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First time biker rage.

5K views 34 replies 28 participants last post by  Mr. Efficiency 
#1 ·
So on my ride home from work tonight I raged for the first time and I feel bad about it. Maybe I should, guess I'm going to air my dirty laundry. Now I from time to time honk at people not using turn signal or maybe leave my bike in a lower gear longer when someone next to me is on the phone. But come on we have all almost been cream corn from someone in a phone daze or just entitled.

Super short version at the bottom.

OK on to my point... on my way home normal oblivion from people. Get behind someone in the long stretch of no passing one lane section of my trip. Person in front of me common into a turn lane I signal move over half way through the solid white, cage lazily drifts into the turn lane no signal. I slow give a quick little blip on the horn nothing. Next turn hoping cage goes the other direction. So I slow up a little bit signal move over NOP. Same thing no signal I hit the horn longer and yell signal for the love of God. Said cage had all 4 windows open (my voice projects.) Nothing. Next turn fingers crossed same thing same frustration this time being thankful I was backing off already and downshifting when I honk with the slow merge over in the middle of the solid white I get a hard brake. I stay on the horn yelling Turn Signal you sucks at driving. 4 more turns to go till I'm home good God I can't take this. Next turn I'm backing way off this is the first short turn lane. Wait wait going straight FREEDOM I signal move over traffic slowing in the other lane sweet I get to be next to them as I move up all windows go up. We are going between 3 and 5 MPH. I say really can't signal can't talk what is your deal. Nothing but a full on swerve not looking. RAGE....I flip her mirror forward and move off dragging the clutch. I know I know the sound screaming from the pipe was worth the clutch material.
I know long story.
SHORT VERSION-cut off 3 times no signal break checked swerved into flip minor forward Rev off. Just wanted to say it all not proud of it feel bad I don't rage like that on my bike. In my car yes. Never on the bike. Thanks to anyone how read that. Even if it was the short version.
 
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#4 ·
Rode up next to a lady the other night on the freeway. I was going about 77mph. The lady was going about 75ish. She looked up to the road for a second and down to her phone for about four seconds. Then, looked up to the road for a second and back down. I hit the gas to get away. Happens much too often.
 
#7 ·
The invention of the cell phone and texting in particular is the single biggest contributor to the deterioration of driving performance in the history of motoring. Ask any police officer and he will tell you story after story of distracted driving and the increase in accidents as a result. The cellphone has made us a ruder, more self-absorbed and downright dangerous society. As a professional driver of over 30 years, I've seen it all and it's only gotten exponentially worse with the introduction of the cellphone. I'm sure the cage driver felt that she was the victim here of the big, bad motorcycle driver who was acting "crazy".
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thank goodness your home safe. In today's society, lots of distractions by both parties, and the killer is......patience. Nobody wants to wait....I need it....I need it now. Instant gratification......As motorcycle riders, we all know the danger of road rage, but we need to keep it in check.......for our next ride........Ride safe, best, D.
 
#11 ·
Get used to it. You are invisible. No matter what colour jacket you wear, no matter how many lights you put on your bike, you do not exist.

The key to riding under such conditions is to accept that 99% of the people cannot see you and the 1% that can are actively trying to kill you.
 
#12 ·
What Skrap said... if I'm out riding and I have more than 2 instances where somebody pulls out in front of me or tries to see what a C50 looks like attached to their car I just assume that day is not a good day to ride and I head for the house!

I tell people all the time I won't buy a newer model car because they don't come with turn signals! I get baffled looks then I ask them how many times they see one with a turn signal on and they say you so have a point and laugh.
 
#13 ·
I tell people all the time I won't buy a newer model car because they don't come with turn signals! I get baffled looks then I ask them how many times they see one with a turn signal on and they say you so have a point and laugh.
I specifically claim that BMW must be saving a fortune by not putting bulbs (or LEDs) in the turn signals on their cars. When have you EVER seen a BMW car with its turn signal on?
 
#15 ·
I've always been too nervous to show my frustration with cage drivers while I'm on a cycle.

Ignoring the possibility of having something thrown at you from the car which happened to me(or shot at you);there is always the risk that they'll just bang their car into your side & drive off,especially if it's a clunker.

But officer,that biker threatened to harm me......their word against yours.
 
#18 ·
I've always been too nervous to show my frustration with cage drivers while I'm on a cycle.
Upon this, one has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge.
 
