| Author | Message | ||
     Mr_grumpy |
Dunno about you lot, but I've not got that many friends that I can afford to let them die stupidly. Reading the article about the death of Bruce Rossmeyer prompted me to point out a few things. I'm not one for preaching or being preached at on any subject. Except one, being careful out there. So, just a few heads up things, if you know already you may need reminding, if you learn something, it may save your arse, if you know it already, sorry to have bored you. Riding without a helmet. I've lost friends due to this, & had my own life saved by wearing one. Your head, your choice. But it's a no-brainer. (pun intended) Large goods vehicles. Semi's, big rigids, etc. On a bike if you can't see the mirror the driver can't see you, that's assuming he's even looking! A large vehicle needs a lot of room to turn, don't crowd it, you don't have a reverse gear. When a semi or similar is turning it creates a number of large blind-spots for the driver, don't put yourself in one. Travel trailers, RV's, & the like. All the same points as for goods vehicles apply IN SPADES, remember these are crewed by people who mostly have very little experience driving such a large combo, maybe 2 or 3 times a year. Add to that they're on vacation, & may not be paying attention to the road but to the tourist guide, or the mewling brats, or any of 101 other things. Keeping an eye on the front wheel of a vehicle at an intersection can give you a little extra warning where it's going to go. Plus all the usual things, watch out for cagers on the phone, talking to people in the back seat, eating soup, you know the stuff. Long & short of it, don't put yourself in harms way & try to make any potential accident survivable, ATGATT. Now go ride & enjoy the summer. | ||
| Gjwinaus |
"Now go ride & enjoy the summer." I wish it where that easy, its Winter here and you gotta pick your days | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Safety tip from a truck driver (me)-- Don't make an afternoon project out of passing a tractor trailer!!! Get around as quick as you can and keep goin, don't clear the front bumper by 2 feet then cut back in and slow down. Sounds like common sense, but cars and amazingly bikes do it to me every night at work. Also, don't hang out along side a big truck if you can avoid it. You can get lost in a blind spot, or a tire can blow without any warning, sending the tread all over and maybe at your head. Tire treads have killed in the past, treat them like bombs that could go off at any second. Stay tuned for my RV rant this afternoon, I gotta get to bed now. Badlionsfan the safety man out! | ||
| Court |
Exposure time. Never sit within 200 feet behind a large truck nor adjacent to a split ring wheel for ANY longer than necessary. I've seen, in 44 states of Buellin', some amazing things. The BEST was when a tire exploded and broken off the steel anti-sail device used to keep the mud flaps in place. I was in Eastern Colorado around sunrise and recall seeing the 24" long piece of steel bar flying about 2-' in the air like a boomerang. It's just me but I allow the same distance behind the minivans headed to the beach with the car carriers and bicycles strapped to the back as well. Good points! | ||
| Brinnutz |
And I got pulled over because I sped up passing an 18 wheeler because: 1. He was flinging rocks into me pelting my helmet. 2. He didn't even know I was there as I was watching him in the mirror. 3. I work in the trucking industry, and know that a retread, when it goes, can puncture a car door. So I tend to stay next to semi's as little as possible. And when I do, I hug the other side of the lane. And I still got a ticket from the douche. Took it to court, got a non-moving violation but the assistant prosecutor chic, as I was telling her these things, told me that I wasn't helping my case and yadda yadda yadda. The guy was going 55-60 in a 65. It really didn't take much to pass him. But I sure as hell didn't want someone flying up on my arse for not going fast enough. Catch 22. (Message edited by brinnutz on July 31, 2009) | ||
| Bill0351 |
It sucks that you got a ticket for that Brinnutz. Years ago I got pulled over in Door County WI for passing a long line of cars trapped behind a slow moving camper. I had no excuse besides being young, dumb, and impatient. I got off with a warning. Next time try handing over your military ID and driver's license as if they were one card. Some friends I was deployed with and I were talking about that the other night. It doesn't always work, but for us, it has worked more often than not. Think of it as a military discount. | ||
