Moto-Blog / Vblog: Biggest fear is being rear ended. What would you do?

[finless]

After the accident last week I thought about being rear ended.
It is my biggest fear as on the freeway I commute on I have been rear ended in a car 7 times!!!
The sad part is rear end collisions are going UP! Probably due to texting and driving? I see a rear end accident every week.

My question in the video discussion is what would you do if you knew it was coming?

Bob

 

[Bob Denman]

Thanks Bob; this is an excellent question to pose! :clap:
I don't normally get caught in very much traffic up here... :shocked: Here's what I do.
For starters: I always leave a very generous amount of space between me, and the vehicle in front.
I then line myself up to one side or the other within my lane. I HOPE that this give the nit-wit behind me, a place to slide into! nojoke
I also keep a very large amount of attention on my mirrors.

This tactic has saved my bacon once! I was riding a V-Star 650 in School Bus traffic. The car behind me just didn't seem "quite right"...
The next time that the Bus stopped to let off kids; I moved over into my chosen spot...

...And this car comes to a SCREECHNG halt; right alongside of my left leg! :yikes:

No harm; no foul... (But I did glare at the driver for just a little while...)

 

[BeRight]

Thanks Bob; this is an excellent question to pose! :clap:
I don't normally get caught in very much traffic up here... :shocked: Here's what I do.
For starters: I always leave a very generous amount of space between me, and the vehicle in front.
I then line myself up to one side or the other within my lane. I HOPE that this give the nit-wit behind me, a place to slide into! nojoke
I also keep a very large amount of attention on my mirrors.

This tactic has saved my bacon once! I was riding a V-Star 650 in School Bus traffic. The car behind me just didn't seem "quite right"...
The next time that the Bus stopped to let off kids; I moved over into my chosen spot...

...And this car comes to a SCREECHNG halt; right alongside of my left leg! :yikes:

No harm; no foul... (But I did glare at the driver for just a little while...)

:agree: with approach - do it all the time. I was rear ended on a two wheeler once - left turn light went green - I was in straight through lane Red Light - car behind me saw cars moving on her left and took off - fortunately she was close on my rear end to begin with and stopped quickly after hitting my bike - being sandwiched between to two cars was no fun but I walked away unharmed(bike down for the count). Yeah she was texting and lost concentration of where she was.

 

[Thebrainn]

Thanks Bob; this is an excellent question to pose! :clap:
I don't normally get caught in very much traffic up here... :shocked: Here's what I do.
For starters: I always leave a very generous amount of space between me, and the vehicle in front.
I then line myself up to one side or the other within my lane. I HOPE that this give the nit-wit behind me, a place to slide into! nojoke
I also keep a very large amount of attention on my mirrors.

This tactic has saved my bacon once! I was riding a V-Star 650 in School Bus traffic. The car behind me just didn't seem "quite right"...
The next time that the Bus stopped to let off kids; I moved over into my chosen spot...

...And this car comes to a SCREECHNG halt; right alongside of my left leg! :yikes:

No harm; no foul... (But I did glare at the driver for just a little while...)

:agree: This.

i will add that people avoid me,especially at night, because of having one of these mounted to every bike I have owned. I am considering a variation on this model when I take delivery of my RT.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CP3UMNU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

amazon is currently out of stock but any emergency strobe will do. Mine is red and I have had cops behind me who gave me a thumbs up.

 

[ARtraveler]

Yes, a good idea to have a bail out plan if it comes to that. I always try to leave a good space between me and the car ahead.

There has been a couple times when I had to cross the center line to avoid an animal--lucky there was no oncoming.

One time, I could not avoid a big dog because of an oncoming truck--I ended up killing the dog and damaging the :spyder2:.

I always am looking in my mirror for distracted drivers so far have not had to bail into the space I left.

 

[jwood4242]

trying to stay safe

I'm constantly looking for a place to go should an emergency occur. You know this is not always possible. At times there is just simply not a space or if you leave space in front of you someone cuts into it. I find it a little more difficult to always have a place to go on the Spyder for obvious reasons as compared to a two wheeler. I find that I prefer to ride slightly aggressively on a bike and find that I feel somewhat less vulnerable to others when riding in this way and maybe I stay more alert also. I like to stay as visible as possible on the road. I will tap my brakes at a stop when a car is coming up behind me just as I will flash my bights at cars sitting at access roads or oncoming and preparing to turn left in front of me. I've never been in a bike crash although I've been in two serious auto crashes, one of which I was thrown from the car. Don't want to take that flight again. The take off was extremely rough and the landing I'm still paying for:yikes:

 

[Spyder 42]

Pics?

:agree: This.

i will add that people avoid me,especially at night, because of having one of these mounted to every bike I have owned. I am considering a variation on this model when I take delivery of my RT.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CP3UMNU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

amazon is currently out of stock but any emergency strobe will do. Mine is red and I have had cops behind me who gave me a thumbs up.

 

[Thebrainn]

Pics?