#16 ·
Further to the lack of turn signals on newer cars. I was dead set against putting cameras in my limos/sedans for many years. Thought they were too costly and the that the increase in bad driving was just anecdotal. Eventually my insurance carrier insisted on them and the number of claims and payouts drops precipitously. In so many cases, the camera shows distracted drivers, multiple moving violations and serious stupidity.

I now have them in all my personal cars and while they won't make you any safer, they do provide the last word in the he said/she said arguments. Now thinking of putting one on my bike. Not sure what good it will do, but at least my heirs will have the evidence to sue the other party into poverty and just maybe get a bad driver off the road.

The best protection is to drive like you're invisible, everyone around you is blind and you have a big target on your back.
 
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#19 ·
Car vs. bike, you lose every time, get all uppy and someday a frightened hausfrau will run you over.

Simply, I just dont get angry, every year I get better in not getting into positions where cagers can take advantage. Its really surprising I dont have the close calls people speak of all the time. As you ride you learn to avoid them.

Expect stupid, expect distracted, slow down when lots of cagers are about... But get angry one too many times and you will get into a fight with a car you cant win.

I do keep a 140 decibel airhorn on the bike, I stay well lit and visible, and avoid situations where there isnt an out. After that, I just stopped getting mad, it serves no purpose.


Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App
 
#20 ·
In all honesty, riding a motorcycle isn't the only thing that makes you notice stuff...and it isn't just people in cars that have way to me technological distractions....I drive truck for a living....you would not believe the number of "professional" truck drivers that I roll past that are watching movies while driving....be it on their phone or a laptop/TV that they've mounted to the dash or passenger seat....the number of truck accidents over the last 2 years has been unreal....and as for people pulling out in front of you....I would almost rather have someone pull out in front of me while I'm on my bike than when I'm in the truck....66,000 pounds doesn't stop very quick....at least I can dump the bike if need be to avoid something overly serious....

Sent from my MT2L03 using Tapatalk
 
#21 ·
My (rather useless I suppose...) two hundredths of a cent....

Accidents I've had in past riding:
- coma from coming off bike as a passenger speeding downhill in the wet (single vehicle)
- severe skinning coming off bike from bad cornering (single vehicle)
- broken rib doing wheelie (single vehicle)
- broken leg from driving into a pole DUI (single vehicle)
- snapped shin from taking a corner too quick (single vehicle)
- broken arm and damaged disk from taxi pulling out in front of me (two vehicle)

I spent 12 of my 18yrs riding in Italy, where traffic is decisively more aggressive than in Australia (except maybe Sydney/Melbourne).....
Therefore probably more predictable. Cobbled roads. Mad traffic. Indicators are optional....scooters everywhere....
The road miles themselves train us to assume everyone's about to do the worse. Distracted drivers? They all are. In a cage I am, too.

Cars just make me plain lazy, man! Technology impacting awareness? Absolutely. Something that didn't take place so much in the past.....
Drugs and alcohol are also a factor, I almost had a crash two weeks ago from someone zooming clean through a red light. I braked not because I saw him, but because my peripheral/gut instinct/spider sense was screaming at me. Missed me by inches. Kept on driving past me like nothing, straight through the next intersection (which was also red....)

Angry at cagers on the road? Never. Drive defensively, literally assume everyone is a blind as a bat. Every safety feature (gear, lights, mods....) are only there to rebalance the odds in our favour. Outright, every time I ride I'm aware the odds of getting to my destination safely are against me. Other than that I smirk at the fact I enjoy every single second I'm on the road on a bike. In a car....not so much. Driving a car is punishment enough for my fellow road users without me going mad at them....
Useless post end.
>:)
 
#22 ·
Time for a biker cam. Mounted on the bike, or the helmet. I prefer the helmet. Had a guy in a new Audi A8L come out of nowhere, 75+ mph, Honked at me and pushed me over into the next lane to get around me. Didn't slow down a bit, but a CHP saw him and pulled him over. I pulled up behind them and told the trooper what he did when he went by me. They guy denied it until I pointed to my cell phone mounted on the handlebars and said I have it all on video. The trooper and I walked back to the phone and reviewed the video. He asked for a copy and I copied it off the camera and gave it to him. He told me he was going to let the driver off, but after seeing the video, he wrote him up for 75+.

I'm now looking for a camera to mount on my helmet. Best insurance policy you can get. No argument on what happened.