| Brinnutz |
Oh yeah, I did...He was having nothing of it. It did get me out of a HUGE one years ago trying to get back to base before muster one time...6 hr drive and had to be there in 4 hrs...We made it, but I can't say how..lol | ||
| Bill0351 |
That sucks! My last active duty ID expires in a month. I will miss its magical powers. I'm hoping the vet plates I just put on will have a similar effect. Bill | ||
| Brinnutz |
Yeah, those didn't help either. I got pulled over for no reason other than driving a pickup with no seatbelt on. It was law at the time to wear them in a car, but not a truck. So, he checks my plates and because I had Veteran's plates and not regular truck plates, I was given a ticket because I had "Specialty" plates. I coulda smacked that state boy in his arrogant mouth. He was a prick... | ||
| Bill0351 |
Damn! You are getting pulled over by the wrong cops! Watch though! The next time I'm in Indiana, I am going to get pulled over and have to pay my karmic debt! | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Badlions, me too. Can't wait for the RV rant, lol. Court, not sure split rims are even legal here these days, but for sure nobody fits them anymore. Trilex were the worst, if you didn't dog those nuts up tight every day, you'd end up hitting the brakes hard, the hub & drum would stop but the rim would go round & shear the valve off. I'm damn glad I don't see them anymore. | ||
| Zane |
When I was first in college, I worked as a night manager of a truck stop, the old Union 76 station on the Florida turnpike. We had a kid changing a truck tire and was to lazy or over confident to put it in the cage while he aired it up. The ring wasn't seated right and came off under air pressure. He got lucky, it only broke his arm instead of taking his head off. Damn shame about Bruce Rossmeyer. | ||
| 86129squids |
+1, be safe, don't let what happened to Rossmeyer happen to you. My folks have been driving a motor home with 3 slideouts for years- always scared the heck outta me. Now get out this weekend and be mindful, peaceful, and prayerful for yourself and for Mr. Rossmeyer's folks. | ||
| S1wmike |
I just last month was victim to the inattentiveness of drivers after being in a traffic jam for 12 miles and ended up in the hammer lane with my new V-rod pinning me to the ground. I thought I gave gave myself sufficient room to stop but I too was careless. Fortunate enough to survive and ride again but will not take for granted that everyone in a traffic jam is paying attention. It all happened when it finally started to clear and then someone at the front of the pack slowed without being noticed and hence the following emergency braking and wheel locking started. I saw the brake lights come, I rolled off the throttle and prepared to brake then the bumpers started diving for the ground that when i grabbed a handful of front brakes and when I pushed for the gap to split the lanes the front end washed out, throwing me to the ground. I rarely use the rear brake and if I did I think I could have stopped short and not needed the exit route of trying to split the lanes. | ||
| Sparky |
S1wmike, that's too bad. MSF experienced classes teach to use both brakes all the time, don't they? That's the technique everyone should practice. At least I do. | ||
| Glitch |
While traveling on I-285 day before yesterday, I saw an 18's tire come apart. The big piece hit the car behind him, and destroyed the front end of the car. The car got over to the emergency lane, I stopped to make sure he was OK, he was already on his cell phone with AAA. He was shook up pretty bad, but OK. All I could think as I got back in the truck, was what a mess it would have been if it were me or a friend on our bikes... By the way, I never ride I-285 | ||
| S1wmike |
S1wmike, that's too bad. MSF experienced classes teach to use both brakes all the time, don't they? No Sh-t Sparky  I'm joking with you because I know and have been through the MSF course. Yes, I was kicking myself in the ass on that one!! | ||
| Rfischer |
