How close to a whole different message?

[CookMySock]

A truck however, would fuck them up, and so they see them.

That is the solution right there. Ride like you are going to fuck them up.

Somehow, people can read the minds of others on the road, and have a good idea who to pull out in front of, and who not to. Enter the angry biker cornering with his knee out, headlight on fullbeam, crackling noisy exhaust, moving obviously quickly, and unconciously project his line on the road toward me and OOPS he's aiming right for my drivers' door. Soooo do I pull out? I think not - don't want to die today. Angry biker cornering with knee out etc etc, is actually mild-mannered father of four, who knows how to alert people to his presence on the road, and just wants to stay alive.

Steve

[Mully]

That is the solution right there. Ride like you are going to fuck them up.

Somehow, people can read the minds of others on the road, and have a good idea who to pull out in front of, and who not to. Enter the angry biker cornering with his knee out, headlight on fullbeam, crackling noisy exhaust, moving obviously quickly, and unconciously project his line on the road toward me and OOPS he's aiming right for my drivers' door. Soooo do I pull out? I think not - don't want to die today. Angry biker cornering with knee out etc etc, is actually mild-mannered father of four, who knows how to alert people to his presence on the road, and just wants to stay alive.

Steve

Nice idea, but I don't want to be fucked up though.

Joe Motorist, in his steel safety bubble, playing with the stereo control or yelling at the kids (can't text anymore) simply wont see a bike because it's smaller than him. How many times have you had a driver look at you (thinking you made eye contact) and still pull in front of you? Happens to me on a regular basis. At least once a week.

I don't want to rely on Joe Motorist to see me to rely on my safety. I take the position that no-one on the road has seen me, and ride prepared to take evasive action myself.

Plus if they are turning right across my lane, I would hit the passenger's door, further moving the perception that they'll get fucked up further away from their mind.

[swbarnett]

SORRY DUDE but I feel that in that situation you are at fault. Cop car with disco's on might just mean hes off to the donut shop but more likely he's heading to an emergency. You should have been aware enough to pull over and give him room. Not being aware of whats going on around you is what we constantly accuse car drivers of
Sorry if i seem harsh but that is something that really tears my shorts.
Actually I'll rephrase--would you react in the same way if it was St Johnsor a fire truck??

YES!

If a St. John or fire truck had done the same I'd be just as annoyed. My wife was behind me at the time (separate bike) and she was worried.

Any vehicle driving recklessly deserves a repremand - no matter the reason. What made the cop's driving reckless was that they had their lights on but no siren.

My issue is not that they took a risk to get to a potentially life and death situation. I expect this. My issue is that they did not do everything that was reasonable to alert me to their prescence.

[modboy]

Yep I generally take the attitude that no one sees me. I've approached intersections where the chimp in the cage has looked straight at me, clearly they have "seen" me and still pulled out. But because I have two fingers covering the brake and I ease off the throttle, the selfish ignorant idiot avoids wearing me all over the duco.

I think the psychology has already been covered here. You are smaller, but also there seems to be this inability of many motorists to judge depth and speed. Also it's just this generally impatient attitude of many motorists that if they can take the opportunity with minimal risk to themselves to reduce their commute time by 3/100ths of a second, they will take it.

Another form of retardation, or perhaps it's a growing social movement is this behaviour whereby the vehicle driving spastic begins a lane change or turning movement only to indicate a second or so after the movement has begun. I mean, what is the fucking point.

I wouldn't by any means say that I'm an excellent or faultless rider, or driver - but like most here, I have NEVER not seen a bike or for that matter a cyclist. Evidenced further by a dumb cow in an SUV who reversed over my stationary Vespa a few years back - then had the audacity to tell me I had parked it illegally because she couldn't see it. Needless to say my insurance company waived my excess and pursued her for all costs. I did indicate to her at the time that it was lucky it was just my scooter and not her toddler.

On the issue of the cops - I agree with most here - they were bloody excellent. Tolerant and friendly. Good on them, definately improved my opinion of them.

[swbarnett]

Another form of retardation, or perhaps it's a growing social movement is this behaviour whereby the vehicle driving spastic begins a lane change or turning movement only to indicate a second or so after the movement has begun. I mean, what is the fucking point?

I think a lot of drivers think of an indicator as telling other traffic about what they're doing rather than what they intend to do. Just poor education really.