They REALLY are out to get us.................

[3fan4life]

Spent a 4 day weekend riding with friends from Virginia to Maine and back to get some fresh Maine Lobster.

My round trip total was 1,671 miles.

The majority of the trip went well except for a few minor hiccups.

During the majority of the trip there were a few of the normal "close calls" that most road trips incur, nothing major.

That was until I was less than 4 miles from home @ around 11:30 PM

Fortunately and Thankfully I didn't crash or go down but it was the closest that I have ever came in 50+ years of riding motorcycles.

As I'm approaching an intersection that I've been through a thousand times or more I see a car entering the intersection.

It's rate of speed made me think that it wasn't going to stop.

I closed the throttle, covered the front brake and began to drag the rear brake slightly.

To my surprise the car did stop for the stop sign.

I remember thinking, "That's a good thing" and began to resume speed.

When I was no more than 30 feet from the intersection the car suddenly pulled out directly in front of me.

At this point I was probably traveling 40 mph.

I got on the brakes hard but quickly realized that I was going to run out of room.

My mindset has always been that you never stop riding the bike, in other words you never resolve that you're destined to crash, always look for a way out.

There was nothing in the oncoming lane so I quickly swerved into it.

It was so quick and so much that I had to swerve back to the right to avoid running off the left side of the roadway.

The car slammed on its brakes only as I was directly in front of the driver.

I really think that the driver didn't see me or register that they had until that moment.

How we didn't make contact I will NEVER know for certain.

The front bumper of the car felt like it was 6" or less away from my right leg.

I have NO idea how it didn't at least make contact with the right side saddlebag.

I'm thinking that my Guardian Angel may have put themselves between the car and me and "Took the Hit" for me.

Needless to say I was pretty shaken up and will probably be a little gun shy for awhile.

I think that the driver of the car was also pretty shaken up.

I didn't stop, mostly because I was trying to "process" what had just happened.

I did watch the car in my rearview mirror as I continued home and it remained sitting in the middle of the road until I couldn't see that far behind me.

Here are some shots from Google Earth of the intersection:



This is about how far I was from the intersection when I spotted the car approaching:

http://



This is about where I was when it stopped:






This is about where I was when it pulled out:




This is the view that the driver of the car would have had:






The Biggest reason that I decided to post this here is as a way to share this experience and say to everyone

"KEEP YOU HEAD ON A SWIVEL"


We all have seen other drivers do stupid things.

But once in awhile they rise to a WHOLE ANOTHER LEVEL OF STUPID !!!!!!!

 




 





 

[f6john]

I always wonder if it had been a fully loaded dump truck? Not because of the size, but was the driver that distracted? For sure, we can’t take anything for granted. I am especially wary of such circumstances when I don’t make eye contact with the other driver. A novice rider would have probably had a more painful outcome.

[Jess from VA]

Night is where the drunks are. 

I don't ride at night (almost ever) anymore.

I walk my big neighborhood every day.  I wait for cars to pass.  Some wave me by.  I shake my head and point for them to go ahead.  I am not walking out in front of them.  Not even in daylight.  They are nearly all in a hurry, but I'm not.   

[sandy]

How bright or how many front lights do you have? Maybe upgrading them might have made a difference.

[3fan4life]

How bright or how many front lights do you have? Maybe upgrading them might have made a difference.

It's a 2021 Goldwing with factory LED's and LED fog lights.

I was on high beam when the other car approached the intersection and switched to low beam out of habit so as not to blind him.

The LED's are about as bright as lights can get.

[old2soon]

     Just looking at the intersection I M O no foilage blocking either view. Gonna throw something out there only because of my age-78-and I have this condition. It's called age related macular degeneration. And my right eye at this point currently the worst. Center of my vision in my right eye ONLY is for all intents and purposes not there anymore. Still have my periphial vision and left eye is still corrected 20/20. And I Am NOT color blind. Another possibility is amongst my favorites  cell phone distraction eating or dare I say it something better left in the bedroom or at the very least in a STOPPED vehicle.  Thinking at 2330 HRS full on dark bout then. And as Britman stated some folks night vision not what it used ta wuz. Glad yer NOT injured and yer scoot okey dokey!  RIDE SAFEa.

