Almost got run over yesterday...

[jer0177]

And the GoPro caught it!

Morons on Cell Phones are out to kill you!

[donaldcc]

Glad it was no problem.  that's what i like about gopro.  sometimes i just turn it on for that reason without any interesting landscape to see.  32 GB card has lots of room for junk that is easily erased.

[jer0177]

Glad it was no problem.  that's what i like about gopro.  sometimes i just turn it on for that reason without any interesting landscape to see.  32 GB card has lots of room for junk that is easily erased.

I let it run a lot.  Just wish the batteries could keep up with the 32GB cards, or someone would come up with a way to charge it and keep it waterproof!

If I had the facilities, I would try to notch out the case and build an insert that you attach to the camera, then slide both into the case that would allow pass-through charging and keep everything waterproof because you never know when you're going to find a puddle on a nice sunny day. 

[Shootandscoot]

I know the feeling. On the 2nd a moron talking on his cell phone rear ended me at a stoplight. Totalled my poor valk tourer. I got out of it with a cracked ankle and up coming shoulder surgery.
Good news is that I'm heading for Dallas in the am to check out a couple of Valkyries

[BF]

You need to get a Stebel.   

[Chrisj CMA]

You need to get a Stebel.   

+1 that stock meeep meeep just stopped cutting it for me too

[John Schmidt]

If you look at where you were riding, actually you're partly at fault. You were roughly at a 45 degree angle behind and to the side of the car. That means most of the time that puts in you their blind spot on either side of the car. I never will purposely ride or drive in that spot behind a car, although sometimes it can't be helped. But I make an effort to move out of that position ASAP. And if I see another vehicle coming up in an adjacent lane and they sit in that blind spot, I either speed up if possible or make a quick slow down so it forces them into a more visible location. Granted, the driver had just passed you and was(or should have been) aware of your presence. But if they can't see you, they often will assume they're clear to move over.

A final suggestion....get a horn on that thing. The "meep" "meep" of the OEM unit just doesn't cut it.  

[T-Bird]

You need to get a Stebel.   

+1 or the quads from big BF

[Oss]

robert normally I would agree with you but by being where he was he
could both avoid the accident, sound a horn, yell at the driver and go around him

If he was side by side with the car he might have been hit before being able to react
If there was a traffic signal ahead that was red stopping the bike and walking
over to the driver would be in order also

Why wasnt the bike closer to the bike in front?

sadly there are times no amount of db in  a horn will matter

+1 on the gopro

[jer0177]

If you look at where you were riding, actually you're partly at fault. You were roughly at a 45 degree angle behind and to the side of the car. That means most of the time that puts in you their blind spot on either side of the car. I never will purposely ride or drive in that spot behind a car, although sometimes it can't be helped. But I make an effort to move out of that position ASAP. And if I see another vehicle coming up in an adjacent lane and they sit in that blind spot, I either speed up if possible or make a quick slow down so it forces them into a more visible location. Granted, the driver had just passed you and was(or should have been) aware of your presence. But if they can't see you, they often will assume they're clear to move over.

A final suggestion....get a horn on that thing. The "meep" "meep" of the OEM unit just doesn't cut it.  

I realized I was riding in the blind spot - but I could have been touching her passenger mirror and she still would have crept over into the right lane.  She had her cell phone stuffed up to her left ear and was not paying attention to anything but that phone.  Even when I passed her after she cut me off, she was still on her call.

And as for the horn - the Stebel Nautilus is too high-pitched, and the compact truck horn is impossible to come by at this time due to a production stop at Stebel.

[BF]

If you look at where you were riding, actually you're partly at fault. You were roughly at a 45 degree angle behind and to the side of the car. That means most of the time that puts in you their blind spot on either side of the car. I never will purposely ride or drive in that spot behind a car, although sometimes it can't be helped. But I make an effort to move out of that position ASAP. And if I see another vehicle coming up in an adjacent lane and they sit in that blind spot, I either speed up if possible or make a quick slow down so it forces them into a more visible location. Granted, the driver had just passed you and was(or should have been) aware of your presence. But if they can't see you, they often will assume they're clear to move over.