Used to drive truck in an earlier lifetime [one of several]; at one point drove tank wagons for Texaco, BP, and contract carriers. I was traveling north on Hwy 400 bound for Sudbury on a Labor Day friday afternoon with a load of 8500 gals. The trailer had [at that time] experimental "super-singles" on it for tires. It was hot and I was truckin' along at 60 or so in fairly heavy traffic when one of the left-side super-singles literally exploded. A car had been alongside the trailer when the tire let go. All I saw in the mirror was debris and a cloud of dirt and gravel as the car went off into the center median. I stopped and went back, picking up large chunks of steel corded tire tread and sidewall off the highway as I did, thinking out loud at the damage one of those pieces could do to a car. I got to the car in the median; its passenger door had been blown off by the impact of the exploding super-single. The driver was thankfully unhurt but in a near catatonic state. Not surprisingly. The exploding tire also torn the 1/2" thick aluminum fender over the trailer wheels off and destroyed all the signal lights on that end of the trailer. Didn't see super-singles again for many years. However, I've noticed them turning up fairly frequently over the past 'couple years. I'm sure the technology has been greatly improved since that mid-70's experiment, but BEWARE whenever you are around a rig so fitted. When one lets go, it has considerably more energy than conventional duals. As Court and others note, don't hang around trucks when passing. If following, stay waaaay back; not so much so the truck's driver can see you as to be able to dodge debris from or thrown up by it. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
RV rant on. It baffles the hell out of me that someone who has never driven anything bigger than a geo metro can get behind the wheel of a motor home, dually with a fifth wheel trailer or pull a huge boat. As a truck driver, if I wanted to go drive a bus I have to get the endorsement. I've got a class A cdl with hazmat, tanker and double/ triple trailer endorsements but can't drive a bus with out being tested. Oh yeah I also have my motorcycle endorsement. So it's cool for some retired dude to go get an rv the size of a bus, drag a car hauler behind it and take to the highway where he could really hurt or kill someone, but I can't fully expose my safety on a bike without having to prove to the state that I can ride??? Said rv with car hauler or giant boat behind it is a lot more difficult to manuver than a big truck with a 53' trailer, and a lot harder than pulling 2 28' trailers in a doubles operation, as long as you don't need to back up anyway. Add to that the fact that they don't really get much time behind the wheel anually where I get plenty of practice driving literally over 100,000 miles a year. What's my point you ask? People that want to drive an rv or pull a trailer over a certain size need to be tested and get an "rv" endorsement. A written test to prove you know what to do in certain situations, and a driving test with what you plan to take to the road with. I drive from the Cleveland area across the Ohio turnpike to west of Harrisburg pa in the pa pike every nite. There are some pretty good hills and curves on the pa pike if you've never had the pleasure of driving on it. All summer along I come upon some dummy that'll have his trailer get to swaying on him, and I'd say more than half the time they do the exact opposite of what you should do and start jamming the brakes. The trailer is swaying back and forth cuz it wants to pass the car or truck, so the first thing you should do speed up a little to keep the tail from wagging the dog, then slowly apply some brakes if need. Drives me crazy when I see the above. I'm no fan of government involvement in our lives, but I think I'm on the right track with this one. I have to test to be eligible to drive a truck, ride a motorcycle or drive a bus, while an nit wit can put the motoring public in danger with an rv with no experince or knowledge of what he's doing. Standards need to be set. RV rant off. | ||
| 86129squids |
Badlions: +1. | ||
| Dick8008 |
I agree with the RV rant! | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
I work in the trucking industry, and know that a retread, when it goes, can puncture a car door They did that on Mythbusters and if I recall, correctly, it shredded a ballistics gel head. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
A few years ago a cop was writing a ticket on the side of the highway. A truck went by, tire blew and a chunk hit the cop and killed him. | ||
| Geforce |
Exploding 18 Wheeler tires... happened right after I bought the 08 1125r... me and my buddy were cruising our Buells down the slab to go hang out at the dealership and buy some stuff. I pulled up alongside a flatbed and the tire exploded within 5 feet of me and bits went everywhere. I immediately had an IED flashback and went into combat mode as pieces of it pelted me across the helmet and chest and legs. I slammed the throttle open and whizzed by as hurriedly as I could. When we stopped my buddy said I disappeared for a moment in tire debris and smoke. Needless to say I no longer 'cruise' by trucks. I pull up to the outside, flash my lights and I am moving. | ||