I looked around my computer and unfortunately no. It seems that I take pictures of the scenery I go to on the bikes and not the bike itself.

That said, on the last few bikes I have made small brackets to mount the light at the top of my license plate and I run the wires to a relay that cuts power to the strobe after a preset number of seconds (I use 3 seconds). This allows it to grab drivers' attention without giving them seizures.

Here is a video of a similar lights someone uploaded to youtube. The Whelen lights he used are about the same specs as the Feinix ones I used.

Here is Fenix's page on the light. They also have a video of the light. http://www.feniex.com/product.php?prod_id=389

 

[Jdsd1]

:agree: This.

i will add that people avoid me,especially at night, because of having one of these mounted to every bike I have owned. I am considering a variation on this model when I take delivery of my RT.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CP3UMNU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

amazon is currently out of stock but any emergency strobe will do. Mine is red and I have had cops behind me who gave me a thumbs up.

how and where did you mount this on the Spyder?

 

[Thebrainn]

how and where did you mount this on the Spyder?

Well, I'm currently taking the wife's suggestions on where she might want it on her F3s, but as for my RT-S, well that will have to wait until I actually take delivery of it on Thursday. :yes:

If all else fails though, The license plate mount works on everything. The attached picture is the first one I found of the rear of an RT with a Google image search. It is not mine even though it is the right color. Mount it where the arrows are pointing:

To do that, get two flat mending straps from a big box hardware store like this:

Attach one end to the bottom screws on the license plate and the other end to the mounting holes at the sides of the strobe. I suggest spending the few bucks to buy 'security screws' (something with an odd head rather than Phillips or slotted) on the mount so your strobe doesn't walk away while the bike is parked in the wild. Lots of shady folks carry screwdrivers in their car, but very few carry a security bit set.

If you are willing to do some drilling, the possibilities expand greatly. For example, round strobes such as the one in the link need 3 small holes drilled, one for the wire and two for mounting screws. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OS6NH02/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1RKPI2GHQPW8N). Round ones like this might look nice mounted at the back of the saddlebags or on the rear fascia where I put the red circles on this next picture:

You can also attach the strobes with silicone RTV and even run the wires through the silicone and into a crack between two body panels/taillight edge, etc.). You might have an exposed wire if someone looks close but no holes have to be drilled.

There really is no limit to where you can mount them if you are willing to drill or have a steady hand and some silicone RTV.

Finally, the time delay relay I use is from this guy: http://www.wolstentech.com/products/timedelayrelay/timedelayrelay.php
He makes high quality stuff and I have used a few of his relays for different 12v projects on cars and bikes.

 

[Roadster Renovations]

Good thread, Bob!
I also give extra space when stopping. Recently, I have been slightly angling between lanes when I stop, especially in heavy traffic. I figure if I do get rear ended it will at least keep me from getting sandwiched between two cars. I also watch my rear view at the cars behind me when stopped. I try to keep a bail-out plan also.
Another thing I do when I ride (have been doing it so long it is now second nature) I play the "What if" game. I watch the traffic around me looking for potential problems before they occur. Is this car beside me accelerating to overtake the car ahead of them and am I in their blond spot? Will this one pull across 2 lanes onto the rode and cannot see me since I am blocked by the car ahead. These one turning ahead of me may not see me. I will briefly hold down my bright light switch to be seen better. I also use lane position to my advantage. If I am on a two lane road, especially with hills, as I start up I will move right to the edge of the lane so that I have extra space in case someone is too eager to pass a slow mover or they have slightly lost control and are over the center line. Gives me more reaction time. On the interstate I will rapidly pass semis, keeping my time beside them to a minimum. If a tire blows when you are beside them or a recap lets go, it would not be pretty. If I am coming up on a line of cars in a slower lane beside me I watch for the dude that is going to pull out in front of me. Another thing about stopping is that I try to remember that my brakes on the RT work better than everything out on the road. Stopping quicker than the guy behind me could get me rear ended. I pace my braking to what they can handle behind me. I also have a set of blind spot mirrors attached to the lower outer corner of the stock mirrors. They are adjustable and have saved me a few times with cars in my blind area. They are cheap (less than $20) and easy to install.
Another thing is where I usually ryde in the lane. Since most cars leak oil the middle of the lane is the area I try to avoid. I ryde slightly right, putting that area between my left wheel and my back wheel. So far that has helped to keep my tires free from the car road droppings.....
I know that some of you, especially new ryders are probably thinking, "Doing all that would distract from my ryde!"
Truth is, it is now second nature does not bother me a bit to ryde that way. In fact, it gives me a chance to relax and enjoy things more knowing I am doing all I can to keep me and mine safe.
I do plan on getting a brake light modulator as my next purchase. I think those work really well.
Ryde safe, everyone!
Here is a link for the mirrors I use: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UL718QC

 

[garb55]

I have never been rear ended
If someone gets to close to my rear end
I fart on them:yikes::roflblack:

 

[Bob Denman]

... the "007 Smoke-Screen" tactic! :thumbup: