I NEED TO VENT

[Kyuzo]

I need to vent about other motorist (including the occaisional  stupid squid once in a while). They suck. They suck for not looking when they do lane changes. They suck for being on the phone. They suck cause they shouldnt be given licenses. Today, on my way to work, 2 motorisist one in a SUV and the other in a caravan both did lane changes right in front of me without looking to pass the "slower" car doing the speed limit and go around them. Now i was in a car, imagine if on my bike. Im sorry but riding a motorcycle and even a car  these days is getting more and more frustrating. I dont know what to do. They suck!

Edited May 7, 2019 by Kyuzo
grammer

[cyow5]

As a general rule, I scold myself if I think no idiots were near me on a ride. That means I just wasn't paying enough attention, and I should do better. "Thankfully" I usually count plenty of them on a given ride. 

[vitaltears]

Watch out for yourself & others plus the idiots..

[Steve_O]

The first 5 miles of my daily commute is on a two-lane country road and there is hardly a day that doesn't pass wether on my bike or in my car that curse words aren't flying out of my mouth about other drivers on their phones, crossing over double yellow lines on blind turns, etc.  Staying in one lane seems to be a suggestion these days and an after thought.   Go ahead....vent away!

 

[7fold]

It's almost as if turn signals are optional equipment in cars now because I never see anyone use them anymore. Must be part of some super high end package that no one wants to pay for.

On my way home from work last night, I was behind a van that was drifting from lane to lane - I'm pretty used to that, as I rarely see anyone use their turn signals anymore - but what bothered me the most is this guy didn't even have brake lights either. A van with no back window...no turn signals...no brake lights...drifting over to the right lane to get on the off ramp to exit a highway in the pouring rain. I'm really surprised no one rear-ended him, but honestly I'm convinced people that drive this way could not care any less about anyone else. 

[chademinent]

I cant even leave my neighborhood in the morning without someone running a stop sign and pulling out right in front of me, sometimes multiple times...It doesn't matter if I'm on my bike or in a car.

[yamahazaki]

Its sad that I've been so accustomed to it, that I am always expecting it, and when it finally does happen, its just another day.  I don't even bother honking anymore.

[Benh972]

Most everybody believes themselves to be an above average motorist. Any time spent on the streets will confirm that people are not very good at self evaluation.

[2018 MT-07]

I just read in an article the other day that stated 80% of Americans "think" they are above average in driving skill. That sounds about right.

Obviously a very delusional thought process.

 

[mossrider]

Just now, 2018 MT-07 said:

 Americans "think" they are above average in driving skill.

I remember a few years ago the wife and I (two up) were approaching a red light in a residential area where there was a center turn lane and one thru lane in each direction. We were in the thru lane and a mini van was coming up behind us signalling a right turn, trying to squeeze between me and the curb. We were centered in the lane trying to dissuade just that type of maneuver when his mirror bumped my right handlebar twice trying to sneak by. I heard him yelling to "Get the f_ck outta the way" even with his window up.  I reached over and smashed the mirror off his door and shouted back to "there, try it now".

He didn't.

Not the smartest thing i ever did but certainly one of the most satisfying.

[rider]

"Ride like everyone else is trying to kill you" - MSF Course Instructor

"There's one more idiot than you think there is on the road" - my Dad.  (I finally figured out that the last idiot was me...)

[pegasus46]

14 hours ago, mossrider said:

I remember a few years ago the wife and I (two up) were approaching a red light in a residential area where there was a center turn lane and one thru lane in each direction. We were in the thru lane and a mini van was coming up behind us signalling a right turn, trying to squeeze between me and the curb. We were centered in the lane trying to dissuade just that type of maneuver when his mirror bumped my right handlebar twice trying to sneak by. I heard him yelling to "Get the f_ck outta the way" even with his window up.  I reached over and smashed the mirror off his door and shouted back to "there, try it now".

He didn't.

Not the smartest thing i ever did but certainly one of the most satisfying.

Yes the Van driver was certainly wrong BUT you were not exactly courteous either. You admit to discouraging people trying to make a right turn. Why? You sound just like an inconsiderate car driver when you act like that and reinforce cage drivers being impolite to us. What would if had hurt for you to have moved a few inches and let him by? 

[Beemer]

On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 6:41 AM, pegasus46 said:

Yes the Van driver was certainly wrong BUT you were not exactly courteous either. You admit to discouraging people trying to make a right turn. Why? You sound just like an inconsiderate car driver when you act like that and reinforce cage drivers being impolite to us. What would if had hurt for you to have moved a few inches and let him by? 

I'm sorry but you don't have to show courtesy to every impatient person that can't wait a few extra seconds to make their turn. Everyone has to wait a little sometimes. As a matter of fact, some people are courteous for the wrong reasons. I hate it when someone comes to a sudden stop for no apparent reason and everyone has to jam on their brakes because Mr. or Mrs. Courteous  thought it was a good idea to stop when there is no stop sign just to let someone out from a side street or parking lot. That dumb sh*t really burns me up because it causes accidents and backs up traffic!

