Bad Apple Biker

[jamesq]

Motorcyclists have a bad time in this world. They rocket around head first with a large engine between their legs. They're not surrounded by metal armour with crumble zones the way those of us in automobiles do. There's generally two kinds of car drivers in the world for them: The ones who are completely unaware of their presence, and the ones that are actively out to murder them.

Which is why it's odd to run into (heh) one that is not just a bad driver, but is so recklessly incompetent as to verge on suicidal. Like the jackass who was tailgating me last night on a residential road. He was so close to my ass I couldn't see his headlights - I'd guess he was less then 2 meters from my back bumper.

I signaled to turn right, slowed down to make the turn and he passed me on the right, using the shoulder of the road. Short of driving the wrong way on a one way street, I'm not sure how much more fail you could insert into driving a motorcycle. Maybe if he wore a clown suit instead of leathers and a helmet.

Comments

[madeileen.livejournal.com]

wow, stellar. That is Darwin-ism waiting to happen! Sadly there are people like me that will probably keep him alive...

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

Posted earlier about (among other things) the results of riding at about that level of stupid that happened on a remote rural road around here yesterday. Mangled sportbike in the bar ditch just outside the first bend in an otherwise straight road, which happens to be one that's hard to see until you're right on top of it. Rider wasn't there, and from the looks of the mess he made of the bike, probably left in an ambulance.

I've encountered quite a few of the drivers who were so situationally unaware that I didn't even want to be in a car near them, much less on a motorcycle. Sometimes it's painfully clear that they really are driving completely open-loop, and minimally aware of what's going on around them if they're aware at all, when they narrowly miss hitting other vehicles only by blind luck and, even after the multi-car pileup they narrowly missed causing, seem completely unaware that there were ever any other vehicles anywhere near them.

I had a double encounter with someone like that, once, on the motorcycle -- a 1/4 ton compact pickup with what looked like furniture in the back, driven by a chain-smoking older lady who had a cellphone glued to her ear, who seemed to have a habit of randomly and abruptly changing lanes without signalling or, as it turned out, checking her mirrors, The first time she changed lanes into me, I was able to brake in time to avoid getting hit. About a block later, she did it again, and that time, after dodging her, I rode up next to her driver's side window, waved at her, and held up two fingers -- "that's twice you've done that to me!" -- and from the startled and disoriented look on her face, I knew for a fact that that was the first time she had actually been aware of my existence.

I have not, fortunately, encountered anyone driving in an overtly threatening manner. I don't know if it's the culture around here -- while drivers in Austin tend to be on the stupid/inattentive side, they tend not to be all that belligerent -- or the large community of motorcyclists we have in this city that take very unkindly to vehicular assault against motorcycle riders, but the only threat so far here has been people who just shouldn't be operating motor vehicles because their heads are too firmly embedded in their posterior regions.

Does your area have any of the deliberate-vehicular-assault variety? I've heard stories from some areas .. :S

[jamesq]

I do know a fellow in the local SCA who believes it's perfectly justifiable to "nudge" bikes off the road simply because they slow you down. We were talking about bicycles rather then motorcycles, but I doubt his opinions on them differ much.

I don't talk to him much anymore as the indicates a callousness I'd rather not get too near.

As to general levels of violence towards drivers, I suspect Alberta has a higher level of road rage then other regions, but I have nothing other then a gut feeling to justify it. It limits itself to rude gestures and demonstrations of the doppler effect ("gotohellyouaaaaasssssssssshhhhhooooollllleeeee"), though I've heard stories of people being hit with thrown beverage containers. I've never heard of anyone deliberately run down (or even "nudged") by a larger vehicle, though I imagine it happens from time to time.

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

That being said, yes, this guy is an idiot.

There are just too many ways to end up dead or permanently maimed riding in close proximity to cars. I tend to give them a wide berth.

