How do you approach intersections and yellow traffic lights? | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

How do you approach intersections and yellow traffic lights?

If you have to think about this, you shouldn't be riding, every intersection will bring you another worry, just relax and let your instinct work, as soon as you start worrying you will second guess.....
 
If you have to think about this, you shouldn't be riding, every intersection will bring you another worry, just relax and let your instinct work, as soon as you start worrying you will second guess.....

Not thinking about solutions and practicing solutions can have disastrous consequences. You can make the correct decision (from instinct) for the situation (intersection) but execute the maneuver incorrectly. You are right that you shouldn't worry excessively as this may cause your performance to suffer from the excess anxiety but you should worry a little; a little worry will improve your attention and increase performance.
 
It also helps to be in the right most lane as it gives you max visibility of turning vehicles

Not always true!!! If you're in the right most lane and there is a car/van/truck ahead of you in the left hand lane, any car that is turning left will have no idea you're there until they've already committed to the turn.

If I'm in this situation, I'll either move forward and use the car/van/truck as protection from cars turning left OR move in to the most left hand lane (not the turning lane) so anyone turning left can get a better view of me and me of them.
 
If you have to think about this, you shouldn't be riding, every intersection will bring you another worry, just relax and let your instinct work, as soon as you start worrying you will second guess.....

This is like saying you shouldn't need training in the military. You prepare for any eventuality and you drill it home until it becomes instinct. Covering the brake or plotting an escape route when exposing yourself to a higher than normal risk zone is not second nature to everyone and to ignore mental preparation is to court disaster.
 
If you have to think about this, you shouldn't be riding, every intersection will bring you another worry, just relax and let your instinct work, as soon as you start worrying you will second guess.....

In the beginning, this is NOT something that comes naturally. Some elements become habitual with time but it should be something you are paying attention to.

The average car driver pays next to no attention to blind spots of other drivers, etc. Transferring that inaction to motorcycles will, sooner or later, be disastrous.
 
In the beginning, this is NOT something that comes naturally. Some elements become habitual with time but it should be something you are paying attention to.

Hence, in the very beginning, a prospective rider should have some experience in traffic in a car.

Learning to ride / riding in traffic is already an activity that requires full attention. If a new rider has to deal/learn also with dynamics of everyday traffic, it can be easily too much for a safe start.
 
Hence, in the very beginning, a prospective rider should have some experience in traffic in a car.

Learning to ride / riding in traffic is already an activity that requires full attention. If a new rider has to deal/learn also with dynamics of everyday traffic, it can be easily too much for a safe start.

I don't know if I can buy into that, but I do think it's handy to have dirt experience before a street bike.
 
Any previous road experience a person has will help them while learning to ride. Not so much in actually learning to ride but in what to look out for in traffic. Dirt experience is always a huge bonus for learning to ride a street bike
 
Don't be in a big rush.
Time things so that you're not approaching stale greens.
Look two or three lights ahead.

I found that my point of no return on a bike, was further back than for a car, which surprised me at first.

Some seem to rush to the intersection to catch the light and then panic when the situation changes.
Many of these accidents would have been easily avoided it the rider was in a car instead;
They see something wrong, panic, lock up the brakes or avoid them, and target fixate.

Once you're in the intersection, the law of wheels starts to apply.

What I like to do is be aware of how stale the light is, cover the brake as I approach, ease off the gas, and set my point of no return.

If everything goes smoothly, then I accelerate at the other end. Otherwise, I'm that much closer to stopping when something happens.

Think about it this way. If someone hits you, your velocities add together. Being hit from in front is going to have more impact than from behind.

(aside to Darren: How did the laws of physics get repealed for cruisers? Did you get the scoop on it?)
 
(aside to Darren: How did the laws of physics get repealed for cruisers? Did you get the scoop on it?)

The laws of physics are what would have done me in.
The sportbike had a jacked up back end and raised forks with clips ons, and your feet are back and basically have your legs coiled and ready to spring up. When it hit the car, the aluminum frame behind the steering head sheared apart from the top down as the bikes back end acted like a violent catapult launching me clear over the car. As it was my crotch still crushed in the back of the gas tank. Then the bike also followed me over the car in the same manner and trajectory.

Now an 800 lb, 100 inch long cruiser with a super low seat height and much higher handlebars would have impacted and sent most of its weight directly forward due to the design of the bike and the rider won't have the same violent shove upward from the seat rotating up. Therefore the rider gets punched pretty much straight forward. With your feet already extended forward way under those higher handlebars it will be your ribs and hips that take the impact from an instantanious halt from speed against the gas tank and handlebars. Then your head attempts to separate from your neck before it bounces off the car. The trauma from this type of impact will kill most anyone in the same scenario as my accident. As it was I was launched over the car and rolled end over end (summersalt) allowing my body to come to a relatively gentle stop without much of an impact trauma.

Sarcasm works best if it does not work against you. LOL
 
The trauma from this type of impact will kill most anyone in the same scenario as my accident. As it was I was launched over the car and rolled end over end (summersalt) allowing my body to come to a relatively gentle stop without much of an impact trauma.

Sarcasm works best if it does not work against you. LOL

Same basic principle applies if hitting a deer. I was able to limp away mostly unscathed. On a cruiser you'd need pretty loud pipes to pull that off.
 
Same basic principle applies if hitting a deer. I was able to limp away mostly unscathed. On a cruiser you'd need pretty loud pipes to pull that off.


My bike doesn't move fast enough, so I could just stop in time. But my loud pipes would have scared the deer off already. No homo.
 
The laws of physics are what would have done me in.
The sportbike had a jacked up back end and raised forks with clips ons, and your feet are back and basically have your legs coiled and ready to spring up. When it hit the car, the aluminum frame behind the steering head sheared apart from the top down as the bikes back end acted like a violent catapult launching me clear over the car. As it was my crotch still crushed in the back of the gas tank. Then the bike also followed me over the car in the same manner and trajectory.

Now an 800 lb, 100 inch long cruiser with a super low seat height and much higher handlebars would have impacted and sent most of its weight directly forward due to the design of the bike and the rider won't have the same violent shove upward from the seat rotating up. Therefore the rider gets punched pretty much straight forward. With your feet already extended forward way under those higher handlebars it will be your ribs and hips that take the impact from an instantanious halt from speed against the gas tank and handlebars. Then your head attempts to separate from your neck before it bounces off the car. The trauma from this type of impact will kill most anyone in the same scenario as my accident. As it was I was launched over the car and rolled end over end (summersalt) allowing my body to come to a relatively gentle stop without much of an impact trauma.

Sarcasm works best if it does not work against you. LOL

Even at a very low speed on a cruiser, you're going up:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...list-flung-air-crash-SUV-gets-walks-away.html

This one's a sport bike:
[video=youtube_share;3VPET8qeiOY]http://youtu.be/3VPET8qeiOY[/video]
looks like he was trying to run the red.
 
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Even at a very low speed on a cruiser, you're going up.

I see both bikes not leaving the ground at all, especially the cruiser which stays planted before going on its side. And both riders hit the car going forward. My accident had the bike and myself fly OVER the car to land on the other side.
We need to find higher speed collisions from a straight on impact.
 
Had a Gf ride the same bike as you and she did not hang around. Pretty fast, nice bike. Mind you she was only 100lbs soaking wet. Cute.


Mine is a '98. I don't really care for speed, but on the 407 when everyone else is doing 120, she doesn't handle that well. So I just move over and do less. Or leave earlier and cruise the back streets.
I should probably have a mechanic give her a look, though. Thanks.
 
Mine is a '98. I don't really care for speed, but on the 407 when everyone else is doing 120, she doesn't handle