[pegasus46]

patience

[rider]

22 minutes ago, pegasus46 said:

patience

On-board missiles...

[Wintersdark]

On 5/7/2019 at 4:36 PM, yamahazaki said:

Its sad that I've been so accustomed to it, that I am always expecting it, and when it finally does happen, its just another day.  I don't even bother honking anymore.

Yep.  I have, at least once a week, someone change lanes directly into me.  It's so incredibly normal I don't honk anymore, I just avoid and shake my head.  You get really good at reading people's intentions and predicting such stuff, though.

 

On 5/7/2019 at 7:29 PM, Benh972 said:

Most everybody believes themselves to be an above average motorist. Any time spent on the streets will confirm that people are not very good at self evaluation.

Well, I'm sure they are average motorists.  The problem is that "average" doesn't mean what they think it means.  If you were to rank motorist ability on a scale of 1 to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best, I figure "average" would end up being 3.  

 

I always encounter these people who feel it's ok to just not see someone, that an accident can just be "an accident".  No.  If you hit someone else, either you or they - or both of you - are at fault.  If people followed the rules of the road - actually followed them, and applied due care and attention for the task at hand (controlling thousands of pounds of steel at very high speed, so ALL the attention) they wouldn't hit other people.  Virtually all "accidents" are caused by negligence.

[rider]

On 5/7/2019 at 8:29 PM, Benh972 said:

Most everybody believes themselves to be an above average motorist. Any time spent on the streets will confirm that people are not very good at self evaluation.

[NRWhiteKnight]

On 5/12/2019 at 6:41 AM, pegasus46 said:

Yes the Van driver was certainly wrong BUT you were not exactly courteous either. You admit to discouraging people trying to make a right turn. Why? You sound just like an inconsiderate car driver when you act like that and reinforce cage drivers being impolite to us. What would if had hurt for you to have moved a few inches and let him by? 

@pegasus46 While I can agree that the option to be courteous was available to @mossrider,  there is no law I am aware of that says he has to be in the left third of the lane at a stop light. Also, some states (if not most or all), have some statue about sharing the same space in a lane as another vehicle. In @mossrider's case, the van driver is in the wrong in either case as they are trying to make a right turn, there is less space available to do so than the van driver thought, which he then caused an accident (his mirror bumping mossrider's handlebar.

Yes, the accident was a non-injury, non-damage accident, however, it is still an accident and the van driver in error. Yes he could have moved forward or over to the left a bit. He was not required to. The driver was being overly discourteous and considered his "right to make a turn" was more important that mossrider's right to the space in the lane and his and his wife's safety. The driver is probably lucky he got away with a smacked mirror.

I have had drivers put me in dangerous positions while I am giving myself space to be safe. A driver in a pickup closed to within inches of my rear tire at a stop light because someone did the same to him. All I did  was motion him to give me more space, nothing more nothing less. Until he ran his mouth that is. I then politely gave him a warning about his endangering my life and that if he valued his he would reconsider crowding in the future. Take the statement in anyway you like. If one put's my like at risk because of their stupidity, recklessness, or whatever term you want to give it, unless there is a life threatening emergency happening in that vehicle at that moment, there is no excuse.

I have also, as I am reasonably sure other have had, people start to pull out in front of me, then realize I am there and stop. All I do at that point, since I have already slowed down, is shake my head and point two fingers at my eyes and then back at them, indicating they need to take a better look before trying to shoot traffic.

Bottom line: we all can be better, we all could be more courteous at times. But we have accepted the risk of riding on two wheels with nothing but our gear and out wits to protect us. We just ended the month of motorcycle awareness. I didn't see squat in my state message wise about being more aware of motorcyclists and I usually see a few. So lets all keep in mind that not every one considers a motorcyclist as someone who has an equal right on the road and will commit to actions that they might not otherwise if it was a full size car or truck in front of them.

 

[Beemer]

3 hours ago, NRWhiteKnight said:

@pegasus46 While I can agree that the option to be courteous was available to @mossrider,  there is no law I am aware of that says he has to be in the left third of the lane at a stop light. Also, some states (if not most or all), have some statue about sharing the same space in a lane as another vehicle. In @mossrider's case, the van driver is in the wrong in either case as they are trying to make a right turn, there is less space available to do so than the van driver thought, which he then caused an accident (his mirror bumping mossrider's handlebar.

Yes, the accident was a non-injury, non-damage accident, however, it is still an accident and the van driver in error. Yes he could have moved forward or over to the left a bit. He was not required to. The driver was being overly discourteous and considered his "right to make a turn" was more important that mossrider's right to the space in the lane and his and his wife's safety. The driver is probably lucky he got away with a smacked mirror.