[Moonshot_1]

I'll bet when the car driver looked your way down the road you were behind the state road sign. I know it isn't very big but at the time you were still at a distance that would block the car driver's view at that precise moment. Looked the other way and thought he was good to go.

If you look at the last photo, the sign blocks the view of the oncoming lane at the far end of that lane.

If you look at the first photo, there is a lot of junk that blocks and obstructs the view coming up on the intersection from the car driver's perspective.

Good thing you were on your toes.

[Ramie]

It's my guess they were looking at their damn phone.  They passed a hands free law a while back here but every where I drive I see people with their phone up at the top of their steering wheel.  At stop lights they  don't even notice when the light turns green and I start honking at them. 

[scooperhsd]

If there is one thing I cannot stand - it's CAGE DRIVERS on their g*d-cursed cell phones when they should be paying attention to the road and traffic around them !!!!!!!!

[old2soon]

     2 others here mentioned cell phone use while Attempting to drive. Repeating the KNOW where we are with a GPS in the phone so WHY can't those cursed be programmed to NOT operate past 2 or 3 M P H with ONLY 911 available at speed? And PLEASE do NOT tell me it's your Right. Seen far TOO much cell phone use from my former high seat in an 18 wheeler and my cage and from astride Phatt Ghurl. Ain't no Right when you put mine and others lives in danger. RIDE SAFE.

[98valk]

How bright or how many front lights do you have? Maybe upgrading them might have made a difference.

I was on high beam when the other car approached the intersection and switched to low beam out of habit so as not to blind him.

that was the mistake right there by flashing the headlight. too many cagers would think that is a signal for them to go, that u are allowing them by either slowing down or are turning.
keep your lights on full blast.
And Thank God our Father, that nothing happened to either of you.

[cookiedough]

I had similar scenario 6 or so years ago, old lady pulled out from side road and NEVER saw me coming doing 55 mph so I slowed down saw her CREEP out onto the main road I was on slowing down 40 mph so she could make the turn in front of me.  NEVER saw me. 

Accidents and mistakes do happen.  I inadvertanely pulled out from my home town side road onto 2 lane main hwy. very busy.  I looked right, then left, making a right hand turn onto main hwy.  I saw cars were NOT coming from the left so pulled out right.  Little did I know I should have double checked to the right beforehand since an idiot was PASSING the car in front in a NO passing zone in MY lane turning right.  NOT good, got lucky missed him on that one.  If I would have looked right the 2nd time, I would have seen him passing the car in front of him in my lane.  I of course was looking right making a right hand turn, but not that far out in front and did not see him starting to pass the car in front of him.   The county hwy. dept. is thinking of putting in those STUPID roundabouts on the hwy. since have been several every year accidents with cars pulling out in our small town on a hwy. that has a speed limit of 50 mph, which IMO, should be lowered to 45 mph.    The next town up 5 miles same main hwy. has a speed limit of ONLY 35 mph so why not our town 45 mph?  DUMB.    I think 35 mph is too slow, especially since that town cop tickets everyone doing 42 mph or over in a 35 mph speed zone, but 45 or 40 mph is ideal.    I HATE roundabouts and NOT needed causes more accidents than not having roundabouts for sure. 

[3fan4life]

    Just looking at the intersection I M O no foilage blocking either view. Gonna throw something out there only because of my age-78-and I have this condition. It's called age related macular degeneration. And my right eye at this point currently the worst. Center of my vision in my right eye ONLY is for all intents and purposes not there anymore. Still have my periphial vision and left eye is still corrected 20/20. And I Am NOT color blind. Another possibility is amongst my favorites   cell phone distraction eating or dare I say it something better left in the bedroom or at the very least in a STOPPED vehicle.   Thinking at 2330 HRS full on dark bout then. And as Britman stated some folks night vision not what it used ta wuz. Glad yer NOT injured and yer scoot okey dokey!   RIDE SAFEa.