A final suggestion....get a horn on that thing. The "meep" "meep" of the OEM unit just doesn't cut it.  

I realized I was riding in the blind spot - but I could have been touching her passenger mirror and she still would have crept over into the right lane.  She had her cell phone stuffed up to her left ear and was not paying attention to anything but that phone.  Even when I passed her after she cut me off, she was still on her call.

And as for the horn - the Stebel Nautilus is too high-pitched, and the compact truck horn is impossible to come by at this time due to a production stop at Stebel.

Beg to differ.  I've got an old Stebel that I thought was loud (and it is), but then I heard Jeff's (ChrisJ).  He's got a newer Stebel.  That thing is LOUD. 

I've got one now sitting on the bench waiting for me to intall it.   

[jer0177]

If you look at where you were riding, actually you're partly at fault. You were roughly at a 45 degree angle behind and to the side of the car. That means most of the time that puts in you their blind spot on either side of the car. I never will purposely ride or drive in that spot behind a car, although sometimes it can't be helped. But I make an effort to move out of that position ASAP. And if I see another vehicle coming up in an adjacent lane and they sit in that blind spot, I either speed up if possible or make a quick slow down so it forces them into a more visible location. Granted, the driver had just passed you and was(or should have been) aware of your presence. But if they can't see you, they often will assume they're clear to move over.

A final suggestion....get a horn on that thing. The "meep" "meep" of the OEM unit just doesn't cut it.  

I realized I was riding in the blind spot - but I could have been touching her passenger mirror and she still would have crept over into the right lane.  She had her cell phone stuffed up to her left ear and was not paying attention to anything but that phone.  Even when I passed her after she cut me off, she was still on her call.

And as for the horn - the Stebel Nautilus is too high-pitched, and the compact truck horn is impossible to come by at this time due to a production stop at Stebel.

Beg to differ.  I've got an old Stebel that I thought was loud (and it is), but then I heard Jeff's (ChrisJ).  He's got a newer Stebel.  That thing is LOUD. 

I've got one now sitting on the bench waiting for me to intall it.   

I didn't say it wasn't loud - I just said that it was too high-pitched for my likings. 

[Ramjet]

Get rid of that itty bitty oem joke of a horn and replace it with something LOUD!!

[BF]

Even if it's high pitched, it's still 1000% better than that road runner horn you've got now.  Meep Meep.  

funny roadrunner clip (meep meep)

[MarkT]

Had that been me, I would have got out of that blind spot immediately.  It's obvious the bimbo is incompetent even without seeing the phone glued to her ear - to zip past a vehicle and slow down such that she just inserted you in her blind spot.  When she came over - she would have gotten a BIG blast from the fire truck horn.  




And a one-finger salute if she was anything but contrite.  Phoners and texters REALLY piss me off.  As if they were competent BEFORE they divided their already meager ability to the phone.  I've thought of driving a bit behind them until arriving at a stoplight, then planting a caltrop in her/his tire path while stopped, with a HF magnetic pick-up tool which is mounted with quick-release mounts alongside the bag rail.  Yeah, that would work, easy to implement, just haven't bothered yet.

[donaldcc]

 
  good looking horn MarkT.  are there old posts or insight about it and its installation.  looks like you had to modify the airwings.  do they bind on it at all now?

[MarkT]

Yeah, I've posted about it several times, on horn threads.  This same pic and description appeared in Motorcycle Cruiser Feb 2003 I think it was.  How to install it is on my tech tips pages at http://www.horseapple.com/Valkyrie/Tech_Tips/Train-Horn/train-horn.html

BTW, after this pic I modified the mount to move it forward about 5 inches to provide leg clearance.  Which makes the visibility of the bell a little more.

