Scary Moment On The North-Western Mway

[kave]

I was riding along the northwestern motorway at around 6:30pm last night doing close to legal speeds, when the car in front of me went over a peice of cardboard that was lying flat on the road. The cardboard flicked up and hit me, covering my helmet and my chest, and completely blocking my vision. I thought I was using a more than reasonable following distance, but I had no time at all to avoid it (largely due to the fact that it didnt take a direct route through the air, leaving me no idea of which way to turn to dodge it). The initial hit was quite firm, but I managed to not swerve, and pulled the cardboard downwards out of my line of sight with my left hand. I wasnt too keen to throw the peice of cardboard behind me, in case someone else got cleaned up, so I kept it on my chest and lap, got off at the next offramp, and threw it in a bin.

Take care out there, you never know whats going to happen next, and remember that blind box pilots aren't the only danger on the roads.

[janno]

Wow - not only skilled in the co-ordination department but environmentally conscious as well!

Go forth and mulitply immediately, NZ needs more people like you . . .

Good skills, by the way. Well done.

[darkwolf]

You should have gotten in front of the driver ahead and thrown it at his windscreen angrily

Nah, well done mate, really good thinking.

[car]

You should have gotten in front of the driver ahead and thrown it at his windscreen angrily

Did I misread the OP, because it sounded like the guy in front ran over some litter that someone else had dropped. Maybe the car driver could have avoided the box, maybe he couldn't, but it hardly sounds like he did anything to warrant abuse.

Glad you made it okay, Kave, well done. Early on in my riding I heard a story about a guy in the States who took a plastic bag to the face on a highway off-ramp, only to find that he couldn't get hold of the bag through his gloves. Completely blind, committed to a 270 degree turn. He managed to negotiate the curve long enough to have a brainwave -- flipped his visor open a bit and poked his finger through the bag, then pulled it off. Lucky bastard. Since then I've always been wary of flying litter, and make sure to point my face at the tank if it looks like it's going to hit me -- I'd rather that whatever it is glance off the top of my lid than hit me square in the face.

[slickaz]

good thinkin buddy..glad to hear ur ok.

[Tank]

so I kept it on my chest and lap, got off at the next offramp, and threw it in a bin.

Haven't you heard of recycling !!!! Its people like you throwing paper into the bin without any thought of to our fragile climate, or global warming that are killing the planet !!!!!!!

As a direct result of your selfish behaviour a really cute little penguin has probably just died and its ALL YOUR FAULT.









oh yeah - good skillz, well done, glad you didnt come off and all that.

p.s. I hate pengiuns - so good job there.

[Griff]

Haven't you heard of recycling !!!! Its people like you throwing paper into the bin without any thought of to our fragile climate, or global warming that are killing the planet !!!!!!!

As a direct result of your selfish behaviour a really cute little penguin has probably just died and its ALL YOUR FAULT.

News Flash!!

Apparently it only affected a fat, aggressive Penguin who was a burden to the planet's fish resources anyway.

[darkwolf]

Did I misread the OP, because it sounded like the guy in front ran over some litter that someone else had dropped. Maybe the car driver could have avoided the box, maybe he couldn't, but it hardly sounds like he did anything to warrant abuse.

Its ok Car let it go. I wasn't being serious. And you'll notice that I did compliment him on the way he handled the matter rather than just panicking and throwing the cardboard back on the motorway.

[EJK]

Blinged ya for not littering lol

[Reckless]

Good skills! In your riding and your thinking for not passing the cardboard onto someone else to have a prang over.

Sometimes its your lucky day! Go buy a lotto ticket! You deserve another win!

[TRAINING WHEELS]

Well done Kave to be honest if it was me I prob would have just droped it as it would have scared the crap out of me.
However now that I have read what you have done it makes me re think my actions and I wolud like to say if it happened now I would follow in your skills...Cheers Mate

[Wiki Drifter]

dang... I would've have chucked that thing off asap... well done

[Jorja]

Can I ask am curious how long you have been riding for to have developed such great riding skills?
Me I am a newbie and can't imagine being able to think that fast. Don't think I would panic as I am good under pressure. But would hate to put it to the test just yet.

Sounds like you have very good reflexes and a cool head under pressure. Glad it had a happy ending.

[kave]

Can I ask am curious how long you have been riding for to have developed such great riding skills?
Me I am a newbie and can't imagine being able to think that fast. Don't think I would panic as I am good under pressure. But would hate to put it to the test just yet.

Sounds like you have very good reflexes and a cool head under pressure. Glad it had a happy ending.

I am not a very experienced rider, I have been riding for less than a year. There was no actual skill involved, just a strong desire to stay upright. To be honest, if I actually was a skillful rider hopefully I wouldn't have put myself in that position, perhaps my placement inside my lane should have been better or I should have had a sufficient following distance or quicker reflexes to have been able to avoid being hit.

[motorbyclist]

good on ya for not just dumping it back on the road for the next poor bugger!


i've heard of plastic bags ruining chrome/stainless header pipes on naked bikes and radiators being blocked

then there's that road sign i found on the exit to a corner - metal pole at an angle means alot of panic and brakes (i threw the sign back into the ditch, wish the bastard who knocked it down did the same)

and the piece of metal (aluminium) that ruined a perfectly good rear tyre, while i was riding dad's bike

and that steel strap on symonds st a fellow biker picked up before it got flicked up into a pedestrian

moral: rubbish should not be left on roads!