How to compensate for car users

[Dark]

Did the car driver actually hit your bike? and where exactly were you positioned behind the car? ie directly behind, slightly to the left or right?
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My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[Sephiroth]

That happened to be with a white van man.

I just plonked the horn and fucked off sharpish


And why don't you like the Bandit? I love my bike

[coolfox1]

Assume everyone is out to get you !, every car van and bus will pull out on you.

I've found myself with my thumb on the horn when passing somebody that I think hasn't seen me. On the motorway I don't pass unless I can get clean past as I may end up in their blind spot, and then I use a more right hand side of my lane and the nice thing about having a responsive bike is I have the choice or brake to avoid or rocket off out of there.

When I stop I sit right in the middle and always having my head lights on, the light is usually directly at their rear view mirror. When it's a bus or a van I sit to the right and further back so they can see in the right hand wing mirror as you would when following a van, bus truck.

Not sure what the heck I would have done if the car in front put in in reverse, thankfully never happen.

One think I have noticed is riding or stopped I leave more of a gap than I would in a car, sometimes the car behind gets a bit pissed off but if there is a solid run of cars in front where they going to go !

Ian

[Dark]

Sounds like there was little else you could have done. You were positioned behind her in such a way that she should have seen you, but didn't.
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My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[NSR Mick]

some people are just clueless, your horn may not have made a difference.

I was sat at a set of lights once smack bang in the centre of the car in front when he decided to reverse into me . I blew the horn but he kept coming and I ended up with my wheel wedged under his bumper before he stopped.
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If you dont like the way that I ride.......Stop trying to keep up!!!

[GearboxGeezer]

Whyed you think biking is dangerous? Because idiots like that are on the road, just make sure you dont get hit by them.

[krebsy]

Just this morning (in 500 yards):

One car reverse out of a sideroad without looking. Car turning right without indicating across me forcing me to brake. Car turning right out of sideroad into my path. Car pull off from left kerb with no signal or rear check until I was along side and on the horn whilst passing it....

That's the problem with living near to a school and having to dodge the school run every morning...

I just take it steady through the area and leave a thumb covering the horn until I'm across the main road and into the office car park. Had to use it 3 times in 500 yards. That just goes to show how unaware car drivers are in the morning when dropping little Johnny and Jane off at the gates... .

Normally you can predict what kind of things are going to happen by reading the cars and other signs.

Smoke from exhausts, wheels pointing into road, drivers sat in car (all point to car about to move off), shadows under cars moving (Kiddies might be dashing out through the gap), people looking the wrong way whilst pushing a pram (they might step out with it into the road without looking), slow moving car with driver glancing around (driver may pull in unexpectedly into sideroad or parking space causing you to brake hard), cars entering into side-roads or sat in them at "odd" or too shallow an angle (Chances are they are just dropping the kids off or are about to do a U-turn across you without looking) etc.....

Loads of stuff to keep an eye out for.

three rules I stick to.
1. always give yourself plenty of space.
2. Defend your lane position at all times and don't let on-coming traffic try to squeeze you over to the kerb. (especially true in the mornings as school runners force their way through and a kid is more likely to step out right in front of you and if you are too close to the kerb you'll hit either them, the kerb, the floor or any combination of the three.)
3. Dont take any shit from anyone...

K.
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What's my New Year's resolution?

1280 x 1024.

[Dragonfly]

fecking car drivers! not all of them but i have encountered some arse wipes in my time.

that person should have looked in there mirrors especially in a que of traffic or at least out there back window in the rear view mirror.

if they cant see a bike how the hell do they see a small chiild on the road???
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All the breast.
Muzza on Binge:
He's too busy beating the everloving shit out of Lizzie to notice this thread has taken a turn down Drama Avenue and stopped off at the popcorn shop.

[lurker]

if the horn doesn't work rev the arse out yer engine, that usually gets there attention.

[coolfox1]

Just to add and I'm sure you will all agree that not all car driver are bad I make a point of ALWAYS giving a thanks to the good ones, given I always nod or thumbs up to bikers sometimes it seems endless.

My fav car drivers are the ones that pull over when in a queue or slow moving n spot you and pulling over to left lane on motorway as they know your faster than them and wont get in their way.

Been thinking about the biker to biker etiquette, just come back through stockport and spot a biker joining main road, thinks he has something to prove so overtakes at risk in slow moving traffic just to pull in one car in front of me and then sit in the slow moving traffic that in theory was impassable in the first place.

Then I has the same thing, big cruiser/Harley type thing, not filtering and sat in queue and I pass him up the inside as the queue is for a car that's turning right.

When you spot another bike what do you do? keep up, follow, burn them off

[Itchy]

Keep a bigger gap from the car in front? ,

ride slightly to the side (but not in a blind spot) to give yourself some swerve space? , (this will soon be onthe UK test),
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Itchy]