Car did a U turn in front of me!

[Romain]

I'm glad that through your attention you avoided a potential disaster.

I'm not sure I would keep my cool in a situation such as this.

The main problem is that the eyes see but the brain doesn't register or register too late.

We've all done it, this is why total attention and concentration to the task at hand, driving and riding in our case is essential. It's not enough to look, we must see, take in the information and act accordingly.

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

I have said it before, the worst is someone pulling a U-turn in front of you...and yes you did the right thing by reacting quickly and avoid "T-boning" the cager. Glad you were able to communicate with the driver in a positive way...

 

[TLMitchell]

A neurosurgeon here in Texas did a study back in the 80's about cage drivers in motorcyle accidents. He had a group of volunteers, all of whom had been involved in accidents with bikes and claimed to have not seen them, undergo hypnotic regression. It turned out that the drivers were telling the truth. Their brain never registered the presence of a motorcycle until the moment of impact. It seems that we really are invisible to many motorists.John

I know of this first hand..... pulled up to a Stop sign one day while hustling to make it to work on time. Scanned the intersection in both directions while approaching and saw nothing. ALMOST pulled out in front of a bike but my habit of taking ONE MORE LOOK before pulling out kept me sitting still.

The brain registers what you're looking for and what you expect to see. We glance for traffic without really LOOKING.... expecting something larger like a car or truck to register and when we don't see what we expect the brain sez there's nothing there. And you are virtually unseen.

This was a wakeup call for me and told me that if it can happen to someone that ought to know better it's a lot worse with those that aren't tuned in to bikes. Texting, cell phones, reading (no kidding, I passed a guy with the WSJ spread across his steering wheel once!), eating and drinking..... people think driving is so natural that they don't need to pay attention. And as society gets more insulated and it's every man for himself there's more and more people thinking about anything EXCEPT their driving rolling around in their 3000 lb lethal weapons. Only thing you can do is keep your antenna up and hone your awareness and avoidance skills so they're second nature and avoid situations where you may be asking for trouble. A little bit of luck isn't a bad thing either.

Every day while letting the bike warm up and throwing my leg over for the first time I think about a friend in a nursing home who went down that'll be there for the rest of his life. I give pause to all the bad things that could happen and that this thing we choose to do is indeed dangerous. And I vow I won't increase that danger factor by doing something stupid.

A friend's 3 rules for riding:

1 Pay attention
2 Pay attention
3 Pay attention

TL

 

[gunnut]

I had a woman driver pull out on me,this after we actually had eye contact,I was just to the right of her and about a bike width away,heck,I could count her nose hairs! eye ball to eye ball,and STILL she "didnt see me........saw the dents I kicked in her door tho I'll bet!

 

[The4opps1]

At least the guy appologized for the mistake. Thank god, it didn't cause any injury. When other drivers pull that stuff on me, whether in my cage or on my bike, I just get out of the way and ignore them. Folks, it ain't like it used to be. Time was, you could have a "discussion" with someone, and the worst thing that could happen was the two of you went outside and someone got a black eye. Nowadays, you more than likely won't even make it outside without getting shot or stabbed. There are a lot of crazy people out there, and you need to be aware of that. After 31 years in law enforcement, I can only suggest this: Be careful who you stop and confront.

 

[pookibr]

Oh wow!! So glad you are both ok and that the driver realized what they done and apologized.

 

[oseita]

I was out riding on 7/6 . I was sitting still in a turning lane when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Seems that a woman driving a Lexus suv and talking on a cell phone decided that she needed to turn also. I was quick enough to drop my bike and jump away as she barely missed me. I yelled at her t0o stop but she was oblvious to me. I finally caught up with her and explained the situation. She only gave me attitude and refused to apologize or even acknowledge the fact. Had she even said "Ididn't see you" that would have been enough, but she only told me to go ..... myself. What is it with cagers?

 

[scrinch]

Glad you made it OK and were able to react in time.

I know that we are not always seen but have also seen some bikers that are totally ignorant of their road position and how invisible they are to cages. Tailgating a van or box truck is just not smart, riding in line with the guys tailights in front of you at night is not smart, Staying to the right or in the middle of the lane when you are going straight at an intersection isn't smart, but I see these thing all the time.

Street Strategies: A Survival Guide for Motorcyclists is a good read for the price of a tank of gas. No affiliation with David Hough on my part, I just think he has many good points one might not think about on their own.