Dashcam Video of Commute: Splitting & Scraping (Pegs)

[dcarver]

Wow. Not for me. No wonder you hung that crap up as a routine years ago. Too stressful. Sure, it might be the new 'normal' but the new normal will eventually stress your brain and body too far. And you think way too much for that.

 

[TomInPA]

I don't know how you survive with those quiet pipes.

 

[Twigg]

Wow. Not for me. No wonder you hung that crap up as a routine years ago. Too stressful. Sure, it might be the new 'normal' but the new normal will eventually stress your brain and body too far. And you think way too much for that.

In practise it's not really stressful at all. It was simply normal riding for me, for about 30 years. It's just a skill you develop like any other.

It helps if your mirrors are the widest part of the bike. Then, if the mirrors go through, the rest just follows.

 

[James Burleigh]

Wow. Not for me. No wonder you hung that crap up as a routine years ago. Too stressful. Sure, it might be the new 'normal' but the new normal will eventually stress your brain and body too far. And you think way too much for that.

Right you are, Don: I DID hang that crap up as a routine years ago. The commuting I used to do for years (like that shown in the vid, only all year, day/night, dry/wet, hot/cold...) was very stressful, and I am convinced it contributed to my little heart "incident" a few years ago. I confess that, knowing I was going to share the dashcam footage, I dove out into the deep water on the commute shown in the vid. But MY new norm is to ride the train four of five days a week (I do ride the bike a couple miles to the train station), and ride in to work one day a week, but avoiding the freeway and busy arterials, taking instead the back roads.

 

[DeSudet]

By comparison,

is awfully damn boring

 

[Uncle Hud]

Lane splitting involves considerable faith in "the other guy"; do they see me? will they respect my right to be here? will they give me an extra 6 inches of space?

Too much for my taste, brothers and sisters. The biker loses every time in any car vs moto conflict.

However, Georgia's new run-the-red-light-if-you-want-to law is right up my alley. Pull up to a red light, look for oncoming traffic, declare to yourself, "This traffic signal is not sensing my vehicle," and off you go. Haven't done it yet while adjacent to car drivers, but that day will come.

 

[wheatonFJR]

...However, Georgia's new run-the-red-light-if-you-want-to law is right up my alley. Pull up to a red light, look for oncoming traffic, declare to yourself, "This traffic signal is not sensing my vehicle," and off you go. Haven't done it yet while adjacent to car drivers, but that day will come.

Hud, make sure you test your understanding of the law and do it with a squad car right beside you.

Hans, just glad you are surviving the commute and enjoying the bike.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Hud, make sure you test your understanding of the law and do it with a squad car right beside you.

Mr. wheatonFJR, that's living a little too dangerously. My life plan is, "Hud does not go to jail." So far, it's worked well.

 

[James Burleigh]

I don't know how you survive with those quiet pipes.

In practise it's not really stressful at all. It was simply normal riding for me, for about 30 years. It's just a skill you develop like any other. It helps if your mirrors are the widest part of the bike. Then, if the mirrors go through, the rest just follows.

Awhile ago I took a tape measure and confirmed that my handlebars are the widest part of my bike. I think of them as my whiskers.....

By comparison,

Very true, Hud. Thanks for the comments. I got a big honkin' magnet to hang off my bike; but sometimes the signals still don't trip. I just avoid the ones I know about and take another route.

 

[wfooshee]

Lane splitting involves considerable faith in "the other guy"; do they see me? will they respect my right to be here? will they give me an extra 6 inches of space?
Too much for my taste, brothers and sisters. The biker loses every time in any car vs moto conflict.

However, Georgia's new run-the-red-light-if-you-want-to law is right up my alley. Pull up to a red light, look for oncoming traffic, declare to yourself, "This traffic signal is not sensing my vehicle," and off you go. Haven't done it yet while adjacent to car drivers, but that day will come.

When discussing it with people here, pointing out the safety concerns of being stuck in traffic, and the maintenance concerns for air-cooled bikes stuck in traffic, the universal response is always, "What gives you the right to skip to the front?" The unwashed savages resent the notion in those places that don't allow it, and see it as unfair. Then you mention that every bike or scooter that filters through and then pulls away when the light goes green is one more vehicle not contributing to their delay.

The concepts of safety and of congestion relief are irrelevant next to the fact that someone gets past them while they sit in gridlock.

And yet where these same drivers grew up where it's allowed, you see them making the effort to make it happen safely, like the white truck did.

These videos should be shown to state legislatures everywhere to show that lane sharing is not something hoodlums do at 120 miles per hour to race past traffic that's already doing 10 over the limit, and to show that such behavior is NOT what we're looking for. Filtering as shown here helps EVERYONE; it helps traffic by reducing congestion, and it helps us by keeping us out of the way of killing machines.

