never let down your guard - especially the closer you get to home

[havoc]

i remember reading a statistic once that in most cases when a person has an accident, it is within a mile from their home...
I was out for a quick little rip to the mountains last night. I was about 1 mile from home, traffic was flowing nice, when all-of-a-sudden this schmuck from oncoming traffic pulled a left in front of me and the car to the lane beside me. The illegally left turning car was trying to get into a drive way to our right... so this yo-yo makes his left turn, then comes to a FULL stop perpendicular to our flow of traffic to avoid the bump you get when you drive into a driveway from a slight curve...luckily for me i was able to stop well within any danger distance, and then waited for numb-nuts to proceed into the drive way. luckily no vehicles behind me were hot on my tail. luckily for this driver and his passenger i wasn't in my 1/2 tonne truck, because i would not have been able to stop in time.
moral of the story - never let down your guard on the road. the closer you get to home the more alert you need to be, because we sometimes start to relax our guard as we approach our safe haven, perhaps starting to go over in our minds what we are going to do when we get there....worry about the immediate matter at hand - the pavement, the traffic around you. give 100% of your focus on that and then you will live to get home to do those things you may have been distracted about.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Well said  I think this is probably my biggest weakness as a rider. But I'm trying. Thanks for the reminder.

[GiG]

i remember reading a statistic once that in most cases when a person has an accident, it is within a mile from their home...
I was out for a quick little rip to the mountains last night. I was about 1 mile from home, traffic was flowing nice, when all-of-a-sudden this schmuck from oncoming traffic pulled a left in front of me and the car to the lane beside me. The illegally left turning car was trying to get into a drive way to our right...

This is almost exactly the same scenario of the asshole that tried to kill me.
I had been on the road for a week out west of 3000 miles of riding bliss and was near home when I went over the bars broadside into a Ford F-250. Spent a week in hospital, was touch and go for a while. Drunk Asshole had multiple DUIs, had his truck fixed and back on the road before I even got out of hospital.
Yeah, I later found him in the same bar he had been in that day, asshole didn't know who I was at first, he does now!
Glad your incident worked out ok...

[Willow]

i remember reading a statistic once that in most cases when a person has an accident, it is within a mile from their home...

That may be a little overstated and somewhat misleading.  Within a mile is listed as 23%.  Within five miles is a little over 50%.  The statistic is often touted  to express that you are more at risk closer to home.  The truth is that the majority of most people's driving is within five or ten miles of home so it only makes sense that a large portion of the accidents would happen in that range.

The final exhortation of the OP is certainly valid.  Don't relax just because you're getting close to home, in especially familiar surroundings.  The risk to your safety is no less present there than it is when you're far, far away.

[t-man403]

Happened to me TWICE on the overpass to my neighborhood after the ride to InZane in 14'.

I got on the over pass and was immediately cut off by a driver turning on at the same time from the other side. She came straight across  like I wasn't there to be able to get into the left turning lane at the top. At that set of lights a car turning left from the opposite direction took the liberty of making me skid!
I had no close calls on the entire trip till I got to within a km. of my home. I remember shaking my head and thinking ....... "welcome home"!

[old2soon]

Not EVEN 2640' from my abode I'm on a thru street the cage to my right is SUPPOSED to stop!   Gal in an older beat up Buick cell jammed in the ear Hollywood stop and I'm on the air horn and brakes at the same cursed time!    She FINALLY stops bout halfway into my lane. Slap my helmet in the DUH gesture ease around her and park my Phatt Ghurl in her cave. Duz I gotz ta tell ya WHO moved in across from me 2 days later?   Introduced myself and asked her to PLEASE PLEASE look out for and be aware of US-M/C Riders!   RIDE SAFE.

[havoc]

Drunk Asshole had multiple DUIs, had his truck fixed and back on the road before I even got out of hospital.

wow...that is just shameful. multiple DUI should be automatic jail time, no exceptions.

[Valkorado]

Yeah, I later found him in the same bar he had been in that day, asshole didn't know who I was at first, he does now!
Glad your incident worked out ok...

Wish I could have witnessed this reunion.  I'm sure it was heartfelt and cordial!   

[Dave Weaver]

This very reason is why I moved years ago..

[Jess from VA]

This very reason is why I moved years ago..

 

[Gavin_Sons]

Drunk Asshole had multiple DUIs, had his truck fixed and back on the road before I even got out of hospital.

wow...that is just shameful. multiple DUI should be automatic jail time, no exceptions.

A single DUI should be automatic jail time.

[havoc]

Gavin_Sons , i stand corrected and whole heartedly agree with you. That would likely reduce the amount of "multiple" DUI