I didnt even see him

[the legend]

I can’t believe this. I was riding home yesterday night at 9:30pm down a street in Whangarei. Half way down this street there is a side street and it becomes a cross intersection (but I have the right of way because it’s the side street and it has a give way sign). Enehow as I’m riding down this particular street on my slow Honda cb250rs a car comes up to the give way and does not give way she! (A lady of about 65 years of age) dordels through the road and I thought she saw me because she slowed down so I did to but than she went slower. By this time she is in the middle of the road doing 5-10km an hour so because I by that time was doing 40 thinking she had seen me tried to nip in front of her having no other option because I could not slow down in time. For some odd reason she has still not seen me and she speeds up collecting me very well on her front right corner of her car. I go flying and than she finally sees me lying on the grass in the right hand corner of the road about 5 meters from where my bike was leaking all my precious petrol in the middle of the road. I was very fortunate to only have a very sore twisted ankle and wrist that I’m not walking on and grazed knees and a scratched helmet. But otherwise I’m fine. Now as I understand at a give way sign your supposed to give way, not dordle through the intersection waiting to kill someone. If they cant se why are these people on the road its not even understandable that someone who cant se other drives is even aloud to drive. Why may I ask why? …………………. This is my second crash due to someone else’s incompetence or lack of sight

[snuffles]

sorry to hear that mate, but you did see her, why did you not stop?

[snuffles]

she may have been in the wrong, but shit, let her go:shit:

[Sniper]

Bugger mate, that sucks a bit. Hit her up for damages and fit spots to the bike now.

[hXc]

sorry to hear that mate, but you did see her, why did you not stop?

Because SHE was at the GIVE-WAY so she should give-way to him.

[bugjuice]

that sucks..
unfortunately, some people wouldn't see a charging elephant no matter how hard they look. I've made eye contact with some people, and they still pull out in front of me. Way of life unfortunately. Hope she fronts up for the damage and new lid

[Biff]

Sorry to hear about that mate.

But lowering the (instant ban) threshold for speeding offences will cure this kind of accident apparently........fk all to do with the standard of peoples driving you see. So says the LTSA.

[the legend]

i dident stop cos i had right of way and she had to stop i mean just imagine if everyone stoped. she should of just done wat she was supposed to

[HenryDorsetCase]

i dident stop cos i had right of way and she had to stop i mean just imagine if everyone stoped. she should of just done wat she was supposed to

If you'll forgive me, that attitude WILL GET YOU KILLED. it doesnt matter how right you are when you are dead.

Every car, all the time, is driven by a murdering fucking psychopath, whose sole mission in life is to kill YOU>

once you develop this attitude, you will be safer.

[hXc]

sorry to hear that mate, but you did see her, why did you not stop?

she may have been in the wrong, but shit, let her go:shit:

I disagree with you Snuffles. Why should he stop because she's a pillock and is either blind, and/or doesn't know the road rules. HE has right of way so should not have to stop for her.

The bottom line is that she is on a give-way so she should do just that!

[bugjuice]

If you'll forgive me, that attitude WILL GET YOU KILLED. it doesnt matter how right you are when you are dead.

Every car, all the time, is driven by a murdering fucking psychopath, whose sole mission in life is to kill YOU>

once you develop this attitude, you will be safer.
exactly. Ride like no one can see you (which differs to ride so fast that no one can see you). Unfortunately, cops are immune to this theory, they can see you all the time.

[hXc]

If you'll forgive me, that attitude WILL GET YOU KILLED. it doesnt matter how right you are when you are dead.

Every car, all the time, is driven by a murdering fucking psychopath, whose sole mission in life is to kill YOU>

once you develop this attitude, you will be safer.

The thing is, he's completely right! Yes, you should ride like everyone is out there to kill you but, you shouldn't have to ride like that. We should be able to ride with no worries about stupid fucking cage drivers who don't know the rules.

[Shawn]

If you'll forgive me, that attitude WILL GET YOU KILLED. it doesnt matter how right you are when you are dead.

Every car, all the time, is driven by a murdering fucking psychopath, whose sole mission in life is to kill YOU>

once you develop this attitude, you will be safer.


well said, that's exactly how i look at them as well. I actually never expect them to do the right thing anyway...