Several guys have followed my writeup and installed it, I know of at least 2 guys who installed the big horn on both sides of the bike.  Trust me, a blast from just one horn is plenty.  But those guys just wanted symmetry, or maybe figured if one fire truck horn is good, two are better!  The install needs a piston compressor, air tank and solenoid.  While I was at it, I installed an air suspension and tire filling ability.

No problems with the wings.  I just bought the Lexan panels, but haven't installed yet - probably will next time I break a plexi panel.  The top rt one has a starburst crack in it now.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Was you riding with the bikes in front of you ? If so why was you so far back ? You get a large group of bikes that don't stay in the pack and the group is taking up a mile or more of highway. I don't like someone in my exhaust but I do like keeping the group tight. Nothing like riding with folk's that move when you move,change lanes when you do etc. it's like a beautiful dance.....If you ask me you was  asking  for that laying so far back.

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

And the GoPro caught it!

Morons on Cell Phones are out to kill you!

She was obviously a poor driver. Many, many cagers just seem to want to insert themselves into a group of riders. cursed if I know why. I try to anticipate it and and close up on the rider ahead of me when I think it might happen. If necessary I'll take a spot just ahead of their passenger door when possible.

My Mark T pipes are pretty quiet when I keep the revs low, but in situations like that I usually downshift a gear or two and "light them up". I know for a fact it usually get's their attention, you can see it in their head movement.

[jer0177]

Was you riding with the bikes in front of you ? If so why was you so far back ? You get a large group of bikes that don't stay in the pack and the group is taking up a mile or more of highway. I don't like someone in my exhaust but I do like keeping the group tight. Nothing like riding with folk's that move when you move,change lanes when you do etc. it's like a beautiful dance.....If you ask me you was  asking  for that laying so far back.

Yeah, all 3 of us were riding together, and the spacing was an after affect of multiple sequential traffic signals. 

[Mr Whiskey]

Were ya solo, or 2 up? Here's my rule of thumb. I think like Sugar's hide hangs in the balance, even if I'm solo. I know they're ALL stupid, phone or no phone. And I wont spend one second longer than is absolutely unavoidable in a blind spot for any reason. Might get Sugar hurt! Even then I'm usually pretty high profile, (read: loud & hard to ignore).
Not tryin' to offend Brother, but "blind spot" say's it all.
Glad you're okay.
Peace, Whiskey.

[Rob A]

I sure like the Rivco air horns I have on the Interstate. They saved me a few times. I had a Jeep come into my lane once, I hit the horns and he jerked on the wheel so hard I thought he was going to roll the jeep.
If I could find a place on the bike for a compressor and storage tank I would put some Grover Air horns on. I have a set on the truck and they are LOUD.

[ptgb]

Distracted driver on a cell phone and hanging out in the car's blind spots is a recipe for disaster.





I have BigBF's quad horns on the bike (2 of 3 actually); worth every penny. They may still be on the phone and they may still come over into your lane, but at least they will crap their pants on the way over!

[Moonshot_1]

One of the reasons I like this board and boards like it is that we can learn alot from it.

Watching the video I see the car come into frame at the 25sec mark.
You allow an ever widening gap between you and the next bike giving the surrounding traffic an opportunity to enter that space. She eventually does.

You are in the blind spot of the car from the 27 sec mark until she changes lanes at the 43 sec. mark. Nearly 20 seconds.

Had you not left such a gap you wouldn't have been in her blind spot. At least not for the duration you were in it.

I know she was on the phone, but she couldn't readily see you even if she wasn't.

[jer0177]

Were ya solo, or 2 up? Here's my rule of thumb. I think like Sugar's hide hangs in the balance, even if I'm solo. I know they're ALL stupid, phone or no phone. And I wont spend one second longer than is absolutely unavoidable in a blind spot for any reason. Might get Sugar hurt! Even then I'm usually pretty high profile, (read: loud & hard to ignore).
Not tryin' to offend Brother, but "blind spot" say's it all.
Glad you're okay.
Peace, Whiskey.

