Just a thought:

The guy was looking to vent, not looking for a list of "shouldas". I feel your pain, BMoney--I think we all do...

 

**** yeah homie, check out las vegas, these ****ing retards almost kill me everyday...i dunno how long you have been riding for...but one thing i noticed my first years was that i would get hella pissed off at anyone who cut me off, was on there phone, driving not paying attention, merging into my lane, man i would flip em off and make other gestures...but now..i am way more preemtive...i know what to look for and make changes accordingly..never ride next to a car, either in front of behind. You are on offensive and defensive with these things...but back to the story..now a couple years later..i am way more calm, dont need to kick off peoples mirrors..it IS GOING TO HAPPEN. so you be prepared and look out for drivers....how ever...i have been known to kick off cab's mirrors, cus lets face it, they dont pay for any repairs to there cars, and they drive like complete and totall ********. so **** them. =]

 

I'm tempted to agree... however, if one person listening into this conversation can stop and think about their own day to day riding habits and can take from this a different perspective it might save their lives one day.

Sure that might seem a bit dramatic, but just think about all the things you've learned from others that would have really sucked to have learned the hard way.

To the original poster - sucks - glad you came out of it fine.

For the general comment:

Ride defensively. Create space. Space is time, and time is one thing you can never have enough of in an dangerous situation.

I was reading an interesting article about defensive driving today. It said, instead of riding 2 seconds behind a car, ride 4. He said, if you are worried about people pulling infront of you - consider that if you had to drop back 2 seconds EVERY time someone did this... to loose 1 minute on your morning commute 30 people would have to pull infront of you. On top of that - all 30 people would have to stay in that lane to loose the minute of time... more than likely those same 30 people are going to continue weaving and you'll actually loose far less than a full minute of time.

Personally - I avoid situations like yours. I'll either wait for a spot that is cop free and blast past them ( say a small dip on a divided highway - no cops in the dip - pass them downhill fast decellerate to cruising speed again on the uphill) or stay behind them. Minimize the time your space is the least. The less time you spend close to people, the fewer chances they will have to run you off the road.

Riding defensively doesn't mean you still can't have fun - it just means watching out for yourself more... not counting on others to do the right thing.

I could rant for years, but this has not much to do with the orginal poster... again I want to repeat that this isn't really a comment for the orginal poster, but the quiet lurker that might need to hear this once more.

Cheers,
woot.

 

Last night (I was in my cage, also Honda) I was near a motorcycle and we were going down a 4lane thing (opened up lanes on left and right for turning) and some guy rips it out of the strip mall, nearly hitting me so i honked and gave him the good ol' shake of the fist, i swerve out of the way and get away fine, 2 seconds later the same guy who almost hit me changes into the lane of the motorcycle almost side-swiping him. Some dumbasses just don't pay attention...

 

Just so you know, I have never done this- I was kind of kidding, but if someone really hit me, WHO KNOWS??? +100 on the riding in 6-7 RPM range.

 

What bothers me even more is that they dont realize they are idiots. I cant tell you how many times i've almost been hit by cell phone idiots or u-turning on yield bastards and when you flick them off and yell at them they dont get what they did wrong or anything.

 

I dont know if they would consider that a motor vehicle accident. Around here they would probably consider it vandalism or something of that sort. Most of the time, if they dont see me i will punch their window or their door depending on how high the vehicle is. Its pretty scarry when you are driving and not expecting a fist in your window.

Actually i did that to a guy that tried passing me in the left turn lane. Scarred the **** out of the passenger, but he ended up sideswiping me off the bike at a complete stop and I put a giant crease(or however you spell that) down the side of his truck. Than he tried saying it was my fault.

Anyways, I payed nothing and got nothing and he payed for a ticket and alot of body work and paint.

Oh the damage to his truck was caused by the big *** 12 bar on the bike. That and the frame sliders saved the bike from damage.

 

If they claimed you did it on purpose then it would be Criminal Mischief in Indiana. If they weren't sure then it would he a MV Accident. Either way if you cause damage to someone's vehicle or are involved in a collision and you do not stop, then you may be looking at the inside of a jail cell, or at least a courtroom.

We all know what's right or wrong. I have to proactively avoid idiots and their mindless actions on a daily basis. There are many times I would like to drop an elbow through their window and wake them up. If someone does something that was malicious or that I truly believed could have injured me if I wasn't paying attention, then I may be tempted to follow them and discuss their actions. I would not suggest this unless you know what you are doing. Like the rider above that got a gun stuck in his face, you could find yourself in a BAD situation.

 

 

Last line should read "They drive cages!"