I hadn't thought about the possibility of an older driver with vision problems. But then they do tend to stay off the road at night.

My bet is either cell phone or based on the speed that the car entered the intersection a teenager trying to beat their curfew.

Night is where the drunks are.  

I don't ride at night (almost ever) anymore.

I walk my big neighborhood every day.  I wait for cars to pass.  Some wave me by.  I shake my head and point for them to go ahead.  I am not walking out in front of them.  Not even in daylight.  They are nearly all in a hurry, but I'm not.  

I hear you. If two of us didn't need to be at work on Tuesday morning we would've spen t the night in Harrisonburg, VA

I'll bet when the car driver looked your way down the road you were behind the state road sign. I know it isn't very big but at the time you were still at a distance that would block the car driver's view at that precise moment. Looked the other way and thought he was good to go.

If you look at the last photo, the sign blocks the view of the oncoming lane at the far end of that lane.

If you look at the first photo, there is a lot of junk that blocks and obstructs the view coming up on the intersection from the car driver's perspective.

Good thing you were on your toes.

If it had been daylight I might agree.

But it was night and they still should've seen the approaching lights.

Also, at night I ride in the left 3rd of the lane near the centerline.

My reasoning is that this gives me the most reaction time if a deer runs out.

I looked again this morning as I passed the intersection and while possible the signage really shouldn't have been an issue.

How bright or how many front lights do you have? Maybe upgrading them might have made a difference.

I was on high beam when the other car approached the intersection and switched to low beam out of habit so as not to blind him.

that was the mistake right there by flashing the headlight. too many cagers would think that is a signal for them to go, that u are allowing them by either slowing down or are turning.
keep your lights on full blast.
And Thank God our Father, that nothing happened to either of you.

Except I didn't flash the headlight, I simply dimmed it.

I think that the driver saw me, but it never registered in their brain that they had.


And YES, the first thing that I did after catching my breath was say a prayer of thanks to God!

Like I said, I'm not so sure that my Guardian Angel didn't stand between the car and me and take the hit for me.



 

[Moonshot_1]

Yeah, just based my observations on the photos. Didn't see that this was a night time event.

That said, looking at the first photo, there is a lot of junk obstructing the view of the car driver. Maybe it obstructed your lighting as well.

The point is I can see possible reasons why the driver simply didn't see you. Should have. But there is enough clutter around the line of sight to obstruct the view of that lane for a few moments. Not saying that is what happened but, to me, a real distinct possibility.

And while the thought that "Everyone is out to get us" isn't literally true, we must ride like it is.

And that is all it takes really. A few moments of obstructed vision, an assumption that no one is coming from that direction, look the other way, proceed, and wham!, A come to Jesus moment.
 
But we still come to your ability to anticipate the problem and dodge the bullet. That is what you did.

On the other hand, maybe he was out to get you. You were ready for that too.

[3fan4life]

Yeah, just based my observations on the photos. Didn't see that this was a night time event.

That said, looking at the first photo, there is a lot of junk obstructing the view of the car driver. Maybe it obstructed your lighting as well.

The point is I can see possible reasons why the driver simply didn't see you. Should have. But there is enough clutter around the line of sight to obstruct the view of that lane for a few moments. Not saying that is what happened but, to me, a real distinct possibility.

And while the thought that "Everyone is out to get us" isn't literally true, we must ride like it is.

And that is all it takes really. A few moments of obstructed vision, an assumption that no one is coming from that direction, look the other way, proceed, and wham!, A come to Jesus moment.
 
But we still come to your ability to anticipate the problem and dodge the bullet. That is what you did.

On the other hand, maybe he was out to get you. You were ready for that too.

I don't think that he was purposely out to get me.

But, if he had succeeded would it have really mattered if it was accidental or on purpose?

I'm pretty sure that the driver was as shaken up as I was based on how long they just sat in the middle of the road afterwards.

I don't think that he saw me until I was right in front of his windshield.

