What would you have done?

[txjames]

I was out for a ride, which is one of my last for probably a month or possibly more with my back surgery this week.

We all have close-calls on a motorcycle. This one today was one that might have been even worse in a cage (less room to maneuver).

Faced with this situation, how would you have reacted?
Hit the gas (to get by, but now you're at an even faster closing speed),
Braked hard to cut the closing speed?,
Swerved (not an option),
Closed your eyes and hope for the best,
Something else?

Almost Hit Head-On - YouTube!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIynyJh9f7Y"]YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

 

[dart1963]

you did fine, you had plenty of room left, even if it didn't feel like it at the time. Don't panic and brake, maneuver just like you did is the best thing you can do.

By all means, pull over and take a breather when safe

there's another thread here somewhere where guy took a ditch to avoid something (car, deer, something)... so getting off-road is an option, just once you make a choice that that is all you can do, find a clean straight line to get off the road and get stopped.

 

[Chevyfazer]

I wrecked because of a situation exactly like that, I was on my first bike a Suzuki v-strom dl-650, I hadn't been riding for very long at the time but the only things that were different was the turn was a little shaper and longer, and it was at night. But I did the same leaned it back up but since the turn was sharper and longer I kept drifting towards the edge of the freshly paved road with about a 5" soft shoulder. By the time I was off the road the turn was finished and I was still on two wheels and going straight and the last thing I remember was seeing a speed limit sign about 25yds directly in my path. Going back to look at the crash site the next day I figured I tried to jerk the bike back on the road when I saw the sign, and by looking at the skid marks and chunks taken out of the asphalt it looks like the rear of the bike lost traction came around in a lowside and then the bike caught and flipped and landed on the opposite side, luckily the custom made side boxes , and givi engine guards took most of the damage. Although the handle bars were all bent up, hand guards busted, clutch lever broke in half and the left side controls were all busted up as well. I still rode her home, barely. Luckily I was fully geared and since then I am always geared. But I think that's one of the worst situations you can be in when riding I think you handled it perfectly!!!

 

[Sage]

You had quite a bit of room to avoid him, I agree with Dart, don't panic and brake/target fix. Avoid like you did and you'll be fine. I've had someone completely in my lane and chose to go on the shoulder since there was traffic behind him.
Same thing happens with animals too, just maneuver to avoid to keep yourself in one piece.
Needless to say I had to take a breather and check my undies lol

@Dart, I've almost taken the ditch as an option for deer, but luckily have been able to stop each time. I have had to just plow through a fox/coyote before though...

 

[alaskanflyboy]

I agree with Dart. From the video, he was maybe a foot or two past the center line. That's not terribly far in and you had plenty of room to maneuver. From the seat, though, anything crossing the center line puckers my butt.

 

[Fizzer6R]

wow james doesnt look like you had much time to react at all, glad he wasn't too far into your lane and made you panic into something! truck was probably adjusting radio or on a cell :disapprove:

 

[txjames]

I appreciate the feedback, y'all. I have updated the video with slow motion.

One of the things I see I made a mistake on is that I could have been further over to the right, especially getting into a left hand turn.

If we're not learning, we're not improving. Or, as we say to the softball team, "you're either getting better or your getting worse - which one is it going to be?"

 

[BoneJj]

I would say that you did okay but this is the very reason that I ride with my high beam on during the day. make yourself all the more visible.................

But this is why I ride toward the sides of turns like this. I don't like being near the center of the road at all....

 

[anson650]

You did the right thing, moved over. I would have been on the horn. We see a lot of pickups across the center line up here.
Good luck with your surgery,
Anson

 

[Spunky99]

I would have done exactly the same as you. Made a safe and gentle/controlled directional change to avoid the truck and not crash the bike.

Then I would have hit the stoppen me clampers really hard and turned around and caught up to the truck and by then have my nerves and voice under control to ask him calmly why he swerved over a double yellow line and almost killed me.

His answer would decide his fate.

 

[alaskanflyboy]

I appreciate the feedback, y'all. I have updated the video with slow motion.

One of the things I see I made a mistake on is that I could have been further over to the right, especially getting into a left hand turn.

If we're not learning, we're not improving. Or, as we say to the softball team, "you're either getting better or your getting worse - which one is it going to be?"

Going from the outside of the lane to the inside, and then back to the outside is the common path taught by the MSF courses. So, you were taking the turn correctly. It makes your turn more shallow, lessening your lean angle. You can always right the bike and it'll shoot to the outside. As long as I can see reasonably into the turn, I like to follow that path.

 

[Alex6]

From your video it looks like you still had the space big enough for a bus to avoid the truck...

 

[iSpoolin]

Really wasn't that bad. I would have done exactly what you done and moved over to the far right of the lane quickly.

 

[txjames]

From your video it looks like you still had the space big enough for a bus to avoid the truck...

Keep in mind... objects are much closer in real life than they appear on camera - especially a wide angle on. Putting some math on it...

The intrusion into my lane was about 2 feet. I was in the middle of an 8 foot lane, so say 4 feet from the stripe. That puts about 2 feet between two objects closing at 120 MPH. I could have reached out and touched his truck. Too close.

Was there some room left, for sure. Not a whole lot.