Freeway phobia

[chomorro]

Well, I was preparing to start commuting into the new job one day a week and then we had a fatality here were a bike crashed and the rider was run over by the vehicle behind him. The drive of the SUV was a friend of someone on a local riding forum and is herself a rider. There is a lot more to the story, but needless to say, it put a funk on my optimism. I'm at the point now of just leaving the commuting to the cage and to leaving the riding to a weekend hobbie outside of the big city. The people here drive like sh!t any way, then add to it cell phones, texting, checking emails, etc....

How did the bike crash?

 

[MG-242]

Dag, fella's, there sure is some great advice here. Chunky - you sound to have much more experience than you claim - great advice!!! VR -yep, ain't nothing like going to school! MSF moto - the more you know, the better it gets!
The only thing I have to add is KEEP YOUR HEAD AND EYES UP!! You should be looking 12 secs. out for things starting to happen if at all possible. We don't do this naturally and we all need to practice it all the time.

After you have some good seat time, consider a track day. After doing a track day you'll be amazed at how everything on the street slows down and you have tons more time to react.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Loud pipes don't save lives - good riding techniques do.

Loud pipes DO make you more noticeable - proven fact. A loud whiny sports bike right next to you is obviously more noticeable than a new silent Ford Focus Hybrid. You cannot argue that - plain and simple. It's a matter of preference.

I prefer to pursue any option that raises other motorists' awareness of my presence. This does not guarantee EVERY PERSON WILL SEE YOU. This does not mean you have free reign on the road; but IMO, the more aware other are of your presence, the less likely an accident will occur.

Agree with me or not.

Loud Pipes = More noticable - plain and simple. Ask any cop you drive by at 45mph in 2nd gear - he'll tell you he heard you a mile away.

Why wouldn't you want to be more noticeable? The only drawbacks I can think of are enraged neighbors and prowling cops.

+1 100%.

Over time, I've learned to ride with the mentality that EVERY car on the road does NOT SEE YOU, and to ride accordingly...

That means, riding as if that car, from the side street, IS GOING TO PULL OUT in front of you, the car near you is going to change lanes into your path (with that said, ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN OF ESCAPE!). Stopping at a light off set from the car in front of you helps prevent getting squashed in case of a rear ender too.. Lane location as well helps depending on the situation, (DO NOT RIDE IN THE CENTER-oils/grease, etc)

Besides louder pipes, I also installed the BD43 mod with 100/110 watt bulbs, high beam on during the day, and a running/brake Hyper light on the rear. ANYTHING that makes you more visable/NOTICABLE will help.

Covering your brake lever/pedal/clutch lever is habit for me and will save time/space depending on the situation/speed as well..

 

[The Hill Boys]

How did the bike crash?

From what I was told, the rider was weaving through traffic in a "dangerous" manner. Somehow, the bike clipped the corner of a car and lost control throwing the rider from the bike. Very heavy traffic moving at a good pace left no room for the SUV to react in time to stop. It appears that the rider was at fault in this instance. Tragic for all parties involved.

Roll it forward to my commute home yesterday. Something must have fallen out of the a vehicle just a few minutes early and there was a ton of debris in the road and air. I couldn't imagine encountering that on a bike and having to brake/weave when six other lanes of traffic were doing the same thing.

 

[chomorro]

From what I was told, the rider was weaving through traffic in a "dangerous" manner. Somehow, the bike clipped the corner of a car and lost control throwing the rider from the bike. Very heavy traffic moving at a good pace left no room for the SUV to react in time to stop. It appears that the rider was at fault in this instance. Tragic for all parties involved.

Roll it forward to my commute home yesterday. Something must have fallen out of the a vehicle just a few minutes early and there was a ton of debris in the road and air. I couldn't imagine encountering that on a bike and having to brake/weave when six other lanes of traffic were doing the same thing.

Yea you take a lot more risk lane splitting. But you as a new rider dont have to lane split at all if you dont want to. And debris on the road if there really isnt a ten inch space you can squeeze through your supposed to just power over it and nothing will happen hahah. Its not as bad as you think riding on the freeway i actually prefer it to all the different obstacles on side streets.......

 

[Wh0M3]

I started out with Highways that were two lanes with the occasional three and four designed for merging traffic, then I moved to the St. Louis area. Different type of Highway driving. Multiple lanes feel more intimidating than the two lanes I was used to.

I've been in Phoenix and I would agree that the drivers there are terrible. I was there for almost a year and it seemed every day on my way to work I would see two accidents and another one based on the broken plastics and glass in the road. I couldn't imagine riding in that.

I tend to ride like people can't see me. I try to stay in view as much as possible.

I like to give a cushion between me and merging traffic because they never seem to look when moving over.

I also try to watch up ahead for traffic changes, backups, break lights or anything that might cause sudden changes in traffic. I've seen people get creamed because someone wasn't paying attention when the traffic in their lane stopped.

Like everyone said give yourself an out, leave an escape route or an open lane if your able to. I know with heavy traffic it's hard to keep your options open but remember it's your life and cars can swap paint easier than bikes can.

Give yourself space between you and the car in front of you. I try to do this in my car as well. I would rather slow down if someone takes the space I had than to continue to follow to close.