- This topic has 14 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 12 months ago by eon.
Nearly rear ended at 40mph
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April 23, 2009 at 4:47 am #2742eonParticipant
Tonight I had my closest call yet to an accident and it would have been a very bad one. It spooked me a bit, mainly because I thought I was doing everything right but still managed to mess up. Thought I would share my experience, see what the collective wisdom is and hopefully help others avoid making the same mistake.
So I am approaching traffic lights at about 40mph when they turn yellow. This happens just at that awkward distance when you know you should stop but you are tempted to keep going. I decided to be good and stop. I knew there was a car behind me but it was at least 2 seconds back so I thought it was ok. So I start braking relatively hard, watching the car behind me in my mirrors to see if she would stop in time and I have my escape route all planned out. So I thought I was being careful and had everything under control. Problem was the car behind did not brake AT ALL.
Suddenly my careful plan is shot to hell. There is no way I can gain enough speed to get out of her way. In the split second it takes for me to realize things are going very badly she swerves into the other lane and shoots through the red light, without ever touching her brakes. I come to a controlled stop at the light.
Strangely I was unmoved by how close I came come to spending weeks in a hospital bed, my bike being wrecked and possibly the end of my motorcycling days. I was pissed off that I managed to mess up. I take that as a good sign
So what lessons are to be learned from this? No really good ones that I can see. It seems we are caught between a rock and a hard place. Run the risk of being rear ended or run the risk of running a red light. Neither are very appealing but from now on I will be choosing the red light. I may get a ticket and I may have to take avoiding action but either one of those is preferable to being hit from behind. I guess it will come down to split second judgment but if I feel I need to brake hard and there is someone behind me, I am going to keep going.
Comments welcome. Feel free to tell me what I did wrong or could have done better. I want to learn from mistakes like these.
April 23, 2009 at 4:56 am #17969alaaaaaaaaanParticipantEon, i don’t know know if, like you said, there is anything more you could have done it really sounds like the driver had their head in the wrong place. Thinking about it i would probably opt to run the red light like you said next time (so long as it has just turned red) the way i see it, as long as my front wheel was over the white line it’s LEGAL lol…Anyways, i guess the only thing you could have done was gone through with your escape plan, but even that you said you wouldn’t have had enough time, seems like the only thing left is a lot of flicking off, cursing and reflecting as you are doing.
Glad to hear you are O.K.
April 23, 2009 at 5:36 am #17971IanCParticipantI had a similar situation the other day. Right at that moment when I was deciding to go for it or stop. I looked in my mirror and saw that I wasn’t gaining distance between me and the car behind me and realized then weren’t planning on stopping. Decision made, opened the throttle and watched as the car followed me through. The only exception around here is if it’s one of the red lights with the camera, most people try to stop for those.
April 23, 2009 at 1:15 pm #17977Clay DowlingParticipantThe escape route I try to plan out for these situations is to go sideways, out of the path of the vehicle. At the intersection, I would make a right turn that might be less than optimal for my chosen route, but would involve a lot less crashing.
Another important trick is to control where you’re keeping the gears at. On my bike you want to keep the revs in the 3k to 4k range, it may be different for your bike. Then I’d have enough power to open up the throttle and get out of the way if necessary.
April 23, 2009 at 3:08 pm #17980TerriKhaliParticipantWoh. You know, for us who are on bikes, we have it pounded into our heads to “look ahead” “Always be aware of everything around you””Assume cars are out to get you” and “Always have a way out” -isn’t it a shame that CAGES aren’t taught the same?
I mean, yah, your more protected in a cage, but with so many close calls under my belt, it REALLY makes me wonder why THEY don’t have to take a “motorcycle and other vehicle” awareness courses too!Wouldn’t that just make EVERYONE a whole lot safer?
I’d just track them down, find out where they live, and go back later, with my trusty leatherman, and help them become more aware….of how their tires work with the valves snipped off!
*insert evil laughter here*
Ok, I really DON’T suggest ever hurting anybody elses property… but…BUT… sometimes, its fun to think about.
Did you know its actually rather a great hiss when they are cut off tho?
heheheeApril 23, 2009 at 3:13 pm #17981eonParticipantMy “bike” is actually a scooter so I do not have to worry about engine revs or gears (thankfully).