Also, keep in mind, ... you as a rider, can push a crazy person into an extreme rage, based on your response to their stupidity. Using profanity or finger gestures can only escalate things and can result in someone getting hurt.

I just let them be stupid and get on their way. If they are lucky, a cop will see them and do something.

Oh, .. one other thing, ... Post their stupidity on youtube. Your on a public road, they can't hide. Then send an email to every insurance company to review the video to see if it's one of their insured. It might change some things and bring some accountability back into their rate calculations.

:cool: :cool: :cool:
 
#23 ·
+ 1 ^ If they are passing you and being stupid, just slow down a little and let them go. Up the road you'll see them with a cop or in a ditch. Then give them a friendly wave and smile as you roll on past. Make sure you tell them "hi" as you pass to get their attention.
 
#24 ·
When behind people driving erratically, it is best to change your route or just back off, take a deep breath, and keep an extra few seconds between you and them. You never know what is going to happen when you toot your horn, from a sudden stop, to veering off the road, and if you instigated it, you can be charged with reckless or aggressive driving, and you never know when someone just happens to be friends with a member of the local law enforcement community. Even with witnesses, you will lose in court then, never mind the pass was illegal, they hit you coming back into the correct lane, and then ran until you caught up to them enough to get the tag number. But I digress.
 
#25 ·
two words: STEBEL HORN.

I had a lady with her window down, chatting away, elbow on the window sill. she started to pull into my lane (i'm approaching her from the rear, up the drivers side) no signal, NO LOOK, no nothing. I had room to maneuver safely, but before I backed off, I hit my Stebel horn, long and hard, and she jumped so hard, she almost chucked her phone out the window. She then had the audacity to give ME a dirty look. She did pull to her right, and I tromped the throttle as I went around her, giving her a few choice words and gestures on my way by.
 
#26 ·
It's like swimming, but in clear water. You're going to see the wildlife and know where you are on the food chain. Just try not to be surfing into a 10 ft long bull shark, and keep a good lookout.

Something easy to forget is that cars and trucks make you blind. I can't see out of the silly things. A pillar can hide a truck!! While this makes me half nuts and paranoid, most people still think they can see.

Dress bright, have a big horn, learn to handle, lots of room, and if something feels bad, stop.

Interesting incident up at the hill. Pirate with ***** got passed close by a power ranger. It happens. Go on the hill on a summer weekend, folks doing fast either competently or not will pass and feel close. In this instance, ***** berated power ranger once stopped. Power ranger informed her she was out of line or words to that effect. Pirate threw a punch. Fat pirate without gear v. armored power ranger. That was a 3 second battle.

But calm is difficult to maintain. I've practiced a lot, and am generally very calm, but called some lady a "******* moron, and your demon spawn as well" - after texting at 20 mph in a gas station, nearly clipping my companion. I suppose I should have just dragged her phone out and pissed on it!!!

But really, it's these morons that pace with you. Where it's not just putting up with one BS move, they keep happening. Even if someone will eventually be identifying them at the morgue, it's still enough to make one's blood boil. "I didn't see you" - Well that's because you didn't look, ran a stop sign, and went into oncoming traffic!!!!!
 
#29 ·
My own little version of road rage, only problem was I just responded.

Coming back from lunch at a burger joint making a turn from lane to appropriate lane when I look over and notice a PT cruiser coming into my lane, sure as **** I slow down back off and let them pass thinking to myself "That was close, no worries", get back to school notice PT cruiser there....then notice occupants coming my way while parking and almost immediately start shouting and hollering about me "all up in the lane they was in" (Their words, as you can see the level of intelligence was staggering) now this is three ghetto women tallest barely topping 5'7" and possibly 300lbs (lol) yelling at a 6'1" guy with tattoos on his arms getting off a bike. Remained calm cool, and collected and waited until they asked if I had an apology, my response was to flip out my butterfly knife and look them dead in the eye and state this to them, "You know who you just cut off right?, I'm the guy who is crazy enough and also has the spare time to follow you home and slash your effing tires....whether you're in the car or not, now go take some laps around the parking lot and have a great day" everyone in my school knows I'm a butcher being the school's magazine did an article on students with already formed careers...(technical college) and my picture had me in my white coat sleeves rolled holding about 3 feet of neck bones off my knife and coat moderately soaked in blood.

Have not heard a peep of the incident since it happened almost three weeks ago, lol.
 
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