e-mail from student about road raging motorcyclist

[EEllis]

The point I'm making is Car or bike you are on the road, which is risky. In the case of the bike its MUCH more risky. Your decision. And if you expect society to give you EXTRA room because you chose to be on the road that day in that risky vehicle. Then you have more faith in and higher expectations of society.

EXTRA ROOM! How did not running someone off the road or pulling across the road in front of someone end up being EXTRA. Hey when I crash because of me that's my problem. When I crash because you pull across "because" then you are breaking the law and are in the wrong

So you think that they only cut off motorcycles ?
Idiots only left turn in front of Motorcycles ?
Its absurd to say that cars are at fault all the time. Cars outnumber bikes like 20 or more to 1 so yeah statistically when a bike gets in a 2 vehicle accident its gonna be with a car..
Its not cars vs bikes - its oblivious idiots vs the rest of us...

Most days I drive a Lexus 4 door sedan. I get cut off and have to avoid idiots every day. On the weekends I sometimes drive a 2 door with some more power. When I drive it Im even MORE careful. I dont expect people to give me extra room or pay extra attention because my car is lower and faster than theirs...

Again my $0.02
Its my job to NOT let them give me a bad day...

Again over 40% of deaths of motorcyclist fatalities are from drivers illegally turning left into or in front of motorcyclists. That does not equate to the strawman claims of yours about "cars are at fault all the time" because no one has said that. But it is worse for motorcyclists than it is for other drivers. People not on the phone or otherwise distracted can still look down the street and the fact that there is a motorcycle right in front of them just doesn't make it to their brain. They look for cars not bikes and they can look directly at a bike and it just doesn't "register". This effect plus all the reg crap and the extra crap from people who figure they can bully a motorcyclist because they are so vulnerable make any ride in traffic a hectic one.

[suthdj]

If the person that is cut off is riding a bike or driving a car does not matter, it is rude and really pisses people off. THAT does not give anyone the excuse to chase someone down and assault the car or try to force entry. We can bicker back and forth about it all day, bottom-line people are rude & stupid which brings out the rude & stupid in other people, you can only control yourself.

[nyj]

If the person that is cut off is riding a bike or driving a car does not matter, it is rude and really pisses people off. THAT does not give anyone the excuse to chase someone down and assault the car or try to force entry. We can bicker back and forth about it all day, bottom-line people are rude & stupid which brings out the rude & stupid in other people, you can only control yourself.

Unless you ride, you will never understand the frustration of having your life inches from being taken because some dummy was texting on their cell phone.

[Greybeard]

Quote: "Unless you ride, you will never understand the frustration of having your life inches from being taken ... "

As the OP on this thread, I did not think about it evolving into so much biker vs "cage driver" discussion, but I guess that should not be surprising. I obtained my first bike and license in 1967 - and have kept the motorcycle license renewd to this day. Some great memories there - and scar tissue. Upon moving to the Metromess from "wide open spaces" in 1979, it became obvious there was, for me anyway, simply more risk than reward with any type of motorcycle in the craziness of DFW traffic. And traffic has got much worse, especially with the popularity of cell phones. Once again, some of us have found that, with age, the brain tends to get bigger and the balls get smaller.

[Jaguar]

So you think that they only cut off motorcycles ?
Idiots only left turn in front of Motorcycles ?
Its absurd to say that cars are at fault all the time. Cars outnumber bikes like 20 or more to 1 so yeah statistically when a bike gets in a 2 vehicle accident its gonna be with a car..
Its not cars vs bikes - its oblivious idiots vs the rest of us...

Most days I drive a Lexus 4 door sedan. I get cut off and have to avoid idiots every day. On the weekends I sometimes drive a 2 door with some more power. When I drive it Im even MORE careful. I dont expect people to give me extra room or pay extra attention because my car is lower and faster than theirs...

Again my $0.02
Its my job to NOT let them give me a bad day...

I don't want extra room, I just want room people give cars. I call my Suzuki 1400 my "tractor", it isn't fast, can't do wheelies, and I ride within it's and my limits. I also drive a Chrysler 300 ginormous automobile, which is also not fast and can't do wheelies. I've had exactly zero left turns in front of me in my ginormous automobile, I've had more left turns in front of me than I care to remember, and one I can't, on a bike.

Bikes are small and I believe people's brain just don't register the motorcycle going 30, 40, 50, or even 60 miles per hour unless they consciously think about it. It isn't that they set out to kill someone, they just don't see it as a fast moving vehicle because it is small. Add to this natural inclination the digital world we are in where people are constantly shifting their concentration between car, stereo, phone, tablet, kids, etc., and those who don't concentrate on their driving are not going to see a motorcycle, and that leads to accidents.

My last "left turn" I was going down a FM at 40 MPH, there was a truck about 100 yards in front of me, and he passes through a green light while a minivan is in the turning lane waiting to cross traffic to get to Walmart. I see her sitting there, my light is still green, but I know, she is going to go. I slow down, cover my breaks and clutch, she is sitting there waiting on me so I am home free. 15 yards before I get to the intersection she goes through. I grab clutch and front break while my rear break just panic locks and releases over and over. My front tire is breaking loose, I have it on the edge of control in an oily intersection while moving to the left side of the lane as the minivan just keeps going (thank God, the one I don't remember I'm told the guy saw me and stopped). I miss the minivan by less than a foot, and continue on my way. The guy behind the van had an odd expression on his face, funny the things you remember. Anyway, I don't think the lady in the minivan ever saw me, she looked right at me but she never truly saw me.