[XP@]

Fact: Some times they just don't see you.

There are many reasons for this, it could be the door pillar, blind spot, radio tuner, cell phone.... the list goes on. Which ever the case, you will be the one with the pain.

Assume they havent seen you and be prepared to stop. When you see a car approaching a junction, make a judgement, are they going to stop? look at their wheels, are they moving? Keep assessing the situation any doubt, then get off the throttle and be ready to stop. Every Kmph you manage to scrub off before impact is a little less hurt.

[Momentum]

its saying they have to stop for me and going for it anyway that will get you killed. If it lookes like they are not going to stop save yourself alot of pain and stop. If ya really pissed off maybe give them the :finger: Atlest that way you will still be on your bike and now sliding along the road

[Lou Girardin]

I disagree with you Snuffles. Why should he stop because she's a pillock and is either blind, and/or doesn't know the road rules. HE has right of way so should not have to stop for her.

The bottom line is that she is on a give-way so she should do just that!

He can comfort himself and ease his aches and pains with the knowledge that he had the right of way.
Personally I'd slow right down, avoid her and make her ears bleed with abuse.

[JWALKER]

He can comfort himself and ease his aches and pains with the knowledge that he had the right of way.
Personally I'd slow right down, avoid her and make her ears bleed with abuse.

I agree, i have been knocked off my bike when i was riding down the main street through town and some pulled out of a side street and just drove straight into me.
at the end of the day, you might be in the right, but, if you dont watch out for the cage drivers, you will be the one lying on the ground

[sunhuntin]

Fact: Some times they just don't see you.

There are many reasons for this, it could be the door pillar, blind spot, radio tuner, cell phone.... the list goes on. Which ever the case, you will be the one with the pain.

Assume they havent seen you and be prepared to stop. When you see a car approaching a junction, make a judgement, are they going to stop? look at their wheels, are they moving? Keep assessing the situation any doubt, then get off the throttle and be ready to stop. Every Kmph you manage to scrub off before impact is a little less hurt.

yep, i watch that...quite often see cars come up to give ways and slow down, but keep rolling just slightly...enough to make me check my mirrors and on coming traffic and get my ass as far from them as possible...usually center line till im well clear. one hit is enough for me! i do find that riding with the visor up and no glasses reminds them there is a human under the leather and they tend to be more watchful. study a few years back showed why there was so much roadrage...people dont fully realise there are other people there....same as why people get freely shitty online. the more human we can seem to them, i think, the better our chances are.

[Sniper]

i dident stop cos i had right of way and she had to stop i mean just imagine if everyone stoped. she should of just done wat she was supposed to

Danger Will Robinson, Danger! That sort of attitude will get you hurt mate.

[Oakie]

...people dont fully realise there are other people there....same as why people get freely shitty online. the more human we can seem to them, i think, the better our chances are.

He he ... best excuse ever to ride naked ...
Seriously now, I did a defensive driving course about 25 years ago and something that stuck in my mind from that was the instructor saying about situations like this "There's no consolation being right if you're dead" which he shortened to an easily memorised "No point being dead-right". I live by that ... quite literally.

[SVrunner]

Like most elderly people they wait at roundabouts, intersections, etc until they see no one else on the road then move.
So she did not recognise you or the bike.
Next time may pay to be prepared to stop, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
hope you & bke mend quickly.

[beyond]

Without generalising here, most cagers are the mortein and we are the flies.
If you had stopped she probably would have done a U turn and run over you anyway, or reversed over you just in case she missed the first time.

They don't really give a shit cos they aren't going to get hurt 9 times out of ten unless you T bone them at 130kmh in the drivers door.

I don't know what it is and why they don't see you. You can have your headlight on full beam, be wearing flourescent orange, yellow and green jacket and trousers and a glow top helmet and they look at you and still pull out.

Possibly they miss Marty Feldman since he died a few years back and the sight of gigantic peepers getting wider by the second just turns them on eh?