I have had drivers put me in dangerous positions while I am giving myself space to be safe. A driver in a pickup closed to within inches of my rear tire at a stop light because someone did the same to him. All I did  was motion him to give me more space, nothing more nothing less. Until he ran his mouth that is. I then politely gave him a warning about his endangering my life and that if he valued his he would reconsider crowding in the future. Take the statement in anyway you like. If one put's my like at risk because of their stupidity, recklessness, or whatever term you want to give it, unless there is a life threatening emergency happening in that vehicle at that moment, there is no excuse.

I have also, as I am reasonably sure other have had, people start to pull out in front of me, then realize I am there and stop. All I do at that point, since I have already slowed down, is shake my head and point two fingers at my eyes and then back at them, indicating they need to take a better look before trying to shoot traffic.

Bottom line: we all can be better, we all could be more courteous at times. But we have accepted the risk of riding on two wheels with nothing but our gear and out wits to protect us. We just ended the month of motorcycle awareness. I didn't see squat in my state message wise about being more aware of motorcyclists and I usually see a few. So lets all keep in mind that not every one considers a motorcyclist as someone who has an equal right on the road and will commit to actions that they might not otherwise if it was a full size car or truck in front of them.

 

Well said! I recently bought a dash cam for my truck because of peoples lack of courtesy and judgement. It's become a habit of many people in my neighborhood to cut over into the oncoming lane when they see a vehicle parked on the side of the road. I can see them coming at me and vise versa but do they wait for me to pass before they cut into my lane and go around the vehicle? Hell no, they cut right over and drive straight at you and expect you to move out of their way to avoid an accident. That's just insane! Florida law says you can go over a double yellow to go around an obstacle blocking your path but it also says you have to be safe about it, to wait until the path is clear of oncoming vehicles. If you honk you get the stink eye and a honk back. I'll get it on video and put it up.

[sansnombre]

On 5/11/2019 at 1:10 PM, mossrider said:

I remember a few years ago the wife and I (two up) were approaching a red light in a residential area where there was a center turn lane and one thru lane in each direction. We were in the thru lane and a mini van was coming up behind us signalling a right turn, trying to squeeze between me and the curb. We were centered in the lane trying to dissuade just that type of maneuver when his mirror bumped my right handlebar twice trying to sneak by. I heard him yelling to "Get the f_ck outta the way" even with his window up.  I reached over and smashed the mirror off his door and shouted back to "there, try it now".

He didn't.

Not the smartest thing i ever did but certainly one of the most satisfying.

Love that story! Lol, brother.

[Grant31781]

Quote

It's become a habit of many people in my neighborhood to cut over into the oncoming lane when they see a vehicle parked on the side of the road. I can see them coming at me and vise versa but do they wait for me to pass before they cut into my lane and go around the vehicle? Hell no, they cut right over and drive straight at you and expect you to move out of their way to avoid an accident. That's just insane! 

Oh man they do that crap all the time here. Like they are entitled.  I make it a point to barely let them scrape by.  I also hate the ones that like to speed up when you try to merge. On two occasions I started merging and got honked at however they let me in. I was like if you let me in, I wouldn't cut you off!    This is not on 2 wheels.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Grant31781

[Xrtaco]

Just yesterday I luckily I was slow to the green light because my bike wouldn't go into first with my light tap. By the time I was over the middle of the road, a car had braked and ran her red light and stood right in front of me. I was astounded because I could've been hit by that car if I was quicker off the line. I always look both side before going but this was like 10 seconds of green light for me already.

 

Yep that lady was texting on her phone and not looking. 

[fzar]

On 6/6/2019 at 1:36 PM, Grant31781 said:

Oh man they do that crap all the time here. Like they are entitled.  I make it a point to barely let them scrape by.  I also hate the ones that like to speed up when you try to merge. On two occasions I started merging and got honked at however they let me in. I was like if you let me in, I wouldn't cut you off!    This is not on 2 wheels.

You should see how they drive here in Arkansas, every  right corner I take,I have to hug the inside the whole way round as the drivers coming the other direction, which is a left to them, are way over the double yellow line, like their clipping the crap out of a curb on a race track like a Nascar race at Watkins glen or Sonoma. Even cops, turn signal 's seem to be an option too, but hey, it is ranked in the top 5 most dangerous states to drive in per capita. Ohh Yeah there's no inspection in AR. I wish there was!!

It's a shame as the roads are outstanding given the natural curvature's of the surrounding mountains and valleys. 

 

It keeps me very aware or as in @Beemer words "Stay Frosty"

[Beemer]

11 hours ago, fzar said:

You should see how they drive here in Arkansas, every  right corner I take,I have to hug the inside the whole way round as the drivers coming the other direction, which is a left to them, are way over the double yellow line, like their clipping the crap out of a curb on a race track like a Nascar race at Watkins glen or Sonoma. Even cops, turn signal 's seem to be an option too, but hey, it is ranked in the top 5 most dangerous states to drive in per capita. Ohh Yeah there's no inspection in AR. I wish there was!!

It's a shame as the roads are outstanding given the natural curvature's of the surrounding mountains and valleys. 

 

It keeps me very aware or as in @Beemer words "Stay Frosty"

That's right! You can't afford to let just one of those bastards in your lane!