About a mile down as my heart rate is starting to return to normal, a construction crew was tearing out a parking lot and just as I was going past they dropped a huge hunk of concrete into the back of empty dump truck. I swear my motorcycle jumped from the right side of the lane to the left all by itself. The second adrenaline dump nearly killed me.

I've also had a guy do a "fake me out" left turn in front of me. He was laughing, I wanted to go back and kill him, I blew it off. Some people are just...

The moral of the stories are to keep going, nothing good happens with confrontations.

[SewTexas]

geez, really guys?

people are ego-centric....that's life....

motorcycles are cut off, riding is dangerous, as Super Chicken would say "you knew the job was dangerous when you took it"
Cars are cut off, putting your children in danger,
Buses are cut off, as I use to say when I drove one, "what part of big and yellow did you miss" putting the idiot AND the children at risk
18 wheelers are cut off like they can stop on a dime, putting everyone in the area at risk

it happens, we stay aware and dodge the idiots.

[92f-fan]

geez, really guys?

people are ego-centric....that's life....

motorcycles are cut off, riding is dangerous, as Super Chicken would say "you knew the job was dangerous when you took it"
Cars are cut off, putting your children in danger,
Buses are cut off, as I use to say when I drove one, "what part of big and yellow did you miss" putting the idiot AND the children at risk
18 wheelers are cut off like they can stop on a dime, putting everyone in the area at risk

it happens, we stay aware and dodge the idiots.

What he said
I would add that when I tell the Dr it hurts when I do this... He suggests that I stop doing that ...

[suthdj]

If the person that is cut off is riding a bike or driving a car does not matter, it is rude and really pisses people off. THAT does not give anyone the excuse to chase someone down and assault the car or try to force entry. We can bicker back and forth about it all day, bottom-line people are rude & stupid which brings out the rude & stupid in other people, you can only control yourself.

Unless you ride, you will never understand the frustration of having your life inches from being taken because some dummy was texting on their cell phone.

Yep, because I have never had that same idiot pull out in front of me, right? Only I have my son, wife and myself put in danger, so no I can never understand anger at a stupid person. If a person does as the OP described the biker doing then that is a loss of self control and can get the person in a whole bunch of hurt, I would think driving away cursing is a bit better then venting your anger on the stupid cage driver and being carried away in a body bag. YMMV

[alvins]

Really Chas your going to quote penal codes at me when you know cops and DA's don't know the laws and often have their own agenda?

[jmra]

The art of capitalization, proper spacing, and sentence structure is dead.

[suthdj]

The art of capitalization, proper spacing, and sentence structure is dead.

nowearejustnotintenglishclassanymoretoworryaboutallthatnonsense

[jmra]

The art of capitalization, proper spacing, and sentence structure is dead.

nowearejustnotintenglishclassanymoretoworryaboutallthatnonsense

Inaweekorsoigettojoinyouforacoupleofmonthsthenitsbacktotheclassroom.

[nyj]

If the person that is cut off is riding a bike or driving a car does not matter, it is rude and really pisses people off. THAT does not give anyone the excuse to chase someone down and assault the car or try to force entry. We can bicker back and forth about it all day, bottom-line people are rude & stupid which brings out the rude & stupid in other people, you can only control yourself.

Unless you ride, you will never understand the frustration of having your life inches from being taken because some dummy was texting on their cell phone.

Yep, because I have never had that same idiot pull out in front of me, right? Only I have my son, wife and myself put in danger, so no I can never understand anger at a stupid person. If a person does as the OP described the biker doing then that is a loss of self control and can get the person in a whole bunch of hurt, I would think driving away cursing is a bit better then venting your anger on the stupid cage driver and being carried away in a body bag. YMMV

There's a difference between being in a car and having protection vs 2 wheels and no protection. Silly non-motorcycle-riders will never understand, and continue to think that they are the center of the earth, and that the road belongs to them.

[jmra]

If the person that is cut off is riding a bike or driving a car does not matter, it is rude and really pisses people off. THAT does not give anyone the excuse to chase someone down and assault the car or try to force entry. We can bicker back and forth about it all day, bottom-line people are rude & stupid which brings out the rude & stupid in other people, you can only control yourself.

Unless you ride, you will never understand the frustration of having your life inches from being taken because some dummy was texting on their cell phone.

Yep, because I have never had that same idiot pull out in front of me, right? Only I have my son, wife and myself put in danger, so no I can never understand anger at a stupid person. If a person does as the OP described the biker doing then that is a loss of self control and can get the person in a whole bunch of hurt, I would think driving away cursing is a bit better then venting your anger on the stupid cage driver and being carried away in a body bag. YMMV

There's a difference between being in a car and having protection vs 2 wheels and no protection. Silly non-motorcycle-riders will never understand, and continue to think that they are the center of the earth, and that the road belongs to them.

Survival of the fittest?

[Jaguar]

I just want people to hang up, drive, ignore the kids, forget the office, not eat a burrito, and pay attention.

I'm not saying people intentionally aim for bikes, I am saying people don't "see" motorcycles at a much higher rate even when looking right at them because their mind is somewhere else and the small object on the road doesn't register.

I drive 5 miles to work and 5 miles home everyday (and watch the DFW traffic reports for a laugh), if I had a dollar for every cell phone talking, fast food eating, makeup applying, kid slapping, non-attentive driver I've seen going down the road in a two-ton weapon I could retire.

But to keep it OT, if cut off, left turned, pushed off the road, whatever, it is better to smile and wave then chase someone down and bang on their window. Bike, truck, bus or car -- that's a dumb idea.