If he's tailgating you, and is on his game, it's likely he can brake faster than you can, theoretically, assuming less total weight and effective brakes. On cruisers, though, and particularly on one-percenter type custom cruisers, that's often not a valid assumption to make either of the bike or the rider. (I've literally seen them low-side when trying to brake in a straight line at intersections -- their straight-line braking skills sometimes leave a lot to be desired.)

And this is a fairly common comment thread on motorcycles ..

[jamesq]

Physics may be on his side, but biology isn't. The bike may be able to respond faster then my car, but I doubt his reaction time was up to it.

[ishansonofbrand.livejournal.com]

Just to sorta move sideways. I have had a few run in with Suicidal VW drivers, I don't know what it is. It isn't to say that all VW drivers are suicidal, but most of the drivers that are suicidal are behind the wheel of a VW.

Had an ID10T stop in a merge lane. Not the end of a merge lane, but just past that point that you can't see them from around the corner, and while you shoulder check. SHIT. I think I stopped about 3 feet from his bumper.

Knowing the general temperament of drivers of both cars and motorcycles. It often surprises me that there aren't more fatalities. Oy!

[jamesq]

VWs in Canada's climate are pretty dumb to start with.

BTW, the incident was on the Northmount and Benson.

[milady-j.livejournal.com]

My mom drives a semi for a living. One day I went with her. Coming back to the yard I was napping in the sleeper when a huge jarring BANG trembled the truck waking me.

My mom was signalling to turn right into the yard, taking the corner wide, when a pick-up truck(a "4 wheeler" in trucker terminology)following her was so impatient he speedily attempted to pass her on the right..on the shoulder. Into her *Indicated* turning path. Idiot. Well, she didn't see it happening so she started the right turn just as he came abreast of her front end fender. Took out the whole side and box area of his truck and bounced him into the ditch on his side.

Asshole had the gumption to get out and start yelling at her, all 5'4" of her as she got out to see if he was ok. Another trucker, big guy, who saw the whole thing came over, stuck his finger in the idiot's chest and in no uncertain terms he not only witnessed the accident but informed him it was his fault and back the hell out of my mom's face.

Yup.

[oblivions.livejournal.com]

wow. There is a whole other thread here about asshole truck drivers, which are MY bane on the road. But I won't for the sake of my good day I'm still having.

[jamesq]

It's been my experience that if there's an idiot crawling up your ass on highway 2, they're almost always in a pickup truck. This may be selection bias on my part though.

[oblivions.livejournal.com]

4 wheeler I should say, not big trucks. I give them a wide berth out of respect on the road. If I can't see thier mirrors, they can't see me. And I would be mighty splat.

[jamesq]

This almost perfectly matches my story, except for scale.

[ya-inga.livejournal.com]

Some motorcyclists are staggeringly stupid. Last summer we were cut off on t Calgary Trail in dense four lane Friday get out of town traffic by a guy and his girlfriend on a crotch rocket. That alone is dim beyond measure - we bearly stopped in time - but to make it infintely worse he was wearing shorts no t-shirt and flip flops and she was wearing a bikini and flip flops. Even if all they did was fall over - forget about crash - the road rash would be STAGGERING.

I've been riding since I was a little girl and my dad taught me to drive like everyone was out to smoosh me and to be constantly defensive when driving and to always dress to crash. My dad calls motorcylcists like your clown suit rider "organ donors".

Some people's lack of self preservation is mind boggling.

[oblivions.livejournal.com]

The medical professionals call them 'squids' because there isn't much left that looks human after a crash.

[jamesq]

"Donorcycles"

[ladyerwyn.livejournal.com]

My Dad and Uncle were coming home from the store once. They signaled left and slowed down and started turning left into the driveway when an idiot tried passing them on the left and crashed into them.

People don't pay attention. They are egotistical and have a sense of entitlement. They are little "Kings" and "Queens" who think that they can do whatever they want and nobody else matters.

[devoidofthought.livejournal.com]

That's the breed you feel no sympathy for when you read in the papers that their entrails painted a good stretch of road.