[DIGGER]

Next time you are driving down the road and see someone driving and texting....roll your window down and throw your beer at them.....

[3fan4life]

Next time you are driving down the road and see someone driving and texting....roll your window down and throw your beer at them.....

I keep one of those stainless steel insulated cups with drink and ice in the cup holder on my bike when I'm riding.

There were several times this weekend that I was tempted to throw it at someone.

[Ice]

Mark, glad you were able to avoid the blind, it happens all too frequently,
Stay safe and say hi to Deb from us.

[HayHauler]

So glad you are safe.  God has plqns for you.

Hay
Jimmyt

[98valk]

Except I didn't flash the headlight, I simply dimmed it.

I think that the driver saw me, but it never registered in their brain that they had.


And YES, the first thing that I did after catching my breath was say a prayer of thanks to God!

Like I said, I'm not so sure that my Guardian Angel didn't stand between the car and me and take the hit for me.

 

I meant flash as changed the brightness of the light, not going on/off.  people can take that as a signal.
Either way I wouldn't change the brightness of my lights when approaching a vehicle looking to enter the roadway.
In my area there has been a new fad whereas vehicle in front of me which has the right away on the road will slow down and some have actually stopped to allow a vehicle looking to enter the roadway from a parking lot or side street. even have had these clowns like the other day do it while I was entering a major interstate, I have the yield sign, and I'm waiting for them to pass and here they almost stopped to allow me to enter. This time I was in my F250.

"Flashing can be a signal that the flashing driver is yielding the right of way, for example at an intersection controlled by stop signs.[5]"

"Headlight flashing as an effective mode of driver communication has been questioned,[18] and researchers have found the ability of drivers to communicate with one another is about the same as the communication abilities among insects.[19]

Flashed headlamps can have ambiguous or contradictory meanings, with no way for the observing driver to tell for sure what the flashing driver is trying to say. It may mean, for example, that the flashing driver intends to yield the right of way, or instead that he intends to take it.[19] Misinterpretation of the flashing driver's intent can cause crashes.[20] "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlight_flashing

[Jess from VA]

While running down the main drag at speed, I often hit the brights (constant) at side street (stop sign) creepers (rolling forward as if to pull out in front of me, and fail to yield), and maintain speed.  Unlike at 4 way stops, no one could take this as an invitation to pull out in front of me.

[3fan4life]

Except I didn't flash the headlight, I simply dimmed it.

I think that the driver saw me, but it never registered in their brain that they had.


And YES, the first thing that I did after catching my breath was say a prayer of thanks to God!

Like I said, I'm not so sure that my Guardian Angel didn't stand between the car and me and take the hit for me.

 

I meant flash as changed the brightness of the light, not going on/off.  people can take that as a signal.
Either way I wouldn't change the brightness of my lights when approaching a vehicle looking to enter the roadway.
In my area there has been a new fad whereas vehicle in front of me which has the right away on the road will slow down and some have actually stopped to allow a vehicle looking to enter the roadway from a parking lot or side street. even have had these clowns like the other day do it while I was entering a major interstate, I have the yield sign, and I'm waiting for them to pass and here they almost stopped to allow me to enter. This time I was in my F250.

"Flashing can be a signal that the flashing driver is yielding the right of way, for example at an intersection controlled by stop signs.[5]"

"Headlight flashing as an effective mode of driver communication has been questioned,[18] and researchers have found the ability of drivers to communicate with one another is about the same as the communication abilities among insects.[19]

Flashed headlamps can have ambiguous or contradictory meanings, with no way for the observing driver to tell for sure what the flashing driver is trying to say. It may mean, for example, that the flashing driver intends to yield the right of way, or instead that he intends to take it.[19] Misinterpretation of the flashing driver's intent can cause crashes.[20] "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlight_flashing

I guess they could've interpreted it that way.

I'm still convinced that it just didn't register in their mind that I was there.

Mostly because they didn't hit their brakes until I was directly in front of them.



Years ago I had an incident on this same road where I didn't dim my lights for a car that was sitting in a driveway.

That led to them trying to run me off of the road.