Rules on the road for Moto travel broken

[LandCruiserPhil]

I have several rules that I try to ride by on the tarmac. One I dont follow trailers or pickup trucks, I always give myself plenty of room behind what ever Im following and I always try to give myself an out.

I was forced into a very uncomfortable situation this weekend that I given a lot of thought to and Im still not sure what else I could of done. I was leaving a traffic light from a popular small town fully loaded from a camping weekend on my moto. I had a 4wd in front of me and a 4wd up my *** behind me, to the right a diesel truck pulling a 5th wheel. As we approached hwy speed I was looking to get out in front but everyone was accelerating at the same pace. About the time we all reach ~65 (I was still about 60' behind the 4wd in front) I noticed crap starting to flap around in the truck bed in front of me, checking behind the 4wd was still up my *** and as luck would have 2 full bags of trash?? come flying out of the truck in front of me. Options go through my head as I see the bags hit the hwy. My choice is to clamp down and hold my line not sure where the bags are going. At first it looked like I was going to split the bags but Noooo I take one on the right side hard enough to kick me a little sideways but I hold the throttle on and hang on. I immediately head for the side of the hwy with the bag still with me. I dont have rear brake WTF? I get stopped and the bag has bent my foot brake lever around my peg. I still have bag attached on my right front fork, foot brake, center stand, and rear hub. Needless to say Im pissed on several accounts.

Looking back on my options if I would of braked dick-mo behind me would of rear ended me. If I would of tried to swerve and came in contact with the bag no sure what would of happen but I dont think it would of been good. Knowing how hard it hit going straight. I was more pissed then scared after it was over. More so at myself for not following my road rules but also at irresponsible people not securing their crap and for the dick-mo that finds the need to ride my *** when there is nowhere for me to go.

This will not keep me from dual sporting at all but I will add the experience to my old memory banks for the future.

I needed to get this out of my head so I decided to put it on the board rather then discuss it with my wife for obvious reasons. :roost:

[ThomD]

Good situational awareness. If you had been day dreaming, it might have been much worse.

I know a lot of riders worry about getting rear ended at lights. I've always figured that was a not really significant risk, but I added hyperlights and Admore lights to my Givi trunk. Only a blind man would want to ride right close behind my bike. Others have gone the route of a whelen LED as an aux brake light. That really pushes the traffic back.

Congrats on the good save.

[jkam]

As we approached hwy speed I was looking to get out in front but everyone was accelerating at the same pace. About the time we all reach ~65 (I was still about 60' behind the 4wd in front)

You were on a motorcycle, you should be able to get in front of the cages easily if you chose to do so. In this instance you chose not to and paid the price.

I ride what I call, aggressive/defensive. Always thinking that no one in a cage see's me and if they do they don't care. I learned this technique while riding in 3rd. world countries where there are no rules. Crap flying out of truck beds is a surprise that is hard to react to quickly. Other obstacles such as diesel on the road, retread chunks and my favorite, rocks piled on the road to show a problem up ahead only make you a better more aware rider.

[goodtimes]

The text book answer in that situation would be to slow down. The knucklehead riding your butt would still be there, but you would have a [much] bigger gap between you and the truck in front of you. This would give you two things:

1: more time to react to a unfolding situation (see where the trash is going)
2: less need to grab a handfull of brake (because of #1), thus helping keep knucklehead behind you, not on top of you.

Personally, I will not hesitate to split lanes if needed. I don't like to...but I also don't like having bags full of trash thrown at me, or being run over.

[cnynrat]

If possible I would have split lanes up to the front of the line at the traffic light, and then accelerate out in front of the traffic when the light turned green. Not sure from your description if that was feasible, but I would always prefer to be out in front and away from other traffic whenever possible.

Given you were stuck where you were you might have slowed down gradually along with an extra hand signal to the guy behind.

[goodtimes]

If possible I would have split lanes up to the front of the line at the traffic light, and then accelerate out in front of the traffic when the light turned green. Not sure from your description if that was feasible, but I would always prefer to be out in front and away from other traffic whenever possible.

