Posted on 04/07/2011 10:58:19 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
In 2009, 5,474 people were killed on American roads due to distracted driving. Now, April has become National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The MSF has put together a list of 10 things cagers need to know about driving around motorcycles. I hope you’re not reading this on your iPhone from the driver’s seat.
1. There are many more cars and trucks than motorcycles on the road and some drivers don’t “recognize” motorcyclists. They ignore them, usually unintentionally. Look for motorcycles, especially when checking traffic at an intersection.
2. A motorcyclist may look farther away than he or she is in actuality. It may also be difficult to judge a motorcycle’s speed. When checking traffic to turn at an intersection or into (or out of) a driveway, estimate that a motorcycle is closer than it looks.
3. A motorcycle can be easily hidden in a car’s blind spots or masked by objects or backgrounds outside the car. Thoroughly check traffic, whether you’re changing lanes or turning at intersections.
4. A motorcycle may seem to be moving faster than it really is. Again, don’t immediately rely on your perceptions.
5. Motorcyclists sometimes slow down by downshifting or merely rolling off the throttle, thus not activating the brake light. Don’t tailgate motorcyclists. At intersections, anticipate that motorcyclists may slow down without any visual warning.
6. Turn signals on a motorcycle are not often automatically self-canceling. Some riders, (especially beginners) sometimes forget to turn them off. Try to determine whether a motorcycle’s turn signal is for real. And if you’re driving a car, remember to use your turn signals too. They’re a great communication tool for riders and drivers when used properly.
(Excerpt) Read more at hellforleathermagazine.com ...
I can see that you’re plainly in no position to argue against actual ~experience~.
[experience, which I might add, has saved my bacon several times, already]
You apparently didn’t even bother to *read* my post and consider that there may be something of value or benefit to others, within it.
You simply picked what you consider a “soft target” and mouthed off.
My, my.
Won’t *you* be unpleasantly surprised.
Not quite.
Ya see that doesn't' help a bit when someone left turns directly into your direction of travel...There won't be time to blink.
ALWAYS watch the _wheels_ on an oncoming car *and* one sitting an intersection. Never rely on the driver’s face to telegraph their intentions.
lol... The grave yards are full of experts who were launched over intersections onto their heads.
Lemme tell ya something friend, if Maria don't see ya, is jabbering on her cell with Jose, or munching a taco, and decides to suddenly make a left turn directly in front of you, you're getting launched and you won't have time to blink...Many times you'll get run over by additional vehicles that will never see ya. The fire dept will came along and hose down what's left.
Ya think I'm joking? Everything you've said here won't help one bit in any given event...I know people that had 60+ years spinning spokes, building bikes, racing bikes, riding bikes of *every* description, and met brutal deaths on the road.
I can see that you’re plainly in no position to argue against actual ~experience~.
What f'ing idiot...As you have *no* idea what experience I have..lol
Ya think I'm joking Mr. Motorcycle?
No problem....I won't even bother arguing with you, cause you got all the moves down!
lol..
How odd. You know my husband? He certainly does seem to be still alive.
[But you, however, "know people"! How can ~I~ *ever* compete with that level of expertise?]
I can see that you’re plainly in no position to argue against actual ~experience~.
What f'ing idiot...As you have *no* idea what experience I have..lol
I can see that your last resort against empiric evidence is pathetic ad hominem....and...that you "know people".
Wow.
Color me duly impressed.
Ya think I'm joking Mr. Motorcycle?
Oooh! This where the unintentional irony becomes simply *delicious*....:D
The joke's on *you*.
No problem....I won't even bother arguing with you, cause you got all the moves down!
It is always wise to abandon the field when the battle turns against you.
lol..
I seriously doubt you did...clenched your fists in rage, mayhap...but audible laughter?
Not likely.
lol...So your Miss super bike with the lightening fast moves.
See ya miss super m/c!
Been there, done that.
That's a nice stretch. They could probably give it a speed limit of 70 mph, just like the stretch in Howard County
That’s why I approve of bicycle lanes: to get them the heck outta my way.
[facepalm]
This is like kicking a cripple.
My hair is still wet from my shower and I need to go dry it.
Odds are I'll find a more challenging intellectual opponent in the bathroom.
[I think I saw a few stink bugs on the window sill...maybe they're still there]
See ya miss super m/c!
Your luck should be so good.
OMG...have you been out here lately?
The new speed limit is 65mph through all those mind-bending, killer curves and mountains but the troopers do not even *bother* anybody going _under 85mph_.
Seriously.
It’s like the freaking Autobahn, now.
:D
We have bike lanes.
Either they can’t read them or don’t care.
After the rubber smoke cleared from the incident I mentioned, they all gave *us* the finger.
Our “problem” is that they’re 99% city liberals that come out this way to enjoy our “primitive ambiance”.
They have no respect for us at all.
That's more information than I needed, but good luck to you and your hubby...You'll need it.
With anything bigger than a Smart Car, you're going to lose the argument. Be extra careful.
You say that as though it’s a bad thing. );-)
Seriously, though, I don’t go above 75 in a 65, if I can help it. I did catch a state cop’s attention in Howard Co. doing that once. He was undercover, or I would’ve recognized him and slowed down beforehand.
Yeah, it seems that my town (Mt. Airy) is filling up with these liberals. I was seeing Obamao bumper stickers everywhere.
Well, it seemed that way, anyhow.
I wonder if those spandex-clad pantywaists would last long in Tazewell (southwestern Virginia), where my cousins live.
“You say that as though it’s a bad thing. );-)”
Did not!....;D
You haven’t seen “undercover” til you’ve come back out this way.
Either the MD SP can’t afford marked cruisers anymore or the cops are driving their wive’s cars at work.
*Any* car could be undercover, now.
I have seen the most unlikely cars ever pulling over speeders.
Mini-vans, “cross overs”, you name it, a trooper could be in it.
[though it *would* be super cool to get pulled over by a cop in a HemiCuda...if I *had* to]....;]
Aw...that sucks.
Mt Airy was someplace we always stopped and tooled around in when coming back from the Howard County Fairground bike swap meets.
The restaurant beside the tack shop literally saved me one time...we went to the swap meet in *March* on the bike and on the way back, it started sleeting.
I was seriously frozen stiff on the back and Himself had to lift me off and carry me into the place.
We stayed for an hour while I thawed out.
[and then we had to do it all over again when we got home 60 miles later...brrrrr!]
We gave up on New Market.
Total tourist trap.
[”antiques capitol of the world”...delusional loons]
I still love going to the art store in Damascus.
The owner is a cool right-winger trip.
He and hubby BS about guns and stuff while I shop.
You’re getting the same “urban flight refugees” we were.
The upside to the economy tanking and outrageous gas/commuting costs is that most of ours can’t afford the McMansions they destroyed beautiful farm land to build and are retreating back to their urban cesspools of liberality.
[not that we ever tried to make them feel unwelcome, mind you...oh...wait...yeah...we did]
;-D
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.