[sunhuntin]

Without generalising here, most cagers are the mortein and we are the flies.


very well put!

the video we watched that detailed the study showed two men pushing baby buggys at a pedestrian crossing...one didnt move fast enough, the other got mad, so rammed him with his buggy. was rather interesting. like, i dont see a human when i see a ten tonne truck coming towards me, i see something that could cause pain. with our lids obscuring all our human qualities, they dont care...hence why i prefer visor up and open faced lid.

[imdying]

I've had this happen, old bird pulls out when she shouldn't. Fortunately I treat all car drivers as dorks and was that little voice told me to watch out. Naturally, she sees me at the last minute, STOPS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION. Now I had plenty of time to pull up because by this stage I've covered the brakes and I'm jamming them on. Sadly for her, my hand slipped off the brake lever, and I acidentally did about 5km/h into her door (well some slowish speed). Not enough to damage the bike, but left a nice big dent in her door.... gee, must've missed my stopping distance a little :confused:

If you're not reading between the lines, I pulled up short into the stupid dork on purpose so that she'd remember to look twice next time :shifty:

/edit: You need to do a defensive driving course. I know they've a rep for being boring and arse, but they'll hammer home that fact that all other road users want to kill you.

[Slingshot]

It's not that car drivers are out to maim us, it's simply that they are looking for us...they're looking for an object of much greater size.

I'm not saying that this is right, but it's the reality and the sooner we all come to grips with the fact that we are harder to see, the sooner we'll reduce the numbers of these types of crashes.
Ride like nobody can see you and be prepared to take action at all times.

From time to time we also put ourselves in a position where car drivers are not expecting to see us...like splitting between lanes etc.

[snuffles]

I disagree with you Snuffles. Why should he stop because she's a pillock and is either blind, and/or doesn't know the road rules. HE has right of way so should not have to stop for her.

The bottom line is that she is on a give-way so she should do just that!

I stay alive by anticipating other dickheads, she was on a give way, she should of given way, she didnt, why would you risk your life or property just to prove that other drivers are stupid?

[Beemer]

Sorry to hear about your incident but if you had seen her and already got the feeling she wasn't going to stop, you should have been preparing to.

An attitude like that is pointless - YES, you WERE in the right, but it is absolutely no consolation when you are lying on the road and your bike is wrecked! Do you instantly take off when you have a green light, even if it looks like the guy coming towards you is not going to stop for the red? And do you step blindly off the footpath onto a pedestrian crossing because you believe it is a magic device that will cause every car to stop just because YOU want to cross the road? Oh, you do? Sorry, I thought for a minute there you were joking.

[NotaGoth]

I always tend to come to a slight stop no matter who is meant to give way, you can't simply judge and think someone will give way just because it is their turn. Because the sad reality is that people don't. Even if I have right of way, I will slow down and try and get a decent look before continuing. If someone doesn't seem to be stopping or slowing down, I will stop and wait til I see that they have actually stopped before proceeding. (Yes I am one of those annoying drivers and will continue to do this when I get a bike)

I even stop at giveway signs just to "make sure" that I don't miss seeing anyone coming. Sounds silly at times but you can never be to careful.

[Jackrat]

i dident stop cos i had right of way and she had to stop i mean just imagine if everyone stoped. she should of just done wat she was supposed to

You are of course right,unfortunatly there's grave yards full of people that were right.Next time treat anybody in a situation like that as being blind.
I'm not taking the piss mate,the very same thing happened to me years ago,but the blind shit got eyesight at the last second an stopped,thus completely covering the intersection an leaving me nowhere to go but her passenger door.At lest your one stopped,I'm not very polite at the best of times so mine took the hint an buggered off.
You develope an eye for em' after a while.
Better luck next time,,,it won't be long.

[mini_me]

dam, i guess that means i won't be buying the mighty cb anymore. :no:
dam this is like the second time its happened to you, I hope you tore a strip off her. So how bad is the bike? I'm guessing it will need a new front end and gas tank to get it moving again?
On the upside if you can get some insurance you can put it down on that zxr you have been bitching about for ages now
m/m

oh and if you so much as even *think* about using that helmet again...

