Almost bought it!

[finless]

This was my ride in this morning. I almost got rear ended! Look at my mirrors and watch at the stop! This camera has a wide angle lens so things are closer than they appear. The woman driving the SUV behind me was on my rear end for no reason. Prior I even tried to wave her to back off! Then after she almost hit me, I shook my head and I could see in my mirror she shook her head back at me in spite! About 200' more up the road and there is no shoulder to jump into so she would have hit me! This is why I record every ride!

Bob

 

[Bob Denman]

:yikes: That looked way to close for comfort! :shocked:
Glad to see that she didn't collect you! :thumbup:
Question: Could you have done anything to reduce the chance of that happening? :dontknow:

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I doubt that she would have done anything different if you had been in a car. But I am glad that she didn't hit you.

 

[Bob Denman]

Ann
You took a tap in traffic; didn't you? :shocked:

 

[MidLifeCrisis]

Question: Could you have done anything to reduce the chance of that happening? :dontknow:

Works on just about everything. Spyder adapter available online:joke:

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: I hope that I can find it on EBay...

 

[finless]

:yikes: That looked way to close for comfort! :shocked:
Glad to see that she didn't collect you! :thumbup:
Question: Could you have done anything to reduce the chance of that happening? :dontknow:

I had left a little space in front of me and possibly could have moved forward a little more when I saw it coming. But it would have only been maybe 8' feet. That camera's wide angle lens makes things look farther than they are but I did have some room to move up. Unlike a 2 wheeler I could not jump between cars. Ann is right, had I been in a car same thing would have happened except obviously the physical injury would be different.

Bob

 

[Bob Denman]

I saw the following distance that you were leaving... :thumbup:
If you had opened that gap up even more; would somebody have jumped into it? :dontknow:

 

[cjackg]

Cant have enough lights on the rear....

Do you have the HMT brake light on the RT ? and the Gen2 Magic Brake Light Flasher?

Its kinda nice to be able to throw some strobing brake lights at drivers like that....

 

[Magdave]

I swear you could be my brother you even sound like me not just the words but the voice too.:thumbup: One thing I always do in heavy traffic , if I can, is tap the brakes several times before putting them on if I have time. Sort of a manual blinking system to wake up the idiots.

 

[Flanker]

You know..................in The Sandbox and The Stan.............................we got extra pay for hazardous duty, and working at a hardship posting. Of course, we didn't get to ride Spyders, either.

 

[finless]

Do you have the HMT brake light on the RT ? and the Gen2 Magic Brake Light Flasher?

Its kinda nice to be able to throw some strobing brake lights at drivers like that....

I installed my own top breaklight so yes I have one and I do think it helped.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...-2-RT-Trunk-Break-light-DIY-full-video-how-to

I am thinking of putting on one of those flasher units.

Bob

 

[Dan McNally]

Glad you are OK . . . There isn't much you can do when a brain-dead, self-important idiot is driving behind you in that situation, except, perhaps, slowing and merging into the non-HOV lane if you can, so she can pass you, and be a threat to someone else. There are a subset of the cretins on the road who only look as far as the car in front of them, without regard for anything else. They also spend a lot of time texting and talking on their cell phones.

 

[ARtraveler]

Very scarry when you see that monster approaching from the rear. There is not much you can do to save yourself from a brain dead idiot. My usual thing, when I encounter same, is to just pull into another lane and let them get the heck away from me. I do not wish to ride in any proximity to a driver like that.

 

[MMcc]

Bad drivers

Many many years ago when MN first required MC endorsements on our DL the instructor for the classroom portion started the class with a short film of various motorcycle races and stunts. There were a lot of oohs and aahs as bikes and bikers took spills and multiple crashes. The instructor then said to everyone in the class "the only thing more dangerous than racing motorcycles on the track is riding them on the street." That thought has stuck with me the past 40 years and it seems to be more true today than when I first heard it.

 

[jerpinoy]

This is one reason why I don't wave on people behind me. They get the wrong messages. I glad your ok.:yes::yes::yes::yes:

 

[JJW SpyderRider]

That looked scary in the left mirror :yikes:. I had the same thing happen to me but with a semi while in my car. I was able to see his front wheel even with my front door. He did the same thing to another car that got between us just a few miles later.

 

[finless]

Many many years ago when MN first required MC endorsements on our DL the instructor for the classroom portion started the class with a short film of various motorcycle races and stunts. There were a lot of oohs and aahs as bikes and bikers took spills and multiple crashes. The instructor then said to everyone in the class "the only thing more dangerous than racing motorcycles on the track is riding them on the street." That thought has stuck with me the past 40 years and it seems to be more true today than when I first heard it.

This has stuck with me as well!

I have seen too many accidents on this same freeway in 30 years of driving it to and from work (both cars and motorcycles)! So I do know what can happen and that in many cases your not in control and cant do anything about it. In cars I have been rear ended on that SAME freeway 4 times in 30 years. Statistically I am on the LOW SIDE! So on the Spyder for me it's all about defensive driving and watching what's happening around me. But I also realize there maybe a day, I cannot do anything about what is going to happen to me. In the end we are playing the odds.... but hell... that's life! What fun would it be if we just huddled in the house and not enjoy the ride!

I love riding my Spyder to work and that wont stop! But it is also a time of learning for me on this thing and what defensive driving on a Spyder is..... Only thing I can do is leave plenty of space in front to move forward in the case of a driver behind me locking up the breaks and heading my way. But in Cali, leaving too big a space in front pisses people off as they just want to then get ahead of you! LA freeways are like NASCAR.... everyone does 80 bumper to bumper!

Bob

 

[finless]

When you see a sudden stop coming, you could pull into the breakdown lane and wait there.

Or use your 1911 brake booster

As I noted, watch the video some area do NOT have a breakdown lane! It just so happened that THIS TIME it was when there was a breakdown lane. 900 feet forward or back, there was none!

Bob