Cagers

[breeliz]

I was driving in my Dodge Ram this weekend going over to the dealer to pick up some parts. Some guy oblivious to what he was doing started to cut me off. At the last moment he saw this BIG truck and abruptly pulled his vehicle back into his lane and waved an apology.

On Sunday I went riding on my bike and a similar thing happened as I got onto the highway a mile from my house. A guy and his girlfriend cut me off as I was making a left turn from a double turn lane at the State of Illinois' most dangerous intersection... Rte. 83 and North Ave. This time the kid fully completed cutting me off and I had to rapidly swerve right to avoid getting crunched.

I zoomed up next to him and shouted at him and he did the same apology routine as the person the day before. Deja Vu.

Cagers are in pretty much the same state of obliviousness whether you are in a truck or on a bike. The difference is that they are scared of the size of the truck before they are scared of the biker. Sometimes they are so oblivious that they indeed hit the truck!

The message that comes into my head is this... intolerance of cagers is wrongheaded. They are what they are no matter what you ride. They are people thinking and doing things they shouldn't... not paying attention to driving... making little mistakes... sometimes with big consequences. Most of the time nothing happens. Once in awhile circumstances come together and BOOM an accident... a vehicle is damaged... once in awhile ZAP a biker's life is ended.

It isn't about them. It's all about us.

Cagers will always make their little mistakes and do stupidshit. When you are in your Dodge Rams they will almost never hurt you. When you are on your bike they are almost always deadly.

We assume the risk of being small, hard to see, and unprotected by an impact absorbing cage. We don't have to do it. But we choose this mode of travel for our own reasons. That puts the ball squarely in our court.

Complaining about the cager and vilifying them is wrong. It deflects attention from the real issue. We need to complain about ourselves with the understanding that there is only one way to drive a motorcycle and that is defensively... actively defensive ... searching out possible problems before they happen... bleeding speed for safety... ready on a milliseconds notice to take decisive action to avoid a cage even though we have the right of way... taking nothing for granted.

All other ways of driving a motorcycle lead to the hospital or the grave unless you are very, very lucky. There are some lucky fools who ride witless and come up smelling like roses. But mark my words... emulating such a fool is the biggest mistake you can or will ever make. Just don't do it.

Active defense... it is the logical consequence of assuming the risk of driving a motorcycle.

[jetblue]

"Karma"

[trooper113]

Originally posted by breeliz
Active defense... it is the logical consequence of assuming the risk of driving a motorcycle.

"Active defense".....great phrase about riding safely. It also applies to life in general.

[Thealien]

Originally posted by breeliz


Complaining about the cager and vilifying them is wrong. It deflects attention from the real issue. We need to complain about ourselves with the understanding that there is only one way to drive a motorcycle and that is defensively... actively defensive ... searching out possible problems before they happen... bleeding speed for safety... ready on a milliseconds notice to take decisive action to avoid a cage even though we have the right of way... taking nothing for granted.

I have to disagree with some of this reasoning. I agree because of dumb drivers we must drive defensively (like we are invisible)!! But saying complaining about them is wrong is empowering dumb drivers. We must fight for personal responsibility (make drivers pay for thier mistakes, calling them accidents is giving everyone a way out). It took MADD mothers against drunk drivers to make everyone look at drunk driving as a crime instead of an accident! When are we going to start BADD Bikers against dumb drivers/

We have discussed firearm laws before. Misuse a firearm and cause an injury or death you will pay with time in jail and loss of rights. When will we start to treat vehicles with the same respect, that they are 4,000 pound weapons that can kill and injure ?

By no means am I saying we should not drive alert, but when someone cuts us off, rear ends us, makes a left turn in front of us it is not wrong to condemn that driver!!!

[rewind]

As we all know we must be totally aware of our surroundings at all times when riding our bikes. People tend to let there guard down when driving cages (I've done it). Driving a cage has become a "right" , but it is not, it is however a privilege. Sometimes cagers need to be reminded of that!! Ride free...............rewind

[tbag809]

Besides common sense and being defensive I still say LOUD PIPES are the next best thing to keeping you safe.