[EZAS]

I shed an infinite sorrow for what you have just gone through. Atleast you got more K's out of your bike than I've ever managed to get out of any of mine (excluding the cb50!)

Dust yourself off, pick your self up, have a big cry and get layed. You might not want to cry, but scoring certainly helps.

[madboy]

My my, Kittie is looking pretty in that latest avatar... now if we can just combine hers with Jackrats... ahhh...

Okay, back on topic, where was I? Oh, that's right... Mate, sorry to hear about the bin. I won't lecture about the situation and that, cos hindsight makes us all hypocrites, and I ride like I own the road anyway... But I will pass on what a very experienced rider I worked with told me when I started riding: "You'll have plenty of time in hospital to write a novel about how right you were." Sad but true.

[Patch]

Sorry to hear that mate, glad you are still with us. Ole Buggy is right, you have to ride (these days) like no-one has seen you, 'cause nine times out of ten - they haven't. :wacko: In the unlikely event you manage to find yourself in a similar situation again - always aim to hit the driver's door, its the softest part of the car, never hit the wheels, they are the hardest. Also serves as a reminder to the asshole they should look twice next time they decide to pull out. :headbang:


These assholes are everywhere, I had one pass me down the inside as I was braking for the red light. Needless to say, he got a mouthful that it is ok to sit behind a bike. The asshole then tried to drag me off at the green light in his MPV :killingme what a :tugger:

Ride to survive my friend.

[Beemer]

I was told when I learned to ride that if there was any chance of someone moving into my path when riding, assume they will do so. Treat all intersections as dangerous places, expect people to do the unexpected, assume they haven't seen you, and act accordingly.

I may not be the best rider in the world, but I've managed to stay upright on the road even when people have done dumb things in front of me, and I've always tried to keep an eye open for chances where things could go wrong. And apart from someone ramming our car in a car park, this has served me well in the car as well.

[Zed]

This is my second crash due to someone else’s incompetence or lack of sightFirstly, sorry to read you crashed but glad you aren't hurt too bad. Get well soon man.

You can control your own riding/driving but you can't control others. Expect the unexpected out there on the road, it can be a battlefield amongst the cagers, survival of the fittest! :apumpin:

[John]

chop your exhausts no one will pull out on ya again.

[N4CR]

This sort of shit pisses me off. I don't care how badly they need to get to the shops and all whatever, if you are going to kill people in the process then you can just fuck off. As far as I'm concerned I wouldn't give two shits if my own grandma was wiped out pulling out infront of a truck with her being at fault. DARWIN WORKS! She doesn't drive anyway because SHE KNOWS she would just cause accidents.

And with that last point there is a level of accountability here that some infirm (or even younger people with bad sight/med conditions etc that somehow slip through the tests) people need to acknowledge. I have seen multiple cases where diabetics have a bad turn and end up running people off the motorway etc. That is un-acceptable in my opinion. No repercussions for them though...just a 'take your meds next time - it's okay to try kill people though' type talk.

RARRRGH!!! :calm:

[Korea]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune.

Remember all, as motorcyclists it is your responsibility, nay, your duty to DO ALL THE THINKING FOR EVERY OTHER ROAD USER IN THE WORLD!
It's a tough gig but it's for the survival of our species... we're lower down in the food chain.

[kro]

I have not kept it a secret that the drivers I have the greatest prejudice towards are the 60+ brigade. I think driving, or riding for that matter, requires a certain level of awareness, and peripheral thinking (not just vision), and the elderly seem to lose this, as well as the ability to make the hard decisions, and stick to them.

I have seen numerous instances like this, where instead of either just stopping completely, or continuing at their original speed, the elderly have this tendencay to slow down, often to a crawl, then speed up again, only to slow to half their speed again, and because of this, its extremely hard to gauge their intentions.

I had to stop dead on the main road stoke in Nelson 3 days ago, because an elderly person wanted to turn into his rest home driveway, but in order to do so, slowled to 15 kph for the final 300m before his drive, then pulled out to nearly the centre line, then finally cut hard left into the drive, with no indicator, and missed the drive badly, putting two wheels up the kerb anyway.

Hope your all OK, and the bike didn't suffer either.