| Author | Message | ||
     Oldog |
We have all had it happen, some inattentive cager wanders over into our lane cutting us off OR some some A$$-hat whips around or by you INCHES from you and the bike because they are in a big hurry to get nowhere, As usual LEO is no where to be found, ( unlike say driving 15 over on a 4 lane hwy with no one in site where they will happily ticket you for the infraction ) FOR OUR LEO'S HOW CLOSE IS TOO CLOSE short of contact, I mean I can't split lanes here why can they? I can't throw a rock at or shoot at them, SO Can I, Film the incident and assuming no get off chase em down get an pic of the driver and turn it over to law enforcement for citation or at least a warning? Imagine the A$$hats reaction John Law on the porch with a warning ticket, The officer asks to see the owner of the veihicle (or driver) takes the Numb-one to the car for a chat and a little movie } How much does a lipstick cam / 30 minute loop recorder with a deadman / off switch cost? The A$$-hat convention is here this week riders in Wilmington NC beware. I get tired of folks trying to kill me. 2 yestarday PM the worst was a Shriner in a motor home towing a trailer cuts me off no signal as I was trying to move past him in traffic, I WAS IN HIS MIRROR THE WHOLE TIME. clueless bastard This AM small car over takes me from behind 1/2 in my lane FROM THE RIGHT in the rain with no lites on [raining] missing me by 1.5 feet goes 20 yards down the road moves further right to get into a stopped turn lane there was no one directly behind me, Prior to the pass WTF!  I made a comment about communities where citizens were tunring in speeders to the LEO's perhaps I was wrong and this may be a way of raising awareness of motorcyclists " if you have their balls or wallets their minds will soon follow " Local Police officer.. sorry I had to vent..  | ||
| Zenfrogmaster |
I recently learned that here in Arizona, you can report behavior to an 800 number. They won't cite the person, they will send a letter. Not exactly what you'd want done, but perhaps it will rattle them and raise their awareness. No photo necessary, just date/time, plate number, and description of the incident. Maybe your state does the same. It's the absolute lack of awareness that pisses me off - there are few intentional incidents, but that doesn't make one any less dead or damaged. | ||
| New12r |
I resort to violence.  | ||
| Djkaplan |
I got run off the road and was able to get the tag number and description of the vehicle, plus, I got a good look at the driver. I called the police and they met me at the scene. The tag number didn't match the vehicle it belonged to and the driver wasn't even the same race as the registerer of the plate - the plate was obviously stolen. The police informed me that there was nothing they could do if they didn't see it themselves, but I could pursue this in civil court. I was dumbfounded... I didn't have a clue who the bastard was and asked the officer if they were going to investigate whether the disabled elderly man who the plate did belong to was OK. Because the license plate was from a township 300 miles away, he said it wasn't in their jurisdiction and he drove off. Take from it what you will, but it kind of gave me the impression the police officer was a lazy bastard who didn't need the paperwork. The former Chief of Police is now the mayor of Columbus, Georgia, where this incident took place, btw. Don't ever come here unless you're willing and able to protect yourself from the criminal element. I wouldn't be surprised if the police officer knew exactly who this guy was and turned a blind eye. | ||
| Xl1200r |
In NY you're allowed to submit a letter to the DMV. All you have to do is give the tag number, a description of the incident and sign with your name (can't be annonymous). The DMV will then require the driver to retake the test for their driver's license. If they can't pass, it gets pulled. Guess how many 45-year-olds soccer moms living in suburbia know how to parrallel park a 30-ft long SUV? I love being an ex-driving instructor. I feel like a damned genius everytime I get in my car. | ||
| Court |
Interesting thread. I, always with the camera handy, am driving down the FDR drive in Manhattan the other day. I saw the guy on the KTM coming in my right mirror, running hot and generally playing the fool splitting lanes. Lane splitting in CA is cool and legal. Lane splitting in New York City is an entirely different animal. This guy blows past me, weaving in and out. Hot and I've seen folks who were more aggressive but lets give this guy a 7 on a scale of 10. I'm shaking my head thinking "I pay that son of a bitches insureance" when WOOOSH. . . I get blasted by a dark maroon Crown Vic undercover interceptor on the left. They pass me with all the lights, no siren, going, and come up on this poor sob FAST and make a VERY AGRESSIVE move toward him. They DID NOT hit him. They WERE within 10" of him and forced . . as in FORCED. . . him to the side of the road. It scarded the crap out of me. I know these guys don't want to give bikes a chance to run. I was thrilled they stopped a guy, the likes of which give motorcyclist a bad name. But . . . this was WAY over the edge. | ||
| Djkaplan |
Equal time for the other side of the LEO coin. Here is an excerpt from a post I made in another thread... "I stayed in Suches and rode until Tuesday, when the rains came. That day, I got stopped for passing the Sheriff of Union County on a double yellow on Wolf Pen. He was in an unmarked Ford Expedition and lit me up just as I passed. Unbelievabley, he let me go with just a small verbal warning! All he said was, "Stay safe and come back again - we know how you guys like the mountain roads, just share them with consideration". I gotta say Sheriff Stephens of Union County Georgia gives great advice that should be followed." | ||