One day I was cruising around town and there was a lady in front of me with a young kid who was gazing out the back window watching me ride. We happened to both pull into the same quickstop food mart and I pulled up next to her. She gets out of the car and says to me "Why do you have such loud pipes"? I said "Did ya hear me good enough"? She said all she could hear was me. I told her it helps keep me alive. She looked at me funny and said what do you mean. I said" I had your attention the whole time I was behind you right"? She said " Oh, yeah".

[Lightnin]

Bree,
A statement you made that I do disagree with is "It's not about them. It's all about us."
As much as I would like to think that, it simply isn't so. Maybe I read the statement out of context.
The road is no more ours than it is theirs. They need to be aware of their surroundings as much as we need to be. The repurcussions, in general, are to a lesser degree for them in their safety equiped cage however, whereas they can be deadly for a biker.

The moral of the story is: No matter if you're controlling a car, truck, or bike, all drivers need to be aware..because the second you aren't, it could be your last second.

[breeliz]

You will as little change the cagers as you will jump over the Sears Tower in a single bound.

B*tching about cagers changes nothing.
Blaming cagers changes nothing.
Calling accidents "homicides" changes nothing.
Calling cagers murderers changes nothing.

The only way to change what is happening on the road is for people who CHOOSE to ride motorcycles to assume full responsibility for their own safety. Cagers are still required to obey the traffic laws and laws about drinking and driving. They are still accountable for their illegal actions.

But the point is that accidents happen... true genuine accidents... not crimes... but ****ups... lapses... omissions. You can't talk them out of those accidents. You can't legislate them away. You can't cause THEM to stop the accidents. Only you can prevent them or reduce their frequency and by doing so reduce the deadliness of the risk of driving this type of vehicle.

So it is about us and not them. That is my belief.

[scottsf]

Originally posted by tbag809
Besides common sense and being defensive I still say LOUD PIPES are the next best thing to keeping you safe.

One day I was cruising around town and there was a lady in front of me with a young kid who was gazing out the back window watching me ride. We happened to both pull into the same quickstop food mart and I pulled up next to her. She gets out of the car and says to me "Why do you have such loud pipes"? I said "Did ya hear me good enough"? She said all she could hear was me. I told her it helps keep me alive. She looked at me funny and said what do you mean. I said" I had your attention the whole time I was behind you right"? She said " Oh, yeah".

Rock on! More than once for sure I have cracked the pipes to get attention (and avoid a bad situation). It may be annoying to the soccer moms and cell phone junkies, but it works.

[Notactingmyage]

... Aren't there things we could and should be doing to make the roads safer for everyone, bikers and cagers alike? For example,
- Ban use of non-hands-free cell phones while driving;
- Ban eating while driving;
- Ban applying makeup while driving;
- Ban beating your kids while driving;
- Ban driving with a dog in your lap;
- Raise driver license acquisition/retention performance standards;
- Significantly raise fines and penalties for violation of existing traffic laws (DUI, speed, failure to yield, etc.)
- Install unidirectional tire puncture strips at the tops of freeeway offramps so that drunks and other dingbats attempting to enter the wrong way immediately get four flat tires;

No doubt y'all can come up with many other good ideas.

[wyodude]

Originally posted by Thealien
When are we going to start BADD Bikers against dumb drivers?

TheAlien is right on the money here. Politicians are ****en scared to death of the NRA. If bikers started doing "charity runs" for themselves (and beefed up the AMA by hiring some lobbyists) things might change. Until then, ride like you're invisible because you are in the big scheme of things.

wyo

[DWG99]

Great posts Bree, notactingmyage and the others.

Dumb cagers are everywhere. Cage has an "accident" with a bike and generally will walk away - the bike rider will be considered "extremly lucky" to walk away.

There is no justice - there is just us

Alien and Wyo provide great advice that riding invisible will prolong our time on the roads.


Cheers