Head on a swivel

[Tnpapa]

Please keep your heads on a swivel when stopped and you are waiting to make a turn into a side street from a two lane road. My wife and I were almost rear ended by a idiot in a cage playing with his phone instead of watching the road. We avoiding us by having slammed on his breaks and going on the sidewalk while stopping.

[SpyderAnn01]

You need your head on a swivel at all times while riding or driving anything. Glad you weren't hit!

[Bob Denman]

:agree: Use your peripheral vision to keep you in the road. Your primary vision should always be scanning for possible dangers...


...From ALL directions! :shocked: nojoke

[ingramwc]

:agree: too! We have to be extra vigilant to compensate for the "Stupid Factor"!!!! Whether riding or in a cage!!!!! Y'all be safe out there!!!!! :spyder:

[oldguyinTX]

There have been several times that I have made direct eye contact with a cager - usually in a huge SUV - only to have them then pull right out in front of me, or turn in front of me. Drives me nuts. I just assume that they do not see me, or worse, don't care if they do. Their time is so much more valuable to them than my life. For crying out loud, can't they wait 10 seconds? Obviously not.

[Chupaca]

What I always do is look for a way out in case of this. Keep yourself positioned to where you can make a move to avoid a collision. I trust no one to do the right thing..if they do life is good....if they don't I'm outta there...:banghead:

[PrairieSpyder]

Another vicarious lesson! Thanks.

[ARtraveler]

They are out there and they are trying to get you. Expect stupid, and you can usually avoid it.

[Gator37]

You can't fix Stupid, but a Nurse will tell you, you can Sedate it, or a cop may say you can Taze it.

[tobor9]

H***,you are not even safe when they do stop,yesterday a jeep stopped behind me at a light and I watched him till he was stopped at a safe distance then was watching the light to turn left and he bumped me:banghead: I turned and asked WHAT THE H*** ARE YOU DOING!!!,he said he had the clutch in and rolled,sorry,the light changed and I left and pulled into a parking lot to check for any damage,there was none:bowdown:

[Bob Denman]

You can't fix Stupid, but a Nurse will tell you, you can Sedate it, or a cop may say you can Taze it.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=117006&stc=1

[MisterP]

There have been several times that I have made direct eye contact with a cager - usually in a huge SUV - only to have them then pull right out in front of me, or turn in front of me. Drives me nuts. I just assume that they do not see me, or worse, don't care if they do. Their time is so much more valuable to them than my life. For crying out loud, can't they wait 10 seconds? Obviously not.

I was taught that you rarely have the eye contact you think you have. Instead, watch the front wheel of the cages. If it starts to move they have not seen you, and you will have more time to react.

[Pampurrs]

You need your head on a swivel at all times while riding or driving anything. Glad you weren't hit!

:agree::agree::agree::agree:

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I know some may not agree, but those 'crazies' out there may not be stupid, not inattentive, but simply engrossed. This past week I had a couple of situations that made it clear to me that focus and concentration on driving can sometimes be hazardous. Case in point. I was driving in a parking lot and was going into a left turn to go down a parking line. I was mostly watching the lines of parked cars, and the arrows on the asphalt, to make sure I was going where I wanted to go. Wouldn't you know it? Just as I was completing the turn there was a car coming directly at me. I never saw him. His lane ahead of me had been clear just a moment earlier.

The second incident was at sunset. I was driving directly into the sun so was focusing very tightly on the road ahead of me. I knew I was coming close to the little town of Farfield when suddenly I saw the bright lights of a store or two on my right and realized I was in Fairfield. I did not see the signs or businesses on the right since I had the sun in my eyes and was concentrating on the road directly ahead of me. For whatever reason, age related memory or deductive reasoning diminishment problems, it did not enter my brain that town = reduced speed. A quarter mile down the road when I saw the blue lights behind me I realized I had just driven through a 45 mph zone at 70. :lecturef_smilie: When the deputy walked up to me I said, "I missed that 45 speed limit sign back there, didn't I?" "Both of them!" :lecturef_smilie: That turned out to be a $155 screw up! :opps:

We probably all do it, and many cagers do it, and that is we concentrate so hard on our driving task immediately at hand we block out everything else around us. We have to really be careful not to let our human nature interfere with our driving!