Let's Be Careful Out There!

[FJRocket]

Ok, Ok, we all have near miss stories or worse. Man, I haven't had one like THIS for a long time, though. I nearly screwed the ultimate pooch!

I was pulling out to make a left turn into the southbound lane on the highway in front of my neighborhood. I was waiting for drive time traffic to clear so I could cross to the middle of the US highway (2 lanes each way), then go left.

Finally, just a red pickup turning off before me, probably going back in to my neighborhood, coming up the northbound lane. The road looks clear behind him. He starts to pull off the highway onto the shoulder "lane" as is customary around here. I didn' think anything of it. Both lanes behind him appeared clear.

I start to pull out. Fortunately, I continued to watch the red truck turning off, because you just never know! As I start to pull out on to the road, I had to hammer the brakes to a stop. Another red truck, same shade of red, comes whaling around the turning truck and goes ripping right by me going VERY fast.

That gave me pause. I haven't had anything like that happen in a LONG time. I don't know if I just didn't look. I don't know if I just didn't see the two superimposed red trucks. I'm sure that as the first truck began to pull over, the second truck problably scooted left to go around the truck. Even so, the second truck stayed directly behind the first truck, blocked out of my field of vision.

Man, did I feel stupid, and have that real bad sinking feeling. Had I not been watching what I was doing, and been able to stop short, I would have been dead. Uterly, completely dead. If I wasn't looking, I would never have even known what happened. I would have been T boned by a full sized pickup doing 75 or so. Just dead. Crushed. Pulverized. Dead.

Here it is, another beautiful summer morning. One more chance to be thankful and count my many blessings. And I'll try not to do anything dumb.

 

[Thug]

Please supply your Sphincter Factor for this episode ( out of 10, 10 being the higher pucker value)

 

[FJRocket]

That's a tough one. In the scheme of things it was probably only a 6 or 7. No parts were shed, no blood was lost. Since there was no conctact, and I got stopped OK, it wasn't like it was a critical escape of death.

It was more the sinking, sick feeling I got after I stopped and realized my blunder and what could have happened. Makes me shudder thinking about it.

Please let's be careful out there. Everyone IS trying to kill us. And then I also have to worry about me trying NOT to kill me all on my own.

:fie: :headbonk: :megashock:

 

[moby one]

Sphincter value yesterday was about a 6 for me. I know this one must be an origional Young blonde in a red econo car waiting to pull out of strip mall parking lot. I see her waiting for at least 5 seconds. I did notice her looking down, probably checking out some new piercing. 10 yards away she starts pulling out luckly going in the same direction. I swerved left and by the time she was done pulling out, be-bopping along my Mag Blasters were going hog wild adjacent to her drivers side window. Being in the left turn lane was not in my best interest so I added some RPM's and got far away from her. I watched her in the mirror and she pulled into the first available side street prolly to avoid any further hand gestures from some pissed guy on feejer. It didn't really sink in until later how close I came to crashing. YIkes!

mo

 

[lawinter]

Glad your ok .

Things happen so quick We need to be very aware of everyone.

Even ourselfs.

When I have had near misses that were my fault I

use it as a wakeup call to pull my head out of my ass and stay alive.

Getting complacent on a bike is deadly.

Again glad your ok my biggest fear is getting T-boned

Larry

 

[Overfly]

FJRocket, my sphincter value on your incident would probably require me to pull my Corbin seat out of my ass when it was all over. Glad your OK. Thanks for sharing your story as it serves as a good reminder on how careful we need to be out there. The set-up you describe is just like what I have to do pulling out of my area, including using the shoulder as a right turn lane. I drew a mental picture at my place as you described your deal, WOW! :blink:

 

[twowheelnut]

Getting complacent on a bike is deadly.

No shit! Wish I had that in mind a couple of weeks ago...

There's a series of one-way streets running parallel here in town. They run alternate to each other; ones runs north the next south the next north... you get the idea... Anyway, I'm crossing these and I go through the first intersection, then the second and approach the third. I look south to check for north bound traffic and finding none, I proceed across the intersection.

Outta the corner of my left eye I catch movement coming at me fast and close... OH SHIT! Here comes a small delivery van doing what seemed like double the posted 30 mph! EFF ME!!!!! Nail the gas and just squirt by this guy! Phew!

My error (stupidity?)? I looked south for traffic going north. Problem was, traffic was heading south! Oops! I forgot which way the traffic went on this street and completely ignored the clearly posted road signs and 10 foot long white arrows painted on the roadway... Wada bonehead!

"In Thrust I Trust!" That's the only thing that saved my skinny keester that day...

@Rocket, glad you didn't get splatted on the truck's grill!

 

[Rogue]

Getting complacent on a bike is deadly.

No shit! Wish I had that in mind a couple of weeks ago...

There's a series of one-way streets running parallel here in town. They run alternate to each other; ones runs north the next south the next north... you get the idea... Anyway, I'm crossing these and I go through the first intersection, then the second and approach the third. I look south to check for north bound traffic and finding none, I proceed across the intersection.

Outta the corner of my left eye I catch movement coming at me fast and close... OH SHIT! Here comes a small delivery van doing what seemed like double the posted 30 mph! EFF ME!!!!! Nail the gas and just squirt by this guy! Phew!

