For those of us looking forward to our Roadies coming out of hibernation, and for those already riding, I thought maybe a thread about idiot cagers might get some people thinking about safety.

In 2003, I was riding a 2002 Honda 750 ACE. Late one evening, after a nice afternoon of riding, I was on my way home, on a one way street. This street is 3 lanes wide, and since I would be making a left turn in a few blocks, I was traveling in the far left lane. Slightly ahead of me, in the center lane, was an older Ford Escort. We were both doing right at the speed limit (30mph). Suddenly, without any warning of any kind (i.e. brake lights, blinkers, etc.) the Escort turned left in front of me. I hit the skidders, but had no time to maneuver or slow down. The front tire of the bike impacted the driver's door, and the rest of the bike swung right, slamming up against the side of the car. I'm still not sure how, but I managed to keep the bike on its wheels after bouncing off the side of the car. I got the bike stopped, got off and started hopping around screaming at the idiot driving the car, who had also stopped. Fortunately, there was a city cop about half a block behind us when the accident happened. He saw the whole thing.

It turned out the idiot in the Escort was drunk, had no license or insurance. As for me, I walked away with a major charlie horse in my right calf because it had completely crushed the air cleaner when the impact happened (hence the hopping around). No other physical damage. As for the bike, $3600 in damage, including the front fender, fuel tank (dented by my knee), air cleaner, and exhuast. All covered by my insurance. I must say it was quite enjoyable watching the cager being hauled off in cuffs!

Anyway, my little incident caused me to be even more cautious on the roads with my bike. My initial thoughts were that the cager was solely responsible for what happened. But, after a conversation with an MSF instructor, I realized that I could have done something to prevent that accident. I could have made sure I was riding in a position where the driver of the car could see me. It's likely, due to my position in my lane and how far back I was, I was riding in the driver's blind spot. Yes, everything the cager did was illegal, but legality is irrelevant when it comes to protecting yourself. We as riders need to continuously be on the lookout for potential problems, and adjust our riding accordingly. Had I ridden a little further back from the Escort, or maybe in a different place in the lane, I might have been able to avoid him completely, no matter what he did.

I realize this is long-winded, and Doc, please just delete this thread if it's too much. I'm just trying to get people thinking.

I totally agree. We have to always be on the cautious side in every situation. I kinda like my skin. One reason I am so supportive of loud pipes. They may not see me but they are going to hear me...Yes I have had people roll windows up as I go by them and shake their heads , but at least they hear me coming beside them...

Glad you wasn't hurt in the accident...

Jreed wrote:
Glad you wasn't hurt in the accident...

Thanks Jreed!

I am glad your weren't hurt too.

NEVER let your guard down. Not even for a second!