| Iamike |
Twice I've had tires blow right after I passed. The first time the concussion noise scared me so much I almost went in the ditch. The second time BluzM2 & I were headed to Homecoming. I just went by and an old couple in a cage followed me around. I heard a boom and saw all the debris peppering the car. The cage headed for the shoulder right after. | ||
| Rainman |
Even if the tires don't blow, trucks are trouble. I was cruising on my Old Wing on I-64 going up a mountain behind a semi when a wadded-up dead Bambi suddenly appeared between the wheels and right in my way. I made it over -- OK, through it -- but I learned that Gold Wings don't take obstacles very well. | ||
| Prof_stack |
Don't ride behind pickup trucks with anything in the bed. As I went to pass such a vehicle a few years ago I heard a loud "WHUMP" and saw a sofa that was unsecured and had been blown off the truck. That would have been very, very ugly for any cyclist. | ||
| Slaughter |
Inattentive drivers, road debris, exploding tires, ALL are things that MUST be dealt with and allowed for. One of the reasons that I too will NEVER pace an 18 wheeler... I just GET THE F*** around him. The RV menace isn't as bad or as frequent as the ordinary idiot who is driving with "more important" things on their mind. All that being said, I always ride with a full-face helmet - but am guilty of helmet-less riding in the pits at the races and sometimes on my mountain bike. I am strongly AGAINST helmet laws - but am STRONGLY in FAVOR of ALWAYS wearing a helmet. (and no, we can't say that a helmet would or wouldn't have changed the outcome in Rossmeyer's case - since it sounds like he finished UNDER the offending vehicle.) | ||
| Rick_a |
I've had a tractor trailer loose a wheel in front of me. That was truly terrifying. A bunch of them boxed me in on one trip...that wasn't fun either. Other than that I've had no other issues. Mustangs, mini-vans, and SUV's are another story... | ||
| Trail_snail |
I saw the same thing once. A buddy and I were driving an all-nighter back to college in my '83 Chevette (please no jokes). We were in central Manitoba on the Trans Canada just when the sun was coming up and started passing a truck. About 50' behind him, I could see his outermost left rear wheel wobbling. Even at 19 years old, I knew enough to get out of there, but you can only accelerate so much with a 1.4l engine. At any rate, we were just coming abeam the wheel when the entire wheel let loose. It hit the front right fender and continued with it's carnage down the right side of my car. Scared the daylights out of me. To this day, I never spend much time around trucks (even though for the most part, they're some of the best drivers out there). I also try to not follow a car that's passing a truck as there seems to be the tendency to panic and slow down, trapping whoever is behind them right beside the truck. | ||
| Ulynut |
Badlionsfan, you are 100% correct on that. Another big problem on the roads are the inexperienced drivers in the rental trucks like U-Hauls and such. Stay clear of those things. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Oh, those are the worst. People with 0 experince with that type of vehicle, driving on roads they don't know and driving at night when they don't usually do so. All of this with their ford explorer on tow. Good times. The rental companies should give some type training and road test before giving people the keys to these things. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
The rental companies should give some type training and road test before giving people the keys to these things. I agree with that, but you know they won't because they make money through the insurance on the accidents, & as it enables them to buy more vehicles to replace damaged ones, they get a better price. Cynical I know but that's business. My wife works for the French equivalent of Home Depot or Lowes, & she's seen people load a garage door, yes the 6' x 8' up & over type, on the roofrack of a VW Golf!! When that sort of thing happens they make folk sign a discharge of responsibility so they can't say the store didn't advise them. Every saturday afternoon though you'll find lumps of drywall & insulation board lying all down the side of the roads leading away from the place. I've seen people load stuff on their cars & trailers & say "oh it's heavy enough, it won't fall off" I always tell them a Boeing or an Airbus is pretty heavy too, but they're quite capable of flying in case they hadn't noticed. |
