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[Garznhogs]

......................................  ..........
  Everyone has there own taste.  That's why there are so many choices.  You have yours and I have mine, that's what makes this country so GREAT!

Ride on!

Yellowsedeuce

So true, my friend!  [smiley=pleased.gif]  Wow, I nailed your vehicle selections right on the head!     Glad yer not takin' it personal-like.  What IS the difference between SUV, car, and minivan?? The van has sliding doors? SUV has a longer hood. No, car has longer hood. Van has no trunk. Neither does SUV. Boils down to minor body parts, it seems.

All-in-all, I believe that bikers operate cars and trucks better than the bike-impaired.   [smiley=2cr_01.gif]

Garz   [smiley=smoking.gif]

[Garznhogs]

- - - Except for that guy in the video clip with the $39,000 custom; "$3,000 a second!"   [smiley=ROFLOL.gif] [smiley=zroflmao.gif]

[grc]

So true, my friend!  [smiley=pleased.gif]  Wow, I nailed your vehicle selections right on the head!     Glad yer not takin' it personal-like.  What IS the difference between SUV, car, and minivan?? The van has sliding doors? SUV has a longer hood. No, car has longer hood. Van has no trunk. Neither does SUV. Boils down to minor body parts, it seems.

[highlight]All-in-all, I believe that bikers operate cars and trucks better than the bike-impaired. [/highlight]  [smiley=2cr_01.gif]

Garz   [smiley=smoking.gif]

Garz,

I agree. At least a biker driving a cage is more likely to look out for bikes, unlike the brain-dead cagers who can't seem to see anything smaller than a Kenworth.

Since I haven't stuck my foot in my mouth yet today (not that I know of anyway  [smiley=nixweiss.gif]), I'll throw out this little observation sure to be a hit with our female members:  I've noticed that many females (including my wife) prefer SUV's because they feel safer in a bigger, taller vehicle.  Unfortunately, this can lead to a certain aggressiveness that wasn't evident when they weren't surrounded by 2+ tons of steel.  It's like they only yield to something bigger, and everybody else better get out of the way.  

I made the mistake back in '86 of jokingly telling my wife, while we were shopping for her new car, that she should get a Bronco II.  As I continued across the lot toward the Mustang's, which was our intended purchase, I came to realize that I was talking to myself.  She had stopped at the Bronco II's, and was really getting hyped on a sharp two-tone 4X4 XLT.  The rest is history - she has never owned anything other than a SUV since that day, no matter what kind of car I try to tempt her with.  Me and my big mouth.

Jerry

[Garznhogs]

. . . . .  Me and my big mouth.

Jerry

Hmmm, sounds like a "Jerry-ism"  [smiley=huepfenlol2.gif] I understand completely.

Garz (another Jerry)   [smiley=smoking.gif]

[Nasty Habit]

Something I learned from a CHP (California Highway Patrol) motorcycle cop was to do a "wave" when approaching an intersection that has a car at it. I gently lean the bike left and right causing my headlight to "wave" at the awaiting cage. Many times I have been approaching an intersection with a car stopped there. I look at the driver, and they pull out right in front of me. It is so very true that they don't see us at all, and the motion of that moving headlight gets their attention. Try it, it'll make a difference. They instantly see you and stop!
NH

[UK Dave]

Yeah - agree completely, anything that draws attention to us has to be a good idea.

I have heard this before (although must admit I don't always practise it...)

There is a move in UK (and Europe generally) to have all vehicles run with daylight running lights on

They are currently trialling it in some areas of France - I believe it's already compulsory in Scandanavia

I think this would be a retrograde step since it means bikes (which tend to run with lights on already) will then blend in with the remainder of the traffic. (Unless we were allowed to use headlight modulators to automatically flash hi beam 2 - 3 times a second or whatever)

Not too much of a problem in less crowded countries like France but in busy little UK I can foresee an increase in "Sorry mate - I didn't see you" type incidents

Also road position is important ie riding near the centre line of the road not kerb side to maximise the "crossing" effect as you approach the intersection

Obvious really I guess but all good stuff and probably worthy of a special section for sharing serious (for a change ) ideas and suggestions related to riding safety.

Cheers

Dave

[arcticdude]

The whole DRL thing is full of crap IMO.  That's especially true for us riders because it makes us much less visible.  Stateside most of the GM pickups have drl's from the factory.   At least 75% have one light out, looking like a motorcycle from a distance.  People are already ignoring the lights.  They don't make anybody more visible when people don't look in the first place.

[greglyon]

Headlight modulators are legal in all 50 states for daylight use.  I have used them on every bike I have owned for the last 4 years.
I totaly agree, if all vehicles had their headlights on in the daytime we would blend in and become invisible. Modulators are the answer.  Inexpensive and easy to install.  

[SPIDERMAN]

[size=48]LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES [/size]

[greglyon]

[size=48]LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES [/size]

I agree but they won't deter the A--hole that turns left in front of us!

[spydglide]

I agree but they won't deter the A--hole that turns left in front of us!

OR, my worse fears lately (cause it's becoming all to damned frequent) are the brainless that run you over while you're sitting still at the stoplight  [smiley=oops.gif]  or veers into your lane and hits you head-on as you're rounding a nice mountain road curve.  [smiley=nervous.gif] Yeah, we need all the safety we can come up with!!!!   spyder

[UK Dave]

 ... because they feel safer in a bigger, taller vehicle.  Unfortunately, this can lead to a certain aggressiveness that wasn't evident when they weren't surrounded by 2+ tons of steel.  It's like they only yield to something bigger, and everybody else better get out of the way.  

