When will people stop backing into my bikes?

[swbarnett]

my lack of familiarity with it stems back to defensive driving course days when we were told it's pretty ineffective as a warning device and that we're better to use that second or so that it takes to sound the horn to avoid an incident rather than rely on the horn to warn another vehicle of it.

I've found the horn to be very effective where the driver didn't know I was there. As to wasting time on it, if I need to use it I'm sounding the horn and performing avoidance manuvuers simultaneously.

[yungatart]

I'm glad that you and your bike are realtively unscathed.
Once upon a time, drivers were taught to check both internal and outside mirrors before reversing. It seems it is not important anymore.
No wonder insurance premiums keep gooing up.

[Ixion]

No they weren't. Back in once upon a time we didn't have external mirrors. Only poncy snobs had them.

[Marmoot]

LOl, do they have cars where you are? Do you know what happens if you leave more than a car length between you and the car in front on the road around here? Some prick pulls into it!

So? do you lose campionship points?

[HungusMaximist]

Great story bro, it reminds me of an similar encounter in Auckland a few months back.

I was actually cycling with my brother around the city and we were right at the start of high street (which is one way) when we realised there was a women in car in front of us trying to find a parking behind her.

What she didn't realise was that there was me right behind her and naturally she forgot to look or even attempted to check her rear view mirror before she starts backing into me.

With the surprise of pedestrians we all thought she was gonna stop but she continued backing up until the rear bumper started crushing into my legs, by then I had no choice but to start knocking on her rear view mirror and boy was she surprised to me.

I didn't really expect an apology but it would've been nice to receive a sorry hand gesture of some sort after backing into somebody. Instead she gapped it like it never happened but I'd think the lady too embarrassed...

[sefer]

So? do you lose campionship points?

Ah..so that sort of invalidates the whole point of leaving space doesn't it? Or are you suggesting that the rider should reverse five metres after said prick takes that space to ensure they still have what you consider to be the correct distance to 'minimise risk.'

[Mr Skid]

Parked "too close" maybe?

Big 4WD has inherent rear-visibility problem, especially if they have spare tires hooked up to the back. Compounded with bikes' generally much lower height compared to the 4WD driver's view.

Perhaps it is unwise to park behind them, or within 5m behind them.

why are you trying to switch the blame from the blind cage drivers? 4wds, if they cant see properly, maybe the driver needs to check first. it could well be a child they reverse into.

'Cos Marmoot knows how many dodgy aZn drivers there are there trying to kill us.

I find moral vindication to be useful for repairing egos, less so for bikes and bones.

[Marmoot]

Or are you suggesting that the rider should reverse five metres after said prick takes that space to ensure they still have what you consider to be the correct distance to 'minimise risk.'

I don't suggest, but that's what I would do if some car is too close in front of me.
I mean, why not?

'Cos Marmoot knows how many dodgy aZn drivers there are there trying to kill us.

Ho ho ho, on the ball matey. On the ball.

[Livvy]

They'll stop backing into you when you buy a monster truck and drive over them instead.

Until that date, they will just continue reversing into your bike(s). Sad fact of life, no?

[Badjelly]

Motorbikes, pushbikes, on foot, maybe even in a car, we've all had that feeling: "No he's not going to drive/back into me, he must have seen me, he's not really going to do it, bugger he is!" I'm trying to reduce the length of time I waste on that sequence.

[Oakie]

Postscript to all that:

I was on the way home from work on Friday when I pulled up behind a guy who had stopped at a stop sign. I noticed though that he had gone past the the 'stop' line on the road and his back wheels where where his front end should be. I therefore stopped 5 metres behind him incase he reversed back. He didn't of course.

I popped into the Honda shop on Friday and got them to look at the damage from Wednesday. Short version is that I spent 40 minutes in my garage this morning and straightened things out myself with the safety net that if I stuffed things up, the guy who hit me would pay for new bits.
I'm going to ring him shortly and tell him that it didn't cost anything to repair the bike and I won't involve our insurance companies. When he expresses whatever happy thoughts he expresses at that, I'll suggest that he might like to instead donate $50 to St Johns as they tend to spend quite a bit of time picking up other bikers who got off a lot worse than me when they weren't seen by other motorists. Up to him if he does or not.