Triumphrat

wonderdog · 04-09-2009, 07:36 PM

I ride to work every day unless something requires a cage or its raining hard before I leave the garage. Last week I had to drive every day and had a close call that really scared me. I can imagine how the biker felt.
It was before daylight, I was stopped at a light watching oncoming traffic leaving the bay bridge. At that time of morning the traffic isn't real heavy, but its fairly steady and spaced out pretty well. There was an opening in the traffic and I looked again and pulled out. As I pulled out I realized that the left hand headlight on the vehicle I pulled in front of was a bike in front of the vehicle. From the angle I had before I pulled out it looked just like the left headlight on the cage because he blocked it. Too late to stop I stomped on the gas pedal and got out, but at least the guy on the bike was ok. I don't think he even realized what happened other than some jerk in a cage pulled out in front of him. Never thought I would ever pull out in front of a biker.
Scared the devil out of me! Don't always believe what your eyes think they see.

BonnieBlack07 · 04-09-2009, 09:57 PM

Good point...
I actually find myself almost paranoid about looking for bikers now when in my car. I'm constantly checking and double-checking my lane changes and blind spots.
Hopefully the guy on the bike was riding very aware and ready for some a$$hole cager to pull out in front of him....j/k

I did the same a while back and have attempted to NEVER repeat the same mistake.
Good thing to remind yourself of every once in a while

koifarm · 04-09-2009, 10:04 PM

I agree with you both, I am always hyper aware of bikers on the road. I generally give them more leeway than a cager.
Never had a close call with any of the bikers, always, a damn cager on a cell phone is the worst of them all.
I think bikers make better cage drivers in all cases.

RedBird · 04-10-2009, 01:13 PM

Another good reason to put some running lights down low on the bike so one has a triangle of lights that doesn't look anything like cage lights. I have failed to see a biker a couple of times--both in daytime--and it is an awful feeling. Luckily, both times did not involve me pulling out in front of the bike. It did make me more aware of how hard bikes are for cagers to see. I bought the Motolights that mount on the lower fork legs and that helps, but one should still not expect ALL or nearly ALL cagers to see their bike, IMHO.

Silverado57 · 04-10-2009, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedBird

Another good reason to put some running lights down low on the bike so one has a triangle of lights that doesn't look anything like cage lights. I have failed to see a biker a couple of times--both in daytime--and it is an awful feeling. Luckily, both times did not involve me pulling out in front of the bike. It did make me more aware of how hard bikes are for cagers to see. I bought the Motolights that mount on the lower fork legs and that helps, but one should still not expect ALL or nearly ALL cagers to see their bike, IMHO.

+1, especially on the running lights.
Being a rider has definitely made me a more careful driver.

I don't care how ridiculous it looks, I wear a Hi-Viz vest when riding to increase my visibility to cagers. I'm starting to see more riders wearing Hi-Viz this year over last.
Ride and drive safe guys.

SHRuuM · 04-10-2009, 07:38 PM

An HID light also works wonders. I installed one 3 months ago and its totally amazing! Its the best mod for the buck. I'll posting it up soon, since I was giving it a test run to see how well it stood up. I can tell you its bright as the devil and people actually move out of the way, day or night, since they don't won't that bright white/blue light in their mirrors.

Varna2Win · 04-10-2009, 10:35 PM

For a while now I've been contemplating on a hi-viz vest at 47 I'm not to concerned about looks. Icon I think makes the nicest looking one,it's mil-spec. I'm glad I read this thread.I hope more people in this forum do. Thanks for making my mind up Silverado 57.

RedBird · 04-10-2009, 11:57 PM

My Hi-Viz is actually my helmet. When my White one bit the dust, I wanted the same model and all I could find was a weird red/black/white design of some type. When the sun hits it, the reflection looks like a police flashing red light at a little distance. Don't know how it works at night, though.

redbaron586 · 04-11-2009, 05:27 AM

what about a reflective paint? I used some on my running shoes when I would run down in the city's neighborhoods at night. pretty cool stuff

marc hanna · 04-19-2009, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHRuuM

An HID light also works wonders. I installed one 3 months ago and its totally amazing! Its the best mod for the buck. I'll posting it up soon, since I was giving it a test run to see how well it stood up. I can tell you its bright as the devil and people actually move out of the way, day or night, since they don't won't that bright white/blue light in their mirrors.

I installed an HID kit too. Works great, I've high/low beams as well. I think drivers see me better now.