Jerry

Amen to that Jerry - I found out that is so true the first time I had the opportunity to drive a company Volvo 245 estate (station wagon?) many years ago, on a business trip

I felt "bulletproof" - I was bullying my way through traffic, I was flashing people who were committing minor misdemeanours - I was generally behaving like "Volvo man"

BTW - do you know the difference between a hedgehog (do you have these? - little spiny mammals that get run over all too often?) and a Volvo?

The hedgehog has the pricks on the outside...

Anyway, the feeling of invulnerability was there and it came as soon as I slammed the door shut and enclosed myself in the steel cocoon (with SIPS and at least 15 freakin' airbags)

I genuinely believed I was untouchable in that car -  the advertising had worked - I was in a safe car and nothng could harm me - so I drove like a dickhead - for a while - then I got a warning from a "jam sandwich" (UK speak for a Police motorway patrol car  - white with a red dayglo stripe along the sides;  jam = jelly for the US guys) who thought I needed some guidance and suggested - at about 95+ mph and VERY close, that  I should return to the inside lane and just get on with my trip in peace - at least that's what I interpreted the hand gesture as...

Anyay what I'm saying is - if we believe we are untouchable we drive accordingly - so if we are in a Suburban or other "big" vehicle - we are likely to explore the outer edges of OUR safety envelope with no regard for the safety of others.

So what's the answer?

Easy - everyone has to ride a bike before they can drive a car.

In France - I know, not everyone's favourite nation, but they got some things right...

In France, the majority of guys ride scooters/mopeds as teens and so develop a healthy respect for traffic flow and the natural rules of the road.

The happy consequence of this is that when (on a bike) you close up behind a French car on the autoroute - or any major out-of-town road - they will pull over to the right and let you go by...

Wow - how good is that?

They are not only aware of your approach - but do something about it.

Likewise, having overtaken a slower vehicle 99.5% of French drivers will pull back into the right lane to leave the overtaking lane clear to let others get by -  and they don't hang about whilst doing it - none of this stupid creeping by at +2mph difference that we get in UK (spit)

Oh No - in UK, by comparison - some of the bloody minded car drivers actively pull out - into the way - to PREVENT bikers getting by...

B@st@rds

OK - enough already - Bedtime this side of the pond - (01:10) - I await responses with interest

Cheers

Dave

[SEULTRA]

Dave,
It's nice to know us yanks don't hav a corner on the market for a$$hole drivers  
I'm never so aware of traffic and my surroundings as I am on the scoot. The tip off to a accident in the making here in Colorado is the little blond woman in a suburban talking on the cell phone weaving in & out of traffic like no one else is on the road. Makes me want to flatten all her tires at a stop light for EVERYONES safety.

[grc]

The whole DRL thing is full of crap IMO.  That's especially true for us riders because it makes us much less visible.  Stateside most of the GM pickups have drl's from the factory.   At least 75% have one light out, looking like a motorcycle from a distance.  People are already ignoring the lights.  They don't make anybody more visible when people don't look in the first place.

'dude,

The DRL thing did make a difference back when it was first introduced, because it made those vehicles stand out from everything else.  The same is true of the high mount brake light - very effective when first introduced, not so much now that everything has them.  I think the secret is to be different than the norm, so you don't blend in with the scenery.  How you do that consistently is something I haven't figured out.

Now that I have a Touring bike, I run with my spots on during the day, along with the headlight.  I know when I see someone else coming toward me with the spots on it really catches my attention.  I thought about the headlight "flasher" units once, but after seeing one coming toward me I didn't think it was worth it - not that noticeable.  Of course, some of the turkeys who've pulled out in front of me wouldn't have noticed if I'd set myself on fire.  Until we require something a little more complicated than an eye test to get a driver's license, and remove distractions like cell phones from cars, I'm afraid things will continue to get worse.  

Jerry

[Garznhogs]

OR, my worse fears lately (cause it's becoming all to damned frequent) are the brainless that [highlight]run you over while you're sitting still at the stoplight [/highlight] [smiley=oops.gif]  or veers into your lane and hits you head-on as you're rounding a nice mountain road curve.  [smiley=nervous.gif] Yeah, we need all the safety we can come up with!!!!   spyder

When stopping at a light I
- keep extra maneuvering room in front of me,
- watch the car coming up behind me,
- then flash my brake lights in a random pattern until I see that he's slowing and coming to a stop.
Actually, it seems that cars will stop further back if you are flashing your brake lights. I've tried flashing and not-flashing and it seems to work (tried it in the car, and it works there, too).  I don't have the automatic-flashing light module (yet).
 If it looks like the guy isn't paying attention, I'm still in first gear and ready to head to a previously-decided area.  I never go to neutral until there are at least 3 cars stopped behind me.

UK DAVE: love the "jam sandwich"    ...then he goes and makes me feel like a hedgehog.[smiley=tongue2.gif]     Our first Volvo saved my wife's life in 1984 when a van (full, not mini) ran a red light and t-boned her. Car was totaled, she was bruised. Cop on the scene was amazed that the passenger compartment was intact.  So, like I said, c'mon, mess with my Valvo!!

Thanks to this thread, I'm gonna get modulators for wife and my bikes.  Adding more LEDs to the azzends, too.  And, I believe I'll flip a cigar butt at the next little phone-yappin' blonde I see drivin' an SUV.  [smiley=huepfenlol2.gif]

Garz   [smiley=smoking.gif]