Was riding solo.  I realized I was in the blind spot, and we (all 3 of us riding together) had passed this driver in the left lane prior to the traffic signal we had just left from, and I noticed that the driver was on her cell phone then - I knew what the situation was, and face it - we all have to be in a blind spot at some point.  Yes, the gap was widening, I wasn't sure what the car was going to do - I left myself an out - enough room to react, and this time I needed it. 

Distracted driver on a cell phone and hanging out in the car's blind spots is a recipe for disaster.





I have BigBF's quad horns on the bike (2 of 3 actually); worth every penny. They may still be on the phone and they may still come over into your lane, but at least they will crap their pants on the way over!

Yeah - even the Shadow has dual horns from the factory!  I don't know why MC makers (all of 'em) don't provide the bikes with louder attention getters.   

One of the reasons I like this board and boards like it is that we can learn alot from it.

Watching the video I see the car come into frame at the 25sec mark.
You allow an ever widening gap between you and the next bike giving the surrounding traffic an opportunity to enter that space. She eventually does.

You are in the blind spot of the car from the 27 sec mark until she changes lanes at the 43 sec. mark. Nearly 20 seconds.

Had you not left such a gap you wouldn't have been in her blind spot. At least not for the duration you were in it.

I know she was on the phone, but she couldn't readily see you even if she wasn't.

She wouldn't have seen me if I was touching her passenger mirror.  And at that point, I wouldn't have had an out like I did by hanging back a bit.

Yes - again - I realize I was in the blind spot, but I wasn't ignoring the car.

[donaldcc]

  i thiink you did a great job jer0177. you avoided injury, you were aware of potential dangers.  i think you rode well! hope i do the same in similar circumstances!  look ahead and avoid problems!

[Jess from VA]

One of the reasons I like this board and boards like it is that we can learn alot from it.

Watching the video I see the car come into frame at the 25sec mark.
You allow an ever widening gap between you and the next bike giving the surrounding traffic an opportunity to enter that space. She eventually does.

You are in the blind spot of the car from the 27 sec mark until she changes lanes at the 43 sec. mark. Nearly 20 seconds.

Had you not left such a gap you wouldn't have been in her blind spot. At least not for the duration you were in it.

I know she was on the phone, but she couldn't readily see you even if she wasn't.

That is exactly what I saw.  She was invited to move over.  

I also noticed she used no signal............. why should she be any different?  Apparently using a signal is hard on your arm/shoulder.

[texaninsouthfl]

If you look at where you were riding, actually you're partly at fault. You were roughly at a 45 degree angle behind and to the side of the car. That means most of the time that puts in you their blind spot on either side of the car. I never will purposely ride or drive in that spot behind a car, although sometimes it can't be helped. But I make an effort to move out of that position ASAP. And if I see another vehicle coming up in an adjacent lane and they sit in that blind spot, I either speed up if possible or make a quick slow down so it forces them into a more visible location. Granted, the driver had just passed you and was(or should have been) aware of your presence. But if they can't see you, they often will assume they're clear to move over.

A final suggestion....get a horn on that thing. The "meep" "meep" of the OEM unit just doesn't cut it.  

+1   John you're spot on.

[jer0177]

One of the reasons I like this board and boards like it is that we can learn alot from it.

Watching the video I see the car come into frame at the 25sec mark.
You allow an ever widening gap between you and the next bike giving the surrounding traffic an opportunity to enter that space. She eventually does.

You are in the blind spot of the car from the 27 sec mark until she changes lanes at the 43 sec. mark. Nearly 20 seconds.

Had you not left such a gap you wouldn't have been in her blind spot. At least not for the duration you were in it.

I know she was on the phone, but she couldn't readily see you even if she wasn't.

That is exactly what I saw.  She was invited to move over.  

I also noticed she used no signal............. why should she be any different?  Apparently using a signal is hard on your arm/shoulder.