My error (stupidity?)? I looked south for traffic going north. Problem was, traffic was heading south! Oops! I forgot which way the traffic went on this street and completely ignored the clearly posted road signs and 10 foot long white arrows painted on the roadway... Wada bonehead!

"In Thrust I Trust!" That's the only thing that saved my skinny keester that day...

@Rocket, glad you didn't get splatted on the truck's grill!

I look both ways on one way streets................ I've had people going the wrong way at least a dozen times! :angry01: :angry02: :angry03: :angry2:

 

[FJRocket]

Yes, I've seen idiots going the wrong way on one-ways. I try to look both ways. Even try to look twice. But that doesn't always happen. Complacency is a real problem.

Generally, I think riding (and flying) helps keep me alert the rest of the time, too. Like many have said, be proactive and assume everyone is out to kill you, and constantly look for danger. Even the one's you don't see are out to kill you. Heck, ESPECIALLY the one's you don't see!

I often have visions of those pics that I think were perhaps linked or posted on the other site, maybe a year ago. Remember those? The ones where the biker(s) tangled with a truck down in Mexico? I remember the goo in the grill, and the head still in the helmet stuck in the bumper. Ick. Coulda been me. I think that's why I brought this one up. Ugh.

Trying not to loose sleep over it, though. Time to go out for another ride!

 

[LetzRoll]

'Rocket.,

Glad to hear you're OK. You did good. :clap:

It's another good lesson for us all. Other good advice here as well. Thanks for sharing it gents.

 

[Karmak]

I'm doing 60-65 on a two lane road going West (this morning). Air head 20-25 talking on cell phone runs a stop sign sign, sees me when she's halfway into my lane and stops dead (she's turning into my road from a side road to my right and plans to go East). The kicker is, as I swerve to the left into the East lane-luckily I expected her bonehead move and checked the lane out beforehand-she accelerates and comes all the way out! Then to cap it off, I get stuck behind a Mr Ding-A-Ling ice cream truck doing 40 for miles of double line with a Trooper behind me, so I can't pass. At least he wasn't playing that Ding-A-Ling music.

 

[black mamba]

I'm crusing down a major 4 lane Blvd. here in Jacksonville. I'm riding on " red alert " as I usually do....I don't trust anybody at any time. I come to an entry- way to a country club on my right. A lady is poised to come out, cross my two lanes, and turn left. There are several cars parked along the curb that obscure my view of her and her view of me. She comes darting out from her position and into my full view. I have absolutely no time to make a planned maneuver to avoid her, but I make an instinctive move to my left. By the grace of God, she looks up and sees me barreling down on her. She slams on the brakes and I blaze by.....missed her front end by a max of 6 inches. Some times you just got to believe in the law of fate. If she doesn't realize what she has done and stomp on the brakes, I'm a dead man. Nothing I could have done on my own would have prevented me from slaming into her. Just wasn't my time to go. I'm not a religious zealot, but I am religious.......I start every ride with a short prayer asking that I survive the journey.

 

[radman]

Anyone else here notice that the closest calls seem to occur when traffic is lightest? My worst times have never been while in fast heavy traffic-they've always been in light or no traffic, when the guard and spacial awareness are at a lower ebb.

 

[twowheelnut]

Yup, never have a problem in heavy traffic. Wonder why that is...

 

[lawinter]

Yup, never have a problem in heavy traffic.  Wonder why that is...

Cuz we're paying attention to the heavy traffic.

In light traffic I relax a little

Bad Bad Brain

Larry

 

[nusman68]

@ FJRocket....

Sounds like you were really shaken up.....totally understandable....many times your body gets that sudden adrenaline 'dump', the effects of which are immediately noticeable and usually detrimental to the task at hand; then comes the 'replay & analysis' in your mind.

I always find it interesting (in a sad way) how one minute we can be alive & well and the next minute gone...to me it is a philosophical curiousity that at so many scenes I have personally arrived at (while working as a paramedic) peoples lives are changed forever, families 'fractured'...yet after all the broken glass is swept up, debris cleared, emergency vehicles driven away, NO ONE knows what just happened there....and the masses go past, busy on their cell phones, drinking their Starbuck's, listening to a CD, thinking 'it won't happen to me'.

Stay alert out there.....protective gear helps but YOU are your best defense....

 

[BobbyBlue]

@Rocket...Dude, I'm glad your OK and reflective on the incident. Thanks for sharing too ! I must be honest though. I have faced death recently..the cut open yer chest kind...twice... and I gotta tell y'all I'd much rather be taken out on one of my bikes than strapped to some gurney in a hospital. Motorcycles are inherently dangerous and we all accept this I hope, my fear would be to be maimed or hurt someone else while being taken out. I dont have a death wish but my family isnt very happy that I continue to ride street and dirt, but in the end it is my choice and death isnt so bad, just hard on your loved ones.

Bobby

 

[SilveradoSlick]

Glad you're alive to share your story. It's a good reminder about how a little error in perception can be deadly. I shared it with my wife today while we were driving.

 

[Toecutter]

The tough part, for me, is that one of us could be taken out and the rest of us might never hear about it. Let's all try to learn from this and the other close calls and not become statistics. Thanks Rocket and glad you are here to tell about it.

I dont have a death wish but...