Actually, lane splitting is illegal in AZ. It is one of those "last chance" kind of options.

[Cabrito]

If possible I would have split lanes up to the front of the line at the traffic light, and then accelerate out in front of the traffic when the light turned green. Not sure from your description if that was feasible, but I would always prefer to be out in front and away from other traffic whenever possible.

Given you were stuck where you were you might have slowed down gradually along with an extra hand signal to the guy behind.


x2 - That's how I always played it in those types of situations. Sometimes a quick bump on the brake to get the car behind to get the message. Of course it is legal to split lanes in Ca but not on city streets.

That souded like a tough spot, glad you made it out okay.

-m

[goodtimes]

Another thought, which has worked well for me when people are riding my a**....get up on the pegs and wander back and forth in the lane.

Again, lane splitting is not legal here in AZ.

[slooowr6]

The text book answer in that situation would be to slow down. The knucklehead riding your butt would still be there, but you would have a [much] bigger gap between you and the truck in front of you. This would give you two things:

1: more time to react to a unfolding situation (see where the trash is going)
2: less need to grab a handfull of brake (because of #1), thus helping keep knucklehead behind you, not on top of you.

Personally, I will not hesitate to split lanes if needed. I don't like to...but I also don't like having bags full of trash thrown at me, or being run over.

I second this option, slow down and give yourself more distant between the car in front and you. In a chaotic situation bike always lose. I found if I ride slow/drive enough(with in reason) the car behind me will just pass me. The best bet is not put your bike in that situation in the first place. glad you got out of it without harm.

[JJackson]

I would agree with slowing down, not what you want to do but it's the best choice to leave yourself with an "out" if something goes wrong. Being boxed in is never a good idea even in a car.

[Sleeping Dog]

The text book answer in that situation would be to slow down. The knucklehead riding your butt would still be there, but you would have a [much] bigger gap between you and the truck in front of you. This would give you two things:

1: more time to react to a unfolding situation (see where the trash is going)
2: less need to grab a handfull of brake (because of #1), thus helping keep knucklehead behind you, not on top of you.

Personally, I will not hesitate to split lanes if needed. I don't like to...but I also don't like having bags full of trash thrown at me, or being run over.

+2 on this suggestion.

The situation you described is difficult and not knowing the road, 2 lane or 4, oncoming traffic etc suggesting other options is difficult. My general rule is to leave space in front of me and not worry about the tailgater. With enough cushion I can have choices as to where and how far to swerve if need be. Regardless of how fast you're going there are some morons that will tailgate, so I figure its best to let them pass and run scout for deer and LEOs.

Jim

[dirtysouth]

2 Options, a) either slow down to the point that the guy behind your backs off or passes you, b) gas it and get around the vehicle in front of you.

Never allow yourself to be in a "trapped" situation on a bike, too many things can go wrong. Consider this a learning situation, next time you will know what to do.

[traveltoad]

Legal or not... I would have gassed it or split lanes to get out of such a dangerous situation.

I do not like "going backwards" (slowing down) as I feel that you end up focusing too much on what is behind you rather than what is in front of you.

[Hltoppr]

Glad you're ok Phil! I like Brian's option of slowing down; giving yourself more room. I've found that my BRAKE! light, with its flashing LEDs, makes folks back off too....plus, I just have to dab the front lever to get it to light up.

Cheers,

-H-

[Connie]

Okay this is just the opinion of a car that drives on the road with you guys; lane splitting in places where it is not legal is dangerous, because the other traffic is not expecting it, will not be aware that you are going to do it, and may be tuning their radio at an inopportune time (not to mention that they might be using a cell phone).

It sounds to me like Phil did an excellent job at accident mitigation. All too often people even in a full sized car are unwilling to hit something in the road (be it a bag of trash or a squirrel) and react without evaluating surroundings.