 

[Warpdrv]

Wfooshee..... Explanation aside, I get the positive points but I just can't get past the lack of trust in stupid drivers doing stupid shit all the time... They will never cease to astound me in their totally unconscious ability to do sporatic things that will KILL ME.... With so many people paying more attention to their phones, putting on makeup, reaching back too feed their kids, spilling coffee on themselves what have you.... I have lost any Faith inn others driving cars around me in closer quarters where I'm always going to end up the loser

 

[Twigg]

Wfooshee..... Explanation aside, I get the positive points but I just can't get past the lack of trust in stupid drivers doing stupid shit all the time... They will never cease to astound me in their totally unconscious ability to do sporatic things that will KILL ME.... With so many people paying more attention to their phones, putting on makeup, reaching back too feed their kids, spilling coffee on themselves what have you.... I have lost any Faith inn others driving cars around me in closer quarters where I'm always going to end up the loser

The reality is that most drivers are not homicidal maniacs, and I only very rarely encountered a driver who tried to close the gap. Most drivers see you coming and move to let you through.

Granted that was in another country but even here, even when I have risked trying it in Oklahoma, I have been surprised by how many drivers make space.

If this comes, providing it is accompanied by a decent public awareness campaign, there should be few problems. Once motorists realize that bikes only contribute to conjestion if they choose to stay in line, then most are more than reasonable. Fuq the rest, just keep your eyes peeled.

 

[mcatrophy]

Wfooshee..... Explanation aside, I get the positive points but I just can't get past the lack of trust in stupid drivers doing stupid shit all the time... They will never cease to astound me in their totally unconscious ability to do sporatic things that will KILL ME.... With so many people paying more attention to their phones, putting on makeup, reaching back too feed their kids, spilling coffee on themselves what have you.... I have lost any Faith inn others driving cars around me in closer quarters where I'm always going to end up the loser

The reality is that most drivers are not homicidal maniacs, and I only very rarely encountered a driver who tried to close the gap. Most drivers see you coming and move to let you through.

Granted that was in another country but even here, even when I have risked trying it in Oklahoma, I have been surprised by how many drivers make space.

If this comes, providing it is accompanied by a decent public awareness campaign, there should be few problems. Once motorists realize that bikes only contribute to conjestion if they choose to stay in line, then most are more than reasonable. Fuq the rest, just keep your eyes peeled.

I'll add to that. In the UK, lane splitting/sharing is not only allowed, but quietly encouraged. It's been allowed (read "never been prohibited"), is generally accepted, and mostly ignored by car drivers. Many heavy goods vehicles will help. Most car drivers are totally unaware, a few will move to help, a small minority will actively try to block, I think more as a "sport" than for any other reason. There's generally very little jealousy that I can detect.

As always, when practising lane splitting, it is up to the rider to ensure his/her own safety. Yes, cars will suddenly swap lanes without checking, or wander across their lane to squeeze you while they use their phone or whatever. But that's true when overtaking or simply riding in an adjacent lane. You just watch for the signs and choose your strategy.

There are a couple of Forum threads on lane splitting concerning an AMA report and a CA Bill, worth reading for many views on the subject.

 

[rogdeb]

Wow. Not for me. No wonder you hung that crap up as a routine years ago. Too stressful. Sure, it might be the new 'normal' but the new normal will eventually stress your brain and body too far. And you think way too much for that.

In practise it's not really stressful at all.

^^^^^^^ depends who you ask ! My pillion, Deb, does not agree

 

[wheatonFJR]

Down hee-ah in da sowwwth...yer liable to get riddled with whatever diameter round is currently available...or even more likely, become a dent on somebody's quarter panel.

Even passing smartly before a nice series of twisties sometimes earn somebody a chase from a truck. Not so bad solo, but group riding gets a tetch complicated sometimes as a result.

See ending scene of easy rider for additional references...

 

[James Burleigh]

Down hee-ah in da sowwwth...yer liable to get riddled with whatever diameter round is currently available...or even more likely, become a dent on somebody's quarter panel.
Even passing smartly before a nice series of twisties sometimes earn somebody a chase from a truck. Not so bad solo, but group riding gets a tetch complicated sometimes as a result.

See ending scene of easy rider for additional references...

 

[FJRRYDER]

I can't see any of the vids posted here, I get a "video not available" message, but it may be blocked, this is my work computer

 

[Top_Speed1]

Last weekend I installed my new dashcam, so Monday morning I fired it up for my 60-mile RT commute into work and back. Here's a 4-minute compilation of footage from that day's commute (with side bags):
https://youtu.be/9iOTGtK3Djc

Video says "not available"