| Ridrx |
I commute through Atlanta daily and can attest to the astounding number of blind, deaf, dumb, self absorbed, borderline retards who seem to think it's their civic duty to try and run down motorcycles. Just this past Tuesday I "installed" a nice big dent in the driver door of a brand new Benz(still wearing the dealer window sticker) after he assumed he was just going to TAKE my lane. You shoulda seen his face when LEO stopped us and he hauled the Benz driver to jail... 1. failure to maintain lane 2. changing lanes with no signal 3. illegal window tint 4. improper use of HOV lane 5. speeding 6. eluding an officer 7. and my personal favorite...REVOKED license for habitual DUI offenses. Apparently his(LEO) son rides so he was NOT happy with the cagers disregard for motorcycles, much less the law. | ||
| Glitch |
Union County is cool, just watch out for Lumpkin County. I want a paint ball gun that shoots glow in the dark paint balls. Mark the offending drivers, that way they'll be easier to spot. Ridrx, I feel you ATL traffic pain, I too do the commute. I'm constantly amazed at some of the folks that "drive" around here. | ||
| Oldog |
From the NC driver hand book. • Give the motorcyclist or moped rider the same right of way consideration as you would for the driver of any other vehicle. • Motorcycles are entitled to the full width of their lane — To pass a motorcycle, you must change lanes and pass in the same manner as you would for a larger motor vehicle. • A moped should travel using the right side of the lane — To pass a moped, you must stay at least two feet to the left. • You must leave any cyclist sufficient room when you pass so that your vehicle’s windstream cannot cause the rider to lose control. About two-thirds of motorcycle crashes in North Carolina involve a car. In most of these crashes, the driver of the car is at fault. The driver usually claims he or she did not see the motorcycle. Because the motorcycle offers little or no protection to the rider, the motorcyclist often is seriously injured or killed. North Carolina law defines a moped as a vehicle with two or three wheels with a motor of no more than 50 cubic centimeters of piston displacement and no external shifting device. Legally, a moped’s top speed cannot exceed 30 mph.You can pass a Moped with in 2 feet of the vehicle} 1203cc is to big for a moped huh.. Further- Passing on the right Passing on the right is against the law except in areas where it is specifically permitted Nothing about reporting carless driving, I'm going LEO hunting tonight time to get some answers.. BTW 3%er's I hail from ATL, I grew up about 1 mile from Lilburn SQ, Riding in ATL requires that the head be on gimbals and in constant motion. (Message edited by oldog on October 26, 2007) | ||
| New12r |
RiderX, That is great!! | ||
| Oldog |
What R12 said new armani suit $2,000 new benz $62,000 look on the cagers face as he is wisked away for DUIs PRICELESS! | ||
| Imonabuss |
RiderX, That's the best story I have heard in some time! Justice exists! Rarely, maybe, but still. | ||
| Macbuell |
RiderX, I ride in Atlanta and have had the same thing happened where the driver sees you but just starts moving over into your lane anyway. I still can't imagine the balls that some people have. | ||
| Rainman |
Maybe Ernest T. Bass was right. Instead of throwing bricks at the folks who violate laws let's carry a big bag of stones and when someone tries to take our lane as an old fart about my age did in a pickup the other day, we stone them. That would make me feel better. Everybody must get stoned. | ||
| Diablobrian |
I had a car hit me in San Francisco back in 1989-1990. Driver looked right at me, made eye contact and came over. There was a car ahead of me so I hit the brakes...HARD...and she still clipped my front wheel. It was on the embarcadero and I was very lucky not to be hit by another vehicle. In San Diego in 1993 or 1994 I was merged out of traffic by another driver that looked right at me and came over. To top it off a LEO came up from behind and ticketed ME for traveling outside of marked lanes. The driver of the car was still within sight, but the officer claimed he could only cite based on what HE actually Saw, which was me. I asked what I was supposed to do next time. He said "if they hit you THEN I can cite them" I fought the ticket and the judge (who happened to be a rider) was not amused by the LEO's attitude when he held to the same line 'o crap in front of the judge. Needless to say I walked on that one, and the LEO got a fairly severe tongue lashing from the Judge. If you ride you have to be alert for the drivers around you to do the stupidest things imaginable. If you've been riding on the streets for very long you should develop a sort of "spidey-sense" for the intentions of the drivers, but you CANNOT rely on it 100%! You MUST whenever possible leave yourself an escape route (2 is better). On multi-lane highways I tend to go with what I was taught a long time ago, for a rider the only usable lanes are the fast lane and the slow lane. Between them is the meat grinder where you cannot count on being able to bail out onto the shoulder in an emergency. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
