Suzuki vs Kenworth

[Hitcher]

Bugga! You broke the spell.

Spell? I can't disagree with anything Katman has said. On most occasions there are generally things that riders could have done differently that could have either mitigated or completely averted events that overcame them.

I've thought of a few myself since Sunday. One is to in future close up the gap between me and any other bikes I may be following in a limited speed urban area. Bigger target for motorists to observe, being my logic there.

Another is to more avidly weave when approaching intersections where there is traffic waiting to enter or cross the lane I'm in. I've been doing this for a while, particularly where said traffic looks ambivalent in its intention. This definitely improves visibility of the bike one is on and also helps drivers of said traffic figure out how far away one may be and how fast one may be approaching.

Yes, I was completely taken by surprise on Sunday which left me with fuck all options (to the nearest significant figure). Earlier appreciation of potential risk could have helped, perhaps significantly. That's the key learning here.

[duckonin]

Spell? I can't disagree with anything Katman has said. On most occasions there are generally things that riders could have done differently that could have either mitigated or completely averted events that overcame them.

I've thought of a few myself since Sunday. One is to in future close up the gap between me and any other bikes I may be following in a limited speed urban area. Bigger target for motorists to observe, being my logic there.

Yes that would be sensible/logical.

[BoristheBiter]

Hitcher has agreed with me on a few posts.

It's not so much Hitcher that has me shaking my head at the moment.

Actually you will find a lot agree with the message just not the way you try and deliver it.
If people don't want to listen that's fine, but to hand out abuse is not going to make listen more.

[caseye]

Good for you Hitcher, many here seem to think that KM's main objective is to shame and blame, pity is if they'd just stop long enough to hear what he is saying they might actually learn something themselves.
Course this being KB land it ain't going to happen in a hurry.
I am sure that your smidy would have been working, but really a still rolling truck sees and allows for 2 of 3 bikes then cleans you out, even with your new front end mods and your naturally aroused instincts, if you didn't stop in time ( and that is also subjective, how long does it take?) at least you did put her and your pillion down and get everyone out from under those darned big feet successfully.
Don't be put off aye, shit does happen and you have learnt from all of your experiences, the good ones and this sort, keep on truck'n mate.
Sorry couldn't resist.

[oneofsix]

Actually you will find a lot agree with the message just not the way you try and deliver it.
If people don't want to listen that's fine, but to hand out abuse is not going to make listen more.

+1 Catch more flies with honey than vinegar as me old gran used to say. Like that blowing smoke comment, who in the right mind would want to and why would hitcher want to let some hairy biker close enough to?

[Murray]

I am sure that your smidy would have been working

Dont you mean smidsy

By the way have you got your leg over lately???

[Maha]

Dont you mean smidsy

By the way have you got your leg over lately???

No......Sorry Mate I did You (and you didn't feel a thing)

[caseye]

Maha! I'm telling mommmm.
Thats rude isn't it, not since the last time Murray, off to Oz for the next week, bit of walking to do so might try when I get back.

[Horney1]

.....Whilst I would be interested to know Hitchers lane position I would also like to know why the truckie gave way to the two lead bikes but not the third, how come he didn't see/give way to a big bike that was two up giving it much the same visability factor as a small car, did the truckie see them?.....

Good to hear you came out of it relatively unscathed Hitcher. Considering the only option was bike down, good going both of you not ending up under those wheels! Pity about the bike being all f'd up. Sounds like an opportunity for a change of bikes.


Why he didn't see you, here's one hypothesis:
You know how birds can see two people go into a hide and if one person leaves they think everyone has gone/ all clear. This situation could be something similar, the truckie could just have a very small brain and thought "bikes have gone past, all bikes must have gone past". Reinforces the need for IQ tests for drivers licences (especially heavy vehicles)!

But seriously, some other thoughts that quickly come to mind are:
How many hours had he driven that day? Did he really have the manatory rest breaks? Was his mobile phone in use at the time of or just prior to the incident? And the biggie, were you in the blind spot of his left mirror and or cab bodywork when he looked your way?...


Forward?
1. Closing the gap could be good but also some negatives aspects.
2. Cages ARE out to kill us, treat them as assasins.
3. Beware of anything with the possibility of entering sirs path (& of their blindspots).
4. I've seen people use the weave thing before but there are just too many intersections out there. It certainly gives the cages something to think about though, makes them look/ see and could increase your area of visiblity to them BUT whether you happen to be IN or OUT of their blindspot at the moment when the driver looks your way is still a random thing. I think the weave creates some uncertainty in the drvers mind and the extra time it takes for them to figure out what you are up to could be that extra time you need to get past them incident free (but this is a game that needs to be played very carefully! They could also quickly reach the WRONG CONCLUSION about your intentions/ direction etc!). Hmmm, and if everyone did this then cages would see it as the new normal and ignore it anyway... back to point 2...


Some more thoughts on blindspots:
Faster means you're not in the blindspot as long (yes, can also mean a worse hit if it becomes a TARFU).
Hi-Vis is still not seen in a blindspot.
Closing the gap means the driver may still be looking your way as you go into / out of said blind spot...

[James Deuce]

+1 Catch more flies with honey than vinegar as me old gran used to say. Like that blowing smoke comment, who in the right mind would want to and why would hitcher want to let some hairy biker close enough to?

No you don't. Complete arseholes get a lot more attention and reaction. Being nice to people doesn't work. The Bikoi is good example of that.

[onearmedbandit]

Ah this cracks me up.

I've been watching this thread, waiting for Katman to post. After a few posts abusing or ridiculing KM for his posts from the usual tossers suspects, he finally posts and puts it Hitcher that something could've been done better resulting in no crash, to which H agrees.

Now H is no dummy, and has been riding for years. He knows that he could've handled the situation better. But not every rider knows this. Yet whenever we have a biker down thread instead of helping the rider, whoever they are, better understand how to avoid a future accident, all we do is say things like 'bummer' and 'get well soon bro'. Sure these make the rider feel better; but only while reading the comments. Instead they could be feeling better for a long time if they begin to understand that they are ultimately in control of their well-being and therefore stand a better chance of not having an accident. Was the truck driver in the wrong in H's case? Yup, he's being charged. Was H in the right? Yup. But whose vehicle is destroyed? Who was lucky to not have suffered serious injury or worse?

Motorcycling requires all of your attention all of the time. Simple as that. And the best time to reflect on that and learn about it is when the consequences of not doing so are still fresh in your mind. And body. As 'insensitive' as it is, if we want to reduce the number of crashes this is the best method of delivery.

Oh and my condolences for your loss H. Perhaps if you had been paying more attention to the risks around you we could've avoided this whole thread.

[nzspokes]

Hitcher, Sharry has asked me to pass on her best wishes and is glad that both of you are mainly ok.

[jellywrestler]

Hitcher, Sharry has asked me to pass on her best wishes and is glad that both of you are mainly ok.

did she ask what happened?

[nzspokes]

did she ask what happened?

10char

[Ocean1]

Motorcycling requires all of your attention all of the time. Simple as that.

Aye, but it's not available all the time. And anyone claiming it is or should be doesn't know very much about how humans work.

It's nowhere near simple.