Triumphrat

Chadderbox · 07-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimi_X

If my wife knew how unsafe it has become to ride a motorcycle, it would give her a reason to nag.

Yeah I typically try to avoid divulging any details of close calls, but did actually discuss this one with my wife. I was still fuming when she got home and needed to vent.

daytonacharlie · 07-23-2008

Here in Atlanta, with all the ganstas, crack heads and teenage Mexican gangs, not to mention stressed out soccer moms who've been sitting in some of the worst traffic in the US, pulling up next to a car and ranting to someone might get you shot. The drought and the summer heat makes crazy people even crazier.

propforward · 07-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeinva

well in time the fools will kill enough people for the law to treat them as bad as drunk drivers.I think i would rather have drunks on the road then people talking on the phone.

I don't want either of the types out there.

The same thing has happened to me, and I would say well over 50% of drivers in Mn are routinely chatting on their phones while driving.

My advice when you have a close call of any kind is to TRY and stop the red mist coming down - it's tough I know - I rarely manage to contain myself. It's just that when you get really angry, your judgement and attention takes a dive - and your risk level for that short "red mist moment" goes sky high, you seriously risk missing some other a-hole. So try and stay cool everyone. I know how difficult that is though.

McQueen · 07-24-2008

I think it goes deeper than the cell phone. It's about accountability. And cars provide a very real buffer between the actions of one selfish idiot and the consequences. Sure, phones are just another distraction, but really, it's the people themselves...selfish, ignorant people.

I often wonder what would happen to these people if they wandered around the grocery store in the same way they drive...walking just inches behind me...cutting in line and flipping me off. They'd get their a$$es handed to them. That's what.

But not in a car. Windows up, radio blasting, yapping on the phone...and not accountable for anything that happens outside.

I see it all the time. Careless cagers, rude people who don't acknowledge you when you hold a door open for them, people who cut in line, leave their trash everywhere. They're just not being held accountable for their actions.

alfacliff · 07-24-2008

Around here the current problem is texting, both hands on the phone, eyes glued to the tiny screen, driving like maniacs.
some years ago, after being pulled out in front of on the way to work for the thousandth time at the same intersection, I thought up a way to publicize it, I proposed to the local tv and radio stations to try to humourously award "THANK YOU" 's to idiots for testing brakes by pulling out in front of other drivers. the stations ignored it as usual.
cliff

propforward · 07-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by McQueen

I think it goes deeper than the cell phone. It's about accountability. And cars provide a very real buffer between the actions of one selfish idiot and the consequences. Sure, phones are just another distraction, but really, it's the people themselves...selfish, ignorant people.

I often wonder what would happen to these people if they wandered around the grocery store in the same way they drive...walking just inches behind me...cutting in line and flipping me off. They'd get their a$$es handed to them. That's what.

But not in a car. Windows up, radio blasting, yapping on the phone...and not accountable for anything that happens outside.

I see it all the time. Careless cagers, rude people who don't acknowledge you when you hold a door open for them, people who cut in line, leave their trash everywhere. They're just not being held accountable for their actions.

This is true

EDIT: link to a thread I started on cell phones, for what it's worth:

http://www.triumphrat.net/biker-hang...ll-phones.html

Shoot5Hole27 · 07-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by McQueen

I think it goes deeper than the cell phone. It's about accountability. And cars provide a very real buffer between the actions of one selfish idiot and the consequences. Sure, phones are just another distraction, but really, it's the people themselves...selfish, ignorant people.

I often wonder what would happen to these people if they wandered around the grocery store in the same way they drive...walking just inches behind me...cutting in line and flipping me off. They'd get their a$$es handed to them. That's what.

But not in a car. Windows up, radio blasting, yapping on the phone...and not accountable for anything that happens outside.

I see it all the time. Careless cagers, rude people who don't acknowledge you when you hold a door open for them, people who cut in line, leave their trash everywhere. They're just not being held accountable for their actions.

I totally agree with you. I was in my truck the other day and a guy in a Subaru wagon made a left hand turn and came right across my lane...oh yeah, he was in the far right lane.

And the door thing is one of my pet peevs. If I hold the door for someone and they just ignore me, I say "You're quite welcome" in a loud voice. My girlfriend got upset with me one time for saying it to a couple about my parents age because I did it rather loudly and it made a bit of a scene. I told her not to worry, that was the point. Plus, the restaurant we were entering was managed by a friend of mine and I used to work there too.

nimravus01 · 07-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by McQueen

I think it goes deeper than the cell phone. It's about accountability. And cars provide a very real buffer between the actions of one selfish idiot and the consequences. Sure, phones are just another distraction, but really, it's the people themselves...selfish, ignorant people.

I agree. The automobile adds a buffer to minimize accidents, so that if you have a fender bender, it's "no big deal." Of course, on a motorcycle a fender bender is a huge deal.

Until recently, I've been a "cager" my whole life, however, I consider myself a careful defensive driver. I haven't had a wreck, of any kind, in over 7 years, (when I was in high school.) I did have a close call with a crotch rocket a few months ago, though. I blame him because he whipped around a corner as I was pulling out of a parking lot. I looked left, then right, then left again and he was right in front of me. Luckily for him, I always make sure I'm doubly clear to proceed onto the road or I would have hit him with my Dodge truck.

So, my fellow motorcyclist, the pendulum of fault swings both ways.

boxerman · 07-24-2008

Whether I'm in a car or on a bike, I treat other drivers on cell phones as if they were drunk. Often, even if you can't yet actually SEE the person on the phone, you can tell something is up because he's driving out of synch with surrounding traffic.

Several years ago, I was rear-ended by a cell-phoner while towing my (empty) bike trailer with my truck in fairly heavy traffic. The trailer was totaled and the truck had $2,500 worth of damage. The guy never got off the phone while we were waiting for the police to come and he never got off it while he was giving his version of the accident to the police officer!

McQueen · 07-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by nimravus01

So, my fellow motorcyclist, the pendulum of fault swings both ways.

But never equally, in my opinion. I commute on my bikes everyday...mix of freeway and city streets. Every now and again, I see a bike do something that could be perceived as "stupid."

Every single day, and more times that I like to count, I see cagers using phones, speeding well above the limit, swerving, weaving, changing lanes without using their signals...sometimes all of the above. Every day.