Since a picture is worth a thousand words and all, here is the scene of the crime.
This is almost exactly my viewpoint at the time it all happened. As you can see I don’t have many places to go. The camera here is compressing the distances. The gap between my stop line and the stop line in the oncoming filter lane is about 40 feet.
So that was my escape route. Plenty of extra space to aim for and it would get me out of the way of traffic.I’ve been thinking about this some more and I wonder if I was too slow in realizing the following car was not stopping. Maybe, but since it had my full attention I’m not sure I could have been quicker reacting.
Other things have crossed my mind. This light is rarely red so maybe the car driver was not expecting it? Another factor to throw into the decision making process on whether to stop or not.
One action I can take is to invest in brighter brake lights. I like the look of modulating LED brake lights, they always get my attention when I see them (if that’s not a redundant statement). Maybe it was this combination of her not expecting to stop and not seeing my brake lights? Maybe she saw the red light and got on the gas for all I know. But the sooner my brake lights get her attention the less risk I am at. Time to break open the wallet.
April 23, 2009 at 4:29 pm #17988japac1ParticipantGlad nothing bad happened. I am a brand new rider and still have to remember to keep a better eye on my rear. Looking at your photo, I wonder if I would’ve sped through the intersection. It doesn’t look like a confusing intersection: you have a good look at vehicles that may turn left in front of you. It looks like you don’t get a great view of traffic coming through from the right. Not sure what I would do differently. Good topic for discussion!!
April 23, 2009 at 7:27 pm #17989Clay DowlingParticipantA couple of communities where I have business are notorious for their fast yellow lights. You’ll have maybe two seconds of yellow tops, then it turns red. It’s common to be forced to blow a red light, because even by locking up your brakes you couldn’t have made the light.
April 23, 2009 at 11:42 pm #17992MunchParticipantI deal with these situations all the time. Of course when I approach a light I am already slowing down anyways. Give a couple of brake flashes ahead of time just in case I do need to slow down and start braking early…. I am on my bike with all kinds of smiles…. what am I in a hurry for… now for your situation… yea been there… blew the light every time! I don’t care if the LEO sees me do it… a fine is a lot better then a claim
April 24, 2009 at 1:57 am #17999owlieParticipantPersonally, I always get a little jolt of sadistic glee when I stop for a yellow and the driver behind me obviously was expecting to run the intersection with me. I haven’t been rear ended yet…
I guess this is one joy I’ll have to give up on a motorcycle. You guys think it’s worth it?
April 24, 2009 at 1:25 pm #18006Clay DowlingParticipantblows the light as often as anybody. The worst offender is known as the Rich People’s light, because it’s where two very expensive subdivisions join the second busiest road in the township. Although to be fair, they need that light or they’d never get out of their subdivisions.
April 24, 2009 at 8:32 pm #18012WanderingRiderParticipantPeople have alreawdy mentioned most of this but I thought i’d reiterate from my experience:
Something that I usually do to make myself more visible is pulse my brake lights. I just grab and release the handle a few times quickly before I apply full brakes. Granted, you might not have time, but if you don’t have a light pulsing module thats a great way to get a driver’s attention.
That being said, I would be very careful when swerving to get out of a driver’s way, and would prefer running the light. The reason is the same reason why emergency vehicles oridinarily do not swerve through traffic: its likely the other driver will have the same idea, and swerve when you do, and you’ll get nailed. I’d much rather run the light than try to swerve and roll the dice on their reaction. If you got pulled over for that, and explain that to a cop, maybe they would be lenient.
The best thing to do really is to simply slow down when coming up to an intersection. Thats probably what that cop will say after you run the light
April 27, 2009 at 11:53 am #18037eternal05ParticipantThat’s just north of the University Bridge in Seattle, isn’t it? I knew that intersection looked familiar…and those lovely blue skies
April 27, 2009 at 11:55 am #18038eternal05ParticipantI agree wholeheartedly with your rationale for running the light. Especially with our sort of vehicle, you can always gun it and make it through a yellow…even if you have to speed for a moment to do it. That’s always safer than testing the alertness/reason/patience of the driver behind you.
April 27, 2009 at 4:23 pm #18049eonParticipantCorrect, that’s exactly where it is. You local here then?
And for lovely blue skies, check out my pictures in the Picture forum thread “Today was a good day” -
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