And I can't tell you how many motorcyclists I've nearly creamed that suddenly appeared in my way after I checked for traffic just before
changing lanes! Blind spots in regular cars are bad enough, but having some speeding idiot suddenly appear on my left side going fast
enough to put him in exactly the same spot I'm about to move into is pretty scary. I time my movements for the speed of the traffice.
Motorcyclists moving at 20+ MPH over the traffice are putting themselves in danger, IMO.
FWIW, I really don't understand what all the uproar is over cell phones. If they are going to outlaw distractions inside the car, they
should outlaw screaming kids, girl/boy friends, more than two teenagers in a car at once, radios, CD players, etc.
It's not much different driving a car than what you're reporting on a motorcycle. I get cut off at freeway exits quite often -- people
drive in your right-side blind spot and pace you when there's plenty of room for them to be elsewhere, and then they get annoyed at you
and honk for cutting them off when they have been ignoring your blinker for 1/4 of a mile...
All I can say is this: It's all part of the driving experience.
-David
Jeffrey Pyne wrote:
> Actually, I don't speed so that I arrive at my destination quicker. I'm
> never really in a hurry to get where I'm going. I speed because I ride a
> motorcycle and, for some reason, I seem to be absolutely invisible to most
> people behind the wheel of a car. I speed to get out of the way of that
> SUV-driver whose cell-phone conversation is much more interesting than
> what's going on in traffic, or that car-load of teen-agers too busy goofing
> around to notice that they're about to run me over, or the parent too busy
> yelling at their kids to pay attention, or that truck driver that's logged
> too many miles and not enough coffee.... I tried driving the Double Nickel
> on SR 51 after I got a ticket once, just to see what it was like. It was
> one of the scariest things I have ever done. I watched with horror as 2
> people had to stand on their brakes to avoid running me over because they
> were passing someone on the right and didn't notice I was there 'til the
> last second. I got cut off at THREE exits between Shea and McDowell as
> people came over from 2 lanes over to get off at the last minute. It feels
> more dangerous for me to go 55 than it does to go 80 (10 years and almost
> 200,000 miles of riding and I've never been down). Of course, if there's no
> one else on the road, I usually keep it under 65. Oh, and the reason I ride
> a motorcycle in the first place (in addition to the fact that it's FUN) is
> that I get 48 MPG (even at 80+) and contribute very little to The Valley's
> HORRIBLE pollution problem.
>
> ~Jeff
>
> On Monday, September 24, 2001, William Lindley wrote:
>
> So don't speed. All you really get to faster is the filling station and
> the brake shop.
>
> Driving 65 instead of 55 saves you a few minutes at most. Join me in
> driving the double-nickel, even if the speed limit is higher. Helps cut
> our dependence on foreign oil too.
>
> "55 saves fuel, 55 saves lives, I drive 55."
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