It wasn't an intended lane change.  She stopped paying attention to what she was doing with her car and drifted into my lane.  I had a feeling it was going to happen long before it did.

Notice how her lane position gradually changes from the left side of the left lane towards the right lane beginning at the 40-41 second mark and then into the right lane.  She wasn't holding a line and then decided to change lanes.

[jer0177]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Stock horn sucks.  I got it.  Wanna take up a collection so I can get one of the Stebel Nautilus Truck horns sent from Australia?   

[donaldcc]

jer you did fine. no accident and you were prepared.  good job!

[donaldcc]

by the time u use your horn, you are f.cked. be prepared.

[houstone]

Sure the stock horn is really wimpy, but, think about blowing a horn at someone...you are ceding (giving away) responsibility for your life to someone else, and adding in a questionable awareness and then reaction time, and hoping they will do the right thing, like NOT kill you.   
I never toot my horn, except to say howdy, and certainly wouldn't give her another chance by getting back in front of her!
My $.02 ... 

[cookiedough]

I avoid traffic like this like the plague.  Either I slow down like you did and ride further behind than you did or blow by her in either lane so as to avoid the entire situation.  If I see cars coming from behind me,  I either speed up or slow down so they go around me depending on how fast they are going.  800lb. bike and 280lb. rider still doesn't stand a chance against most vehicles, except maybe those ittsy bitsy smart for two cars.

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

jer you did fine. no accident and you were prepared.  good job!

Yep. 

[Jabba]

I stay out of their blind spots... and I also do NOT hang out next to them.  I go from behind, where they can see me, to in front of them.  

Now I applaud you for keeping your eye on her, and having the patience to avoid her.

Jabba

[Chrisj CMA]

The bottom line is.....you avoided trouble, anytime there is no incident its a good thing.  What some are trying to tell you is that your riding behavior prior to the the almost incident could have been safer.  So either you learn something so you can be a better rider or you take your chances that you can avoid trouble again in the future.

For group riding the most neglected skill is speed control IMHO.  I tell riders all the time....."if you are constantly catching up then you arent keeping up."

Yes, the gap was widening, I wasn't sure what the car was going to do - I left myself an out - enough room to react, and this time I needed it. 

Widening the gap like you did wasnt a buffer or an "out" it was a mistake.  At the 30 second mark or so, if you had "caught" back up you would have been ahead of the problem driver and been in a safer position.  Plus your course of action was slowing down to avoid contact so a widening gap wasnt the thing you needed anyway......

Again Im glad you made it, and Im not saying you did anything horribly wrong.  However, the camera doesnt lie and I agree with Joe......If you were keeping up you would have been safer.

[Spirited-6]

Distracted driver on a cell phone and hanging out in the car's blind spots is a recipe for disaster.





I have BigBF's quad horns on the bike (2 of 3 actually); worth every penny. They may still be on the phone and they may still come over into your lane, but at least they will crap their pants on the way over!

One of my rules is ; if I can`t see the driver in his mirrow`s ,he can`t see me,  I`m outa there and don`t hang there very long. 

[Hef]

Lot's to be said here, but bottom line is you avoided an accident. I try to use the close calls as a learning experience by thinking is there anything I could have done to avoid being in that situation?
I agree with the idea that group riding should be just that - group riding. Don't get strung out with large spaces in between. I ride a lot with the same four or five guys and we are all in sync when it comes to how we ride. We stay close but yet a safe distance apart and we are all aware of the way each rider rides. I refuse to ride with any group who wants to be spreadout to the point it annoys. Riding is a great enjoyment to me but I think we all agree that we have to be much more alert when riding than in any other mode of transportation. Ride Safe. Hef

[CISE]

Aside from blind spots size of horns etc ....

Have you noticed that when you do use a horn, scream or pund on the car, the driver will continue to move over regardless?

I don't know -- maybe I am just a little different, but when I am riding or driving and I am altering my position, if I hear a noise I go back to where I was, I do NOT keep going on with my change.

I always assume those noises are warning me of something.