back then ) and was used to fleet cars. So when he needed to buy a car, he went to the dealer, ( our next door neighbor ) they pulled out the fleet catalog, and he ordered the Polara, with 360 cop engine, ( with 750 thermoquad... which an "expert" will tell you didn't exist for that year.... ) cop tires, wheels, suspension, trans, etc. The Dodge version of a Fury ( light ) Interceptor. Lots of people slowed down when I was behind them, and I won many "friendly tests of comparative acceleration" Not racing, Oh, No, Officer. ( this was in the days of "Rev on the Redline" on Lake ave. ) Until the day I beat, soundly, an off duty State Trooper that was trying to cut me off... but that's another story......... Police, however, DO see me, every time. | ||
| Kenm123t |
Sifo she looks perfectly normal not Augmented in any way. No ban for her! You how ever  | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>can also use "POLarICEco." for similar effect!<< Wang Kerr also | ||
| Beugs |
Hey char, I don't post much on here, but I am sorry to hear about your friend victor. That truly sucks! One trick I found is replacing the marker lights (on 1125r) with blue led's. While technically not legal, everybody moves out of my way and I haven't been hassled by the cops yet (2yrs running this way). It could also have something to do with me living in South dakota. I think the entire states population is below 1 million. I hate this state. I'm also pretty hammered on jameson right now and it took me 20 minutes to type this, but at least I'm at home and not out driving right now right? I will also probably read this tomorrow (later today) and regret it. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Sifo, I just read the headline on those this morning and I'm with you. I could only think, "Oh God if we weren't already screwed being riders before. Now with those things..." | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
WHAT? Are you CRAZY? You can't ban those! you'd be infringing somebody's freedom of choice as enshrined in the somethingorother amendment of the constitution. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
oh yeah, this is a good idea .... / sarcasm | ||
| Whatever |
Beugs... That was around summer of 2001. Being the young chick I was, I had ridden on the back of Victor's Harley the week before it happened. No helmet, yadda yadda yadda... He was on a large Harley, stopped in the center turn lane on the largest thoroughfare in Madison, trying to make a left hand turn. (They have since improved the road and put in a lot of islands within the center turn lane). The girl was driving a delivery truck with a dispatch radio and on a cell phone (against company policy). She broadsided him, causing the surgeons to remove 1/3 of his brain. He was a fighter and hung on for 10 weeks, but was reduced to a fetal position where he slobered on himself and lost 1/3 his wieght. I went to see him after a few months and said my goodbyes. He had a big purple z around 12 inches long in his head. His skull had cracked like an eggshell. It was a relief when he did pass becuase he would have been a parapalegic vegetable if he had lived. He was 23 years sober and helped countless veterans at the VA for the last 16 years of his life. He was a good man and he loved his Harley. I sold my first bike shortly thereafter and did not ride for around a year. Then, the next summer the riding bug bit me hard and I got my M2. I decided he would not want me to give up something I loved so much. I took an MSF class, I got a full faced helmet and most of the right gear, a few months later got the pants too and I have been good to go ever since. I LOVE RIDING WITH BUELL PEOPLE. They are generally excellent and cautious riders, will do anything to help you improve your technique, and very very very rarely have a beer on a ride. The only pop a wheelie burnout baby is Tim. I tell people this story, if only they could listen. I wrote this really great poem about it called "Valkyries on the Avenue", but it got lost in the move. Driving cab four years without an at fault incident or a ticket has changed me too. I have seen all sorts of nonsense. Knowing your job could be at stake going through an accident review board too does give you an entirely different safety consciousness. The company I worked for would fire you for two at fault incidents, since they could not stay in business with insurance rates increasing largely. I have been rear ended in the bright yellow taxi cab with a light on the top at least several times, and then there was the scrape where someone backed out in my path because she was brain dead. I swerved and braked hard enough that the end result was a paint scrape. She was all wigged out that I reported to my company... to the point where I had the ops manager talk to her on my cell phone and she stilled tried to sue us. I am really proud to say I have not had any kind of vehicular accident since I was 16 and slid on some ice and totalled by parents station wagon. I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE to look into getting the BikeSafe program started in your law enforcement agency. It started in London. It is very very popular there and is specifically designed to reduce mc fatalities. NC is the pilot state in the US and IL has started it right now. NC teaches it for free and it will be no cost until they get too big to run it that way. Here are a couple links to enjoy! http://www.bikesafe-london.co.uk/ http://www.bikesafenc.com/ | ||
| Boliver |
It's real simple. If one can not ride defensively then it is time to sell it. I learned long ago the World was NOT mine to change. You young fellows can piss in the wind all you want but the older you get the better battles you will choose. Safe journeys to all. | ||
| Whatever |
I offered some constructive feedback... Not really shure how that is 'pissing in the wind' though? Whatever... |
