Tricky roads

Highway + Cellphones. I see just as many offenders driving disconnected in town but the highway seems to give texters/talkers a bubble of disregard and where I've had most my close calls with swerving, merges into and the ******* that go below posted limit and cause the one-lane wagon train...high potential for people jumping out in front of you to get around the a-hole.

I know I'm gonna catch flack, but most phone incidents I witness are young women. I've even seen 3 young mothers totally aloof, tapping away, WITH A LOADED BABY SEAT IN THE REAR!!! I normally make it a civic duty to get these idiots attention and give them a polite 'clam-shell' or hang-up gesture, but in the case of one of the mothers with child I was too scared to bother her as she was driving with her knee and not paying any attention to the road. I feared she would over-react and cause more harm.

As for advanced training, the military mandates I have both basic and advanced (sport bike) MSF training before registering bike on a base. It's free and the young'ins hate it but I only hope they realize the benefit by negotiating some dangerous conditions safely and instinctively.

To Recap: Drivers on phones are the most dangerous daily obstacle people on 2 wheels face. Those that rode before the evolution of smart phones know what I'm talking about. It also keeps us honest when driving in the boxes.

practice those panic stops!

In my neighborhood, mommies with kids standing up in the back seat run stop signs all the time. Or they will wait at a stop sign until you are closing in and then creep out - you can't trust them.

I live in a city where they will lower a speed limit, put extra stop signs where none are needed, put in speed humps that ruin suspensions - even close roads to through traffic - if someone 'important' complains. So the frustration factor is huge.

The Ducati Safety Pack helps, but you'll need practice to use it properly. Go to an empty parking lot and practice your panic stops.

Another thing that has kept me alive - I tend to run just a bit quicker than traffic. Helps to protect my rear quarters and lets me watch and control what's happening in front.

Very good points, mothers with young children are about the most distracted people on earth, and they feel untouchable while driving a large van or SUV. Zippy I know how you feel, the town I live in has recently started putting stop signs, speed bumps and even two new round-a-bouts in the middle of small quiet subdivisions. They are starting to become such a nuisance people are ignoring all of them!
The best advice I've received is "think of how dumb the average driver is, then realize half of them are dumber then that."

Avoid any changes in grip, it could be two different road surfaces, road markings including any metal bits (man hole covers, drains, even on uk crossings there are small pyramids of metal ). The tyres only have so much grip which goes down when the road OR tyres are cold, wet, covered on leaves, grit, etc. And so if you are leaning to the maximum of the grip, then you cannot apply power OR brakes without loosing it. With the hypers there is the abs which stops the wheels locking but could push you to the wrong side of the road if you are on a bend.

Be careful with the road.

Now other road users -just think they are ALL out to kill you.

Have fun

NewRider said:

My personal rule is to not trust anybody. Trucks, cars, other bikes, bicycles, pedestrians.... did I missed anyone?

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Sheep, cows, horses, rabbits, foxes, and any other wildlife. I have gutted a chicken with my clutch lever and it made a mess of my jacket my dad had a car written off (totalled) by a horse which got over a fence. And sometimes there are people who get these animals onto the road for fun! Fun? What fun can they have? !?

NewRider said:

My personal rule is to not trust anybody. Trucks, cars, other bikes, bicycles, pedestrians.... did I missed anyone? Anyway. This rule has saved the day countless times.

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Thats a good one!

R6chase said:

Very good points, mothers with young children are about the most distracted people on earth, and they feel untouchable while driving a large van or SUV. Zippy I know how you feel, the town I live in has recently started putting stop signs, speed bumps and even two new round-a-bouts in the middle of small quiet subdivisions. They are starting to become such a nuisance people are ignoring all of them!
The best advice I've received is "think of how dumb the average driver is, then realize half of them are dumber then that."

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I like roundabouts, they help traffic flow. But if and only if everyone knows how to use them. Rode through a bunch in a row near Prescott, AZ a couple of summers ago - they are a hoot on a bike!

Here's another thing to watch for...A good friend and fellow rider told me of another 'friend' who stated emphatically that he would NEVER use his turn signals. From what I see every day, that attitude is in the majority.

round abouts work well in medium to light traffic areas. Not so much in heavy traffic. Think European Vacation: "Hey, Kids! Look! Big Ben, Parliament..."

I've ridden in England, where they are common, and they beat the crap out of any traffic light for flow - as long as everyone knows the rules. Vehicles in the circle have right of way over those entering.

I understand that in France, it's the opposite - now that's a prescription for gridlock! Maybe that's the problem in eastern Canada?

No we give right of way to the people leaving the merry go round. My only problem with them is the place they put them, in low traffic sub divisions, to deter someone going 5 over. There is a cop who lives a few streets over who complained to the rite people, had 3 sets of speed bumps, a round about, and 3 more speed bumps on his road cause a guy drove fast one time

I just toss one of my kids balls out in front of the nubile drivers flooring it past the house. I was young and stupid so try not to go napalm on them. No extra speed bumps necessary. Just get involved.

NewRider said:

My personal rule is to not trust anybody. Trucks, cars, other bikes, bicycles, pedestrians.... did I missed anyone? Anyway. This rule has saved the day countless times.

Click to expand...

They're all out to get us: cagers, animals(I hate deer), and traffic engineers!

Seriously, for me, riding in any kind of city traffic requires hyper awareness of all the other traffic. Drivers of vehicles with 4 or more wheels really don't see motorcycles; whether you're waiting to turn left or right, stopped at a stop sign, in an adjacent lane, passing, on and on....