Easy lesson

[Wistrick]

Well I learned a lesson today and it didn't cost me anything, but it sure could have. I was behind this van getting ready to turn right into a side street so as he made his turn I passes him on the left side. As I clear the van I looked right to see a little car sitting there waiting to turn left. I could have smacked my self. If that car had decided to pull out as that van made its turn I would have been toast. Questions to self? Why didn't I see the car there? Was hidden from my view due to gas station sign. Why did I put myself in the position to get nailed? Simply put I wasn't thinking or riding very smart.

So has anybody else out there learned any easy lesson that they are willing to share?

[diamond_jim]

Sounds like you're taking the right approach and thinking about what you did wrong and how to avoid it in the future.

How we ride has a big effect on the likelihood of getting ourselves in more dangerous positions. I remember reading on here a while back where the author (don't remember who) said he used his horn about 1 out of every 5 times he rides. Maybe some of these were precautionary but it seemed like at least some of those horn honks were needed. I've had my M50 since 2005 and I think I've used my horn maybe three times total. I'm a very cautious rider and won't hesitate to honk to make sure people know I'm there. I just haven't needed to that much. I know it's a combination of things, from good fefensive riding techniques to good car driver awareness and used to seeing riders. Anyhow, just an observation.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Wistrick

So has anybody else out there learned any easy lesson that they are willing to share?

Mine is a similar situation. Never ASSume that the road in front of the car ahead of you is clear.

Car in front of you turns right without stopping. Nothing unusual there but then you discover that the car in front of him is stopped dead. More likely to be a problem if the turning vehicle is a van, suv or truck.

Similar situation on the highway; a car makes what looks to be a normal lane change but then you find that he moved over because your lane is blocked with a stalled vehicle or large debris.

Bottom line: NOT a good idea to accelerate past a vehicle that is moving out of your lane until you can actually SEE the lane ahead to be sure it is clear. This applies regardless of what you are driving/riding.

[Clint]

Very good lesson. I'm sure I've been lazy on this one many times.

[frostbitevinnie]

I broke my rule Friday and let myself move into a cagers blind spot. It was an old woman driving a caddie. She did not see me and began to merge into my lane. I went for my horn but as always hit my blinker instead. The one thing I really don't like about my bike is the close proximity of the blinker and horn buttons. I was able to quickly pull in the clutch and give her a loud blast of exhaust. That apparently caught her attention as she did not complete the merge. I did back off and motion her to go ahead. My stupid mistake for being lazy and inattentive.

[Rickster]

I was coming home from work the other day heading west, and as I approached a stoplight controlled intersection where I turn right, the light turned red for me.
The street I was coming up to is a 4 lane that has a left turn lane for cars coming from my right (heading south), it's a busy street and there is almost always cars waiting to turn left.
I looked up, and there were indeed cars waiting to turn left, this means the cars coming from my left (heading north) will not get the green till the left turn signal ends for the cars across from them.
My intention was to make a quick stop, than make my right turn to the north before that happened.
As I said, this is my route home from work and this exact same scenario has happened many time before.
Well on this occasion, the cars in the left turn lane traveling south, must have for some reason not tripped the left turn signal, and the cars coming from my left (traveling north) got the green sooner than I expected.
I was just about to go without double checking, when that little voice in my head said, "don't be a dumb a$$, check again". I learned a long time ago to listen to that little voice, if I hadn't this time, I would have been a hood ornament.

[Ol Doofus]

The other day I was following a car on a two lane road. We came to a stop sign, we were both going to turn right. There was some traffic coming towards us from our left. A few of the cars went by and I saw a Rig without trailer coming toward us with his right signal on which would have had him turning on the road we were exiting. The female driver in the car saw his signal and pulled out, I thought about doing the same thing but something told me not to go because it could be a false turn, it was and he had to hit the brakes hard to keep from rearending the car, had I pulled out I probably would have been like one of those flat animals that live in the middle of the road. Can't trust turn signals, better to wait until they actually make the turn.

[POE-BOY SAMICH]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

Very good lesson. I'm sure I've been lazy on this one many times.

Been there, done that too.
Lesson learned.

Good post.

[old codger]

Originally Posted by Ol Doofus

The other day I was following a car on a two lane road. We came to a stop sign, we were both going to turn right. There was some traffic coming towards us from our left. A few of the cars went by and I saw a Rig without trailer coming toward us with his right signal on which would have had him turning on the road we were exiting. The female driver in the car saw his signal and pulled out, I thought about doing the same thing but something told me not to go because it could be a false turn, it was and he had to hit the brakes hard to keep from rearending the car, had I pulled out I probably would have been like one of those flat animals that live in the middle of the road. Can't trust turn signals, better to wait until they actually make the turn.

Big rigs do not have self canceling turn signels, when they are "bob tailing" (no trailor) they are hard to stop. When I started driving the big ones I got a new respect for them, I look out for them much more than I did.

Old Codger