Watch that driver

**Marmoot** · 12th May 2004, 08:18

Yep,
whether you are right or wrong, when you're lying on the ground it's a few days off riding. And that's not fun.

I'd rather wave my finger and get on with my life. Just hope that w*nker doesn't plonk other people.

**pete376403** · 12th May 2004, 12:09

Originally Posted by Posh Tourer :P

there was an interesting study in the herald recently about looking but not seeing... people can be concentrating on other things, and get the input but not process it. Cant find the link at the moment, but people asked to count the passes in a basketball game missed a person dressed as a gorilla walking through the middle of the screen, stopping and beating its chest. I think it was 2/14 that saw it, the rest thought the gorilla wasnt in the one they watched. Did anyone else see this and can they find a link to it?

This one? http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~cfc/Most2001.pdf about "selective blindness"

**Skyryder** · 12th May 2004, 18:34

Originally Posted by Wenier

.............. i mean really is everyone who doesnt ride a bike jus blind or stupid or a combination of both!

Not everyone but most.

Skyryder

**aff-man** · 12th May 2004, 18:43

Yip the whole look at me ,stop ...... and then pull out in front of me. This has happened multiple times and mainly on like 60 or 70 km/h roads. For those of you who have heard my bike it isn't exactley quiet so what are they thinking. The real scare came the other day when a car tried to turn into and "share the same lane as me" i mean honestly what was the f%$*er thinking?????????

**SPman** · 12th May 2004, 19:14

Bloody hell, they cant even see vehicles when they are parked, let alone moving!
This evenings effort outside my place - BMW "didnt see" the Suzuki and Skyline, parked at the kerb!

Originally Posted by aff-man

i mean honestly what was the f%$*er thinking?????????

He wasn't!

**Coldkiwi** · 13th May 2004, 13:05

Originally Posted by aff-man

was the f%$*er thinking?????????

dude, you know as well as I do: "

"

THEY WEREN'T!

Its amazing most of these drivers even make it to work each day without piling themselves up.

**Coldkiwi** · 13th May 2004, 13:07

Originally Posted by SPman

Bloody hell, they cant even see vehicles when they are parked, let alone moving!
This evenings effort outside my place - BMW "didnt see" the Suzuki and Skyline, parked at the kerb!

He wasn't!

ooooo dear. didn't see a large black 4x4 and large red skyline.... Can someone check the address of that vehicle on the database (Jrandom??) and post what suburb its in so we know to turn around and ride away if we see it approcahing!?

**scumdog** · 13th May 2004, 14:08

Originally Posted by Drunken Monkey

Don't know how many times I've heard that, but *cue drum roll*:

'Eye contact' does not necessarily mean the cager has seen you at all. Most of the time they're just looking through you.

You'll realise this is especially true when you remember you are wearing a tinted visor - they still appear to look right at your eyes!

Damn right!! on my 10 speed on the way to the freezing works and saw a guy in his car coming up from a side-street on my left, he looked staight at me but brains says "he ain't seen me" so I pulled out near the centre of the street and sure enough he pulled out!! I pulled alongside him (I can get up to speed on a pushbike) and said "take it easy".
He drove on and pulled over about 200 yards later and got out out the car, I thought "uh-oh' bvut no he was patting his chest, reckoned he nearly had a heart attack from the fright and swore he hadn't seen me, was VERY apologetic.

**vifferman** · 13th May 2004, 15:06

Originally Posted by SPman

Bloody hell, they cant even see vehicles when they are parked, let alone moving!
This evenings effort outside my place - BMW "didnt see" the Suzuki and Skyline, parked at the kerb!

Well - there you go. What kinds of vehicles do I have the most trouble with?
1. An idiot spins out on our street (from a standing start!) and smashes backwards into our new garage door. = BMW
2. A lady changes lanes on me at the bottom of Nelson street, and either clips my front wheel, or I lose it taking violent evasive action = BMW
3. Braindead moron pulls into the kerb as I come up behind him, then cracks a U-turn, wiping me out = Audi
4. This morning, a lady pulls out in front of me as I'm approaching an intersection = Brand new Volvo wagon.

Mind you, it appears the feckin eedjits that haunt our roads aren't selective about what they drive, or how they drive it.
If everyone had to spend at least a year on a scooter or bike before they could graduate to a car, it would (a) teach them something about handling a vehicle, (b) give them an insight into the vulnerability of being on two wheels, and (c) weed out all the f*&$wits (they'd be dead).

**scumdog** · 13th May 2004, 15:26

Yep, I'm sure some of them buy "safe" cars but forget they have to also drive them in a safe manner.
Make you wonder how they had enough clues to make the money to buy the car :confused2

**Wenier** · 13th May 2004, 17:11

It is true thou. all the cars that are usually the cause of pulling out on me (and probably most people) are expensive european cars. Which tells me people with lots of money = danger to other road users.

**Ms Piggy** · 13th May 2004, 17:48

...little sh*ts hiding behind fences throwing stuff at ya!

YES! This happened to me today!

I was stopped at the intersection of Constable & Daniel Streets and 3 boys (about 10 - 12yrs old) were throwing stuff at me! I think it was just wood chips off the playground area. I looked at them and shook my head and then they did it again when I wasn't looking! So I turned around stopped on the other side of the road and walked across to have a little talk to them, much to my surprise (NOT!) they all ran away!

So I shouted "

Don't throw stuff!" and then got back on the bike & rode off!

**bane** · 13th May 2004, 17:55

The first day I bought the FXR - enter first roundabout, woman in hatchback treats me as the invisable man and pulls straight out.... reality check.

Now always wear high vis vest. Cagers do the double take look, and as yet (18 months later) no more invisable man moments.

May be coincidence, but never seem to get bothered by cops when wearing the vest... often waived through license/reg/WOF chkpoints.

**madandy** · 13th May 2004, 19:07

Bane, they probably think you are a courier.All the couriers here wear those vests.
I think if your live/work/ride through an area with a high percentage of exxy Euro luxo barges then chence are it will be one of them that pulls out in front of you.Auckland has a high number of flash cars.
Tauranga has a lot of Korean/Japanese budget cars that seem to have windscreens which filter motorcyclists from view.

**rodgerd** · 13th May 2004, 19:52

Originally Posted by scumdog

Yep, I'm sure some of them buy "safe" cars but forget they have to also drive them in a safe manner.
Make you wonder how they had enough clues to make the money to buy the car :confused2

What's worse is the change in profile. When I used to be on the road regularly at school run time, I saw the worst driving I've seen (including boy racers): often just plain incompetant, and always self-righteous, drivers who don't have a clue what to do behind the wheel and don't give a damn anyway. Killing other road users pales in comparison to the importance of getting Janey to ballet.

Back then, though, they were driving Volvos. Now 4WDs and people movers are the weapon of choice, and a damn sight more dangerous for it.

People who feel the need for a safer car are usually incompetant drivers.

Not that I haven't had run-ins with other classes of drivers. If you live in Wellington, watch out for the twat who drives a Boxster, AAB332. His trick is racing down turn-only lanes to queue jump the straight-ahead traffic, and then ram into the space a motorcyclist occupies. Tried to force me into the parked cars...