The thing that makes me mad is that one of these nincompoops should have stopped to make sure that everything was okay. The guy in the next lane probably didn't see it, the guy in the pickup probably didn't even realize he had lost the bags (duh!), and the guy following too closely, well he was following too closely so we already know that he has his head stuck someplace (it really isn't safe to drive that way, it's a real visibility issue)

Glad you are okay Phil! I always give motorcycles a little extra room, sorry that not everybody does. :(

[traveltoad]

Okay this is just the opinion of a car that drives on the road with you guys; lane splitting in places where it is not legal is dangerous, because the other traffic is not expecting it, will not be aware that you are going to do it, and may be tuning their radio at an inopportune time (not to mention that they might be using a cell phone).

It is not more safe... and drivers pay no more attention in state where it is legal.

Riding is dangerous. Period. There are no set rules for situations like that. We can all second guess what Phil did and what we would have done. Truth is each and every situation requires quick evaluation and reaction.

In this case the rider needs to evaluate what is more dangerous: staying in place; brake checking the vehicle behind; lane splitting; passing in the breakdown lane. As a rider I would evaluate each and decide the least dangerous of all options and do it.

My tendency (as I said before) is to not go backwards, or in this case to not brake check the following vehicle. For me this is almost always one of the most dangerous options.

[btggraphix]

It is not more safe... and drivers pay no more attention in state where it is legal.

Riding is dangerous. Period. There are no set rules for situations like that. We can all second guess what Phil did and what we would have done. Truth is each and every situation requires quick evaluation and reaction.

In this case the rider needs to evaluate what is more dangerous: staying in place; brake checking the vehicle behind; lane splitting; passing in the breakdown lane. As a rider I would evaluate each and decide the least dangerous of all options and do it.

My tendency (as I said before) is to not go backwards, or in this case to not brake check the following vehicle. For me this is almost always one of the most dangerous options.

x2. I think this is pretty well put. No way would I brake check the guy behind unless there were no other options. Unless something larger was falling out (i.e. not something blowing around in the bed which leads you to believe not so hard/heavy) no way would I try to stop. I'd much rather swerve or try to drive right through and hope for the best.

By having survived and learned out of it, by definition he did the right thing in this case. Perhaps one of several 'things' that would have worked, but his did work. I have had a few close calls, but only one accident where I was a hair's breath from dieing (I T-boned a car pulling in front of me and played superman over the car) and you ask yourself over and over what I could have done better or differently...but the bottom line is I came out OK and that's number 1. After all was said and done, I'm glad I played it how I did....but I learned a lot from the experience.

[R_Lefebvre]

Again, lane splitting is not legal here in AZ.

Neither is losing your load, but jackwad did it anyway.

I've never lane split, and the thought of it scares the crap out of me. If I were in that situation, I'd probably pull out to the left and do an illegal pass if it was physically possible, and after scanning for police.

Backing off to leave more room in front is the textbook answer. However, it's one thing to have a guy on your *** when you're in a truck. Another on a bike.

As I said, i'd just bug out of the situation.

[spencyg]

I have been in situations like this before. Sketchy situation to the front and a gator to the rear. In Maine we don't have additional lanes to speak of, and most shoulders drop off, so what you have in front and in back is often all you can count on. I personally NEVER split lanes or use the miniscule breakdown lane as a viable option. People typically aren't expecting it and if you put yourself somewhere that a cager doesn't expect, your chances of getting whacked go up exponentially....same thing as with riding in a blind spot. I always slow down, if for no other reason to piss the gator off. Reaction times to upcoming events are critical to your survival, and slowing down puts the advantage distinctly in your court. You don't have to slow down forever....just until the situation ahead of you is gone or there is a safe and legal opportunity to pass. All the while, the guy who is pissing you off in the rear view mirror is equally pissed that you're going 10 MPH under the speed limit (or in most cases....just going the speed limit). I've only had one instance when this turned out to be a poor move. This situation basically was an irate driver behind me who was willing to risk her life and my own to get to her appointment 1 minute sooner. Passed on a blind curve and nearly killed us both. I write those off as situations beyond my control. I was paying attention so I slowed further when she was coming around, but a car coming in the other direction at the wrong moment would have been the end of my story. Keep a cool head, always give yourself reaction time, and always always always keep in plain view of everybody around you.

Spence