First incident with a cager

[Pauls927]

On my way home from work today, I was stopped in a right turn lane waiting for traffic to clear. I was in the center of the lane with my indicator on and in my mirror, I noticed a Durango behind me getting closer. At first I thought he was going to pass my on my left, and I was thinking wtf is going on, I could not move forward without pulling out into the path of a car coming thru the intersection, so I started to head over to the right curb when I heard a crunch and witnessed pieces of my FJR flying off to my left.

I also heard a scream, but my first thought was to get way over to the right. I got to the curb and stopped, while the cager remained stopped where he hit me. I quickly looked over the bike and rode a few yards to a clearing, motioning to Mr Cager to follow me. The Durango had a family of 4 that spoke very little English, but the lady passenger I think was asking if I was ok. Driver spoke no English whatsoever.

Inspection of the bike revealed a scuffed left saddle bag and a detached bag reflector which was quickly retrieved from the street. No other damage could be found, even after I got home and did a closer inspection. The scuff is already buffed out and I'll try a dab of silicone to attach the reflector. Is there a prefferred adhesive for mounting the reflector back to the bag?

I believe the driver had his head turned to the left checking traffic the whole time while creeping forward and forgot I was stopped in front of him while creeping forward.

I hope this is my last encounter with another vehicle, but this could have been much worse. Ride safe

 

[03silverbullet]

Glad you are OK.

Could you imagine the consequences of staying in the middle lane?

 

[BwanaDik]

Gotta watch out for those Durangos, they seem to have a fixation for Feejers

Durango

 

[Pauls927]

This could have ended out a lot of different ways, none of which could have been better than what actually happened.

I'll be paying a lot more attention to behind me now when stopped, even after the cage comes to a stop behind me.

 

[Patriot]

in my mirror, I noticed a Durango Toyota Prius behind me getting closer.

fixed it

seriously, glad that turned out well

there's epoxy for plastic which might be my choice of adhesive in this case

let's ride safe and be careful out there,

Mike in Nawlins'

 

[sergeantnic]

Gorilla glue FTW

 

[FJReady]

See if you can find some 3M VHB tape (Very High Bond). the stuff is the shizzle.

 

[highcountry]

Wow, close call! Glad you made it through the ordeal OK.

What is the deal with Durangos and FJRs?

 

[GPRIDER]

Why did I know this was in Texas before I even looked at your location. I don't even want to get started on this subject. On the other subject of fixing the Feejer, FJReady is right if you can find the stuff. We use the 1/16" thick double sided tape at work. If you clean the sufaces good, that stuff is not going to turn loose very easily. It's on there. I can't remember who makes ours. Don't know if it was 3M or not.

GP

 

[Pauls927]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I search for the 3M tape tomorrow.

 

[Bounce]

Better yet. Use now as the time to remove the her reflector.

 

[BPFowler]

+1 on the 3M VHB tape.

Be sure that all surfaces are clean and apply moderate pressure for at least 1 min.

 

[Jon T]

+1 on the 3M VHB tape. Be sure that all surfaces are clean and apply moderate pressure for at least 1 min.

I observed last year that the florescent yellow safety color really increases visibility in rain and fog (thanks to my participation in last year's EOM and a lot of time spend on the Blue Ridge Pkwy). I went out and bought four "class 3" safety vests (3XL). I keep one in each car, have one for the bike (over my gear), and an extra. I feel more visible and they're great for walking in winter when the sun sets early here. I found mine on Amazon for about $8 each. Looked recently for the link and couldn't find it.

 

[jdfjr]

Been hit by cager twice already. Working on more front lighting.

Here's what i have on my topcase:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3M-White-Si...sQ5fAccessories

Bike pic at 5am:

https://picasaweb.google.com/goddard221/MyS...209619173908258

jdfjr

IBA # 38829

 

[Silver Penguin]

Sorry to hear the story, but glad that the outcome wasn't worse.

I'm all in favor of anything that helps with visibility, which is why I wear the Hi-Viz lime jacket and white helmet. Sadly, no effort on our part is going to change the perception of drivers who don't even LOOK. Ride as though you're invisible and as if they're all out to get you.

 

[Dakota_c69]

What is the deal with Durangos and FJRs?

I can't answer that question, but I have one of each. Does that make me safe??? They sit next to each other in the driveway and there have been no altercations.

Glad your collision was just a saddlebag bender and not more serious!

Glenn.

 

[TheZsdad]

On my way home from work today, I was stopped in a right turn lane waiting for traffic to clear. I was in the center of the lane with my indicator on and in my mirror, I noticed a Durango behind me getting closer. At first I thought he was going to pass my on my left, and I was thinking wtf is going on, I could not move forward without pulling out into the path of a car coming thru the intersection, so I started to head over to the right curb when I heard a crunch and witnessed pieces of my FJR flying off to my left.
I also heard a scream, but my first thought was to get way over to the right. I got to the curb and stopped, while the cager remained stopped where he hit me. I quickly looked over the bike and rode a few yards to a clearing, motioning to Mr Cager to follow me. The Durango had a family of 4 that spoke very little English, but the lady passenger I think was asking if I was ok. Driver spoke no English whatsoever.

Inspection of the bike revealed a scuffed left saddle bag and a detached bag reflector which was quickly retrieved from the street. No other damage could be found, even after I got home and did a closer inspection. The scuff is already buffed out and I'll try a dab of silicone to attach the reflector. Is there a prefferred adhesive for mounting the reflector back to the bag?

I believe the driver had his head turned to the left checking traffic the whole time while creeping forward and forgot I was stopped in front of him while creeping forward.

I hope this is my last encounter with another vehicle, but this could have been much worse. Ride safe

I see the same accident here in Charlotte over and over. Sometimes it's cager vs. cager also seen cager vs. bicycle in the same senario. I give some of the blame to the traffic engineers. You have to pulll way deep into the turn lane to see if you can merge. You are basically out of sight of the guy behind you until he gets deeper into the turn. By then he is looking to merge himself. The fix would be to hold the waiting cars back further from the intersection so the turning traffic does not have to pull so deep into the turn in order to see. Hope I explained that so it makes sense. I honestly don't think any color you wear is going to help in this case. If the cager is not looking in your direction you could be a frickin house and he'd run into to ya..

 

[Silver Penguin]

If the cager is not looking in your direction you could be a frickin house and he'd run into to ya..

...... or a huge pile of rocks, big enough to close the road on the Dragon (as proven by a video posted on this very forum).