Cursed Left Turn

[azoomm]

How do we stop it?

How do we get people to stop saying "I never saw them?"

How do we keep cagers from turning left in front of motorcycles??

And, I'm serious. I've had one too many friends get clipped. One too many hurt, mamed, killed then the driver gets a failure-to-yield ticket and go about their life in the bubble cursing those dangerous motorcycles.

I'm so done with it.

Is it education? Bumper stickers aren't working.

[101lifts2]

Quit doing 80mph in a 30mph zone. lol

The biker has to be aware of what is going on around him, know how to swerve, how to cut between cars and how to brake. Car drivers are not going to change and most bikes that get a car turning left in front of them are usually speeding.

[azoomm]

Try again.

Two incidents that I'm in some way related to.... one happened in front of me at an intersection. The other happened to one of my best friends yesterday. She was following her father only to be Tboned.

Neither was speeding.

Neither was doing anything other than just traveling, and neither had the opportunity to *swerve*. We can't treat EVERY car like it is a barking dog.

Do we go big or go home on this?? PSAs??

[jtemple]

Originally Posted by 101lifts2

Quit doing 80mph in a 30mph zone. lol

The biker has to be aware of what is going on around him, know how to swerve, how to cut between cars and how to brake. Car drivers are not going to change and most bikes that get a car turning left in front of them are usually speeding.

Most motorcycle accidents on the street are at speeds of 30 mph or less, and most of those are the fault of a cager.

I am frequently disgusted at the inattentiveness of cagers, both while I'm in my cage, and while I'm on my bike.

Part of me thinks that there should be some sort of harsher penalty for being at fault when a motorcyclist is injured.

[ericr]

Until cops start enforcing driving laws other than speeding and people start paying large fines and losing licenses for accidents nothing will change. It is amazing the difference between driving here in the States and in Germany. Germany has a tiered license system and major fines for causing an accident especially if it's from negligence (talking on a phone, eating, painting your toe nails etc.)

It's a risk to even get out of bed and walk out your front door, I accept that risk to ride on the street and I can live with it. I decided a while back that life isn't worth living if I can't enjoy it along the way. I've got to die from something, doesn't matter to me what it is really

[Curb]

i agree with you, azoomm. i was doing the speed limit when that lady pulled out in front of me in january and all she kept telling the police was that i ran a red light (yes the light had turned red, but after i went through it). then the cop asked her if she was watching the road or the light and that is when the cop knew that she wasn't paying attention to the road. she was ticketed and yes she went upon her business and i went to the hospital and my bike went to the junk yard.

good luck trying to get something done...i'll help anyway i can from my corner of the country

[Dnyce]

make every left turn have its own signal light. not just the big streets, all of em. cant turn left without a green arrow. that would cause alil more to alot more traffic, but drastically stop to completely eliminate that "left turn accident"

every fucking week-no, every fucking day, on my 8mile(yes thats roundtrip) commute to work, some stupid motherfucker pulls out in front of me, or makes a left turn in front of me where i have to cut the throttle and get on the brakes. a few times ive had to swerve/split lanes, or end up as a hood ornament. so far so good. and this is only in 8miles. 15 freakin mins. this shit is ridiculous. we as riders have to be aware, but theres only so much we can control.

[Smittie61984]

Originally Posted by jtemple

Most motorcycle accidents on the street are at speeds of 30 mph or less, and most of those are the fault of a cager.
.

I remember seeing stats (For Georgia atleast) that showed that most motorcycle accidents are riders own faults.

But most motorcycle accidents involving more than one vehicle was almost always the fault of the cage.

Unless we outright ban cell phones, radios, make up, reading, writing, friends, etc. Things are never going to change.

We could do PSAs but how often do we watch a PSA and think nothing about it once American Idol or Sienfield come back on 10 seconds later?

[racedoll]

Originally Posted by 101lifts2

The biker has to be aware of what is going on around him, know how to swerve, how to cut between cars and how to brake. Car drivers are not going to change and most bikes that get a car turning left in front of them are usually speeding.

I agree, but it just sucks that we have to be so over-conscious of our surrounding. We have to be at the height of defensive driving, yet cagers can just be so absent-minded it's pathetic.

Really though, even in a car around this area you have to be defensive. We have people run stop signs left and right.... my sister was a victim of it a couple weeks ago. Someone ran the stop sign, clipped her - CRV totaled... yet the other girl was able to drive her car away.

Originally Posted by Dnyce

make every left turn have its own signal light. not just the big streets, all of em. cant turn left without a green arrow. that would cause alil more to alot more traffic, but drastically stop to completely eliminate that "left turn accident"

Even if they put up left turn lights, you still have to contend with those that turn right on red. I had a green light and some douche turned right on red in front of me. It wasn't even close, but would have been had I not been paying attention.

[pauldun170]

Left turns....how bout instead of relying on the typical American driver to uphold there end of the bargain we just treat any oncoming car as someone who will ignore rules of the road and end up in your path. If you are making the left...Don't make the turn untill you verify the car is either slowing down, (or stopped if appropriate)...and the driver is looking at ya. If this cannot be verified, plan the turn based on the idiots will be accelerating slightly and aiming for you so play a bit of frogger.

If you notice a car bout to make a left..watch the tires...see where they are pointed..look at the driver..slow down a bit (as in speed limit) change lanes, stand up sit down..tap the hi beam or horn until you ARE SURE the eyes of the driver are on you or..if its a two laner...use another car for linebacker.

Until then you can't do a damn thing. you can ask every driver on the road to be be careful..and they wioll respond "it's those stupid motorcycles" and then start off with a rant about stunters or asshats who do 120 in a 40 in flipflops.


in other words

As a biker....if you get in an accident...it's your fault. Your responsibilty to pay special attention.
(excluding fucking deer popping out of nowhere....i swear those fucker use catapults from the side of the road...that and squirrels