People are really dumb They won't respect you unless they have to respect you. Monkeys in Boston used to pull out in front of my 1977 Dodge van at night unless I turned on the roof lights. Ooo! big and scary! It's just like when a cat gets aggressive and charges at you sideways with all of the hair up. | ||
| Oldog |
When I lived In Tucker GA I picked up a hand Gun from the local repair shop, I carried it in the open in a holster in site rather than on the back of the seat in a box ( I did not have my permit for concealed carry at the time ) It got a lot of looks and a car load of hippies drove by screaming "redneck" as I turned for hwy29, and home. I had a (sp)epippany at that moment that explained the behaveour specifically the one where no one gave me a second look before and double takes while transporting the weapon, with it in the open and me not a LEO doing it, I constituted a threat hence the attention, In my mind the vacant stare you get as they pull out in front of you is because you are not a threat, being able to write a note and sign it and have a retest may not be a bad idea, provided there is a SERIOUS misuse punishment. | ||
| M2nc |
I have had too many cars move left when I am passing them. The scariest pass was on my CB750 passing a Cement Truck. I start to pass and got on it to make the pass quickly. All is good until I notice the truck is moving left of center, way left. The truck kept coming and now I am beside it going about twenty miles an hour faster and no way to stop. I keep moving left as he keeps coming left until I leave the pavement. Now in a real pickle since I do not know when the truck is going to stop coming so I decide to stay on the throttle. Trying not to make any quick movement, I passed the truck in the grass. When he sees me passing his window he realizes that the paperwork he is looking at is distracting him and he is almost completely on the other side of the road. So he jerks the wheel to right and now this loaded cement truck that just pushed me off the road is leaning in an unfriendly way toward me. I clear the truck and pull safely back onto the pavement. In shock I just though my left hand up in a "What the Hell?" gesture (No, believe it or not I did not tell him, he was number one) and ride off thinking that was it, but no. I was riding to work when this happened and I ride down this back road every weekday for the last ten years. A few days later I am riding home on the same road when a guy in an S-10 pick up truck is waving at me to stop. I stop to see what he needs and this guy I do not know tells me. "I'm the driver of the cement truck and just wanted to apologize for the other day." Again this guy shocked the hell out of me. First he gives me one of the scariest riding moments I have had, but then is man enough to flag me down, fess up and apologize. I had to forgive him and told him it all turn out fine. | ||
| Oldog |
The police informed me that there was nothing they could do if they didn't see it themselves, but I could pursue this in civil court. I was dumbfounded... I didn't have a clue who the bastard was and asked the officer if they were going to investigate whether the disabled elderly man who the plate did belong to was OK. Because the license plate was from a township 300 miles away, he said it wasn't in their jurisdiction and he drove off. I won't tell you about getting side swiped in Tucker, by an unlicenced 15 year old girl, same attitude, LATER same cop stopped me and hassled me over insurance ( not reqd' at the time in GA for a motor cycle ) I try to look at it like DiabloBrian IE leave your self a way out, but some times like this AM it was waaay to close for no good reason. We cant do it all - all of the time the cagers should be responsible and baring that the penalties should be as extreme for them as they are for us.. As an Aside I would like suggestions for solutions I am considering contacting my congressman and representative about this starting with a well worded polite letter Ideas like writing a signed complaint stating details about the incedent etc.. Thanks Jim...} | ||
| Bad_karma |
Jim The traffic control department of Law enforcement for as long as I can remember has operated under the doctrine of radar/revenue to provide for the publics safety. Obviously it's not working. Until LEO management develop a program to address these problems it isn't going to get better. That is where the fix has to come from. Joe | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Lately I have been "informing" the vehicular public about poor cell phone usage. Whenever I see a lane wonderer on a cell phone I just love to drop it down a gear, roll up beside them and make a hand signal mimicking hanging up the phone. While doing this I am at the ready to roll on the throttle to get out of there. Would you believe people (especially woman) do not appreciate this?  Most of the men I have done this to either ignore me, or sheepishly acknowledge their faux pas. Woman on the other hand have done everything from show me that I am "Number 1," to actually move into my lane. I know this is not the smartest thing I could do, but it is entertaining, and quells my desire of following them home and torching their cars* *for you serious internet users, this is made as a joke, I would never torch another persons car, them maybe, but not the car... | ||
| Hardcorps |
I don't think it is appropriate to generalize all LEO, just like you do not like to be generalized with all sport bike riders. I am not saying that there are not some serious idiot LEO's out there. Don't forget that there are quite a few LEO's that frequent this webpage. I have investigated quite a few hit and run case's, and or reports of reckless driving. As long as I have a complainant willing to come to court I will submit for charges. If I do not observe the infraction, and do not have a complainant there is very little I can do. My only point here is that you don't appreciate being generalized with the squid sport bike riders, neither do LEO's that take pride in their jobs and actually ride like to be generalized with the bad apple LEO's. | ||
| Rick_a |
This year I made a big mistake on the bike and almost became a hood ornament...it was at low speed but bummed me out nonetheless. Mistakes do happen. I only get ticked off in those circumstances where I KNOW the person saw me (or at least should have within reason) before taking deliberate action. I've even had people look me straight in the eye before cutting directly into my path. Things have happened so often that I now hardly ever take it to heart. Sometimes I may give a friendly finger wave and I'm off again. My wife has been driving a sub-compact car for the last year. She's noticed a huge difference in how other drivers react around her compared to driving a full size pickup. I told her that now she has some idea how it is on a bike daily, only much worse. I went down in the summer trying to avoid a coworker that cut a corner in the parking lot. I was told I'd of had to hit her to do anything about it. (Message edited by Rick_a on October 27, 2007) | ||
| Oldog |
I'm sorry IF you took offense to my remarks HC as they were not intended to generalize LEO's, but ARE specific to one situation heres my beef. Over the past 30 odd years of riding, I have been stopped for speeding on the interstate and 4 lane hiways too many times to count, I admit I was in the wrong. I paid my fines and suffered the conecquences for my actions. I have been hit,I have been cutoff, squeezed out, or witnessed so many bad driving infractions, that I want to take some positive action. I accept that Motor cycling IS hazardous but with drivers getting more and more distracted and In the event that I miss one of these bad drivers JUST ONE I --- I will be the one that pays for THEIR ACTION, quite possibly with my life. Some history I have had 2 serious accidents 1 I walked away from 1 I did not. in '79 I was in a side swipe accident as the victim, the officer (DeKalb Co GA) that took the report had an attitude, making comments to the effect that " I was not seriously injured ". That was not at issue, the driver was driving illegaly in this case a 15 year old with her 16 year old sister in the front seat with her, I had 3 other run ins with him where he stoped me but could not site me for any thing, each time getting "the attitude". Had the hit been 2" left I could have lost my right leg, I wont bore you with the BS about how the PW got lost who got bought etc. I got hurt, no one got punished........ I want to effect Positive change, I believe that stiff penalties for auto drivers causing an accident with a MC is a start, I want to have discourse on what might be appropriate to say in a letter to a congressman / rep. How would you suggest haveing a dialoug with a police officer about it? IN NC you are in more trouble for passing a stopped school buss than causing an accident with a motorcyclist. And with more and more cyclists on the road every day it needs to be addressed. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
was cut off in columbus OH last month then the old lady flipped me off for being in her lane now. | ||
| Bombardier |
One of our local driving instructors has gotten so sick of impatient and stupid people tailgaiting and blowing their horns at his student drivers that he has fitted a camera in his car. When an idiot causes some grief he just forwards the video evidence to the local police and they take it from there. Quite a few convictions these last two years. | ||
| Cochise |
I have a friend in South Africa where most people have owned and ridden bikes in the past and present, if they get cut off, they slow down. After the driver changes lanes back, they pass again with their foot in the air and knock of the side view mirror. May not be nice, but I'm sure it works well. | ||
| Hardcorps |
I was in no way offended by any ones comments above. I am just suggesting a little caution with generalizations. I think there are quite a few people here that are real quick to jump on the band wagon for bashing police. It is actually quite simple if you are not getting the service you deserve from a police officer. Simply obtain all of his information, tell him you disagree. The next step is to contact his supervisor if you feel that you have been terribly wronged. Don't get me wrong I hate when people go to my supervisors, but if you had that bad of an experience I think it is warranted. If you don't receive what you need at the supervisor level, there is always a letter to the Chief, or to a city council member. | ||
| Birdy |
I for one have never had a "Bad Cop" on my case. In fact most of the Cops I knew while a firefighter hated paper work and sure weren't going to go out of their way to do more. I think the reason most bikers get the short end of the stick is bikers themselves. The "Hell Angel" type, kids on crotch rocket blasting down the roads. And the just plain dumbness of the "Bar Biker" crowd. We all are the same as far as most people see. I know it's wrong and so do you but that's what a lot of them do think and the law goes along. It's not just the Cop but the whole system. If your not in a car you don't count.  BTW it's the same for Bicycles (I have had stuff thrown at me and run off the road for "Redneck Sport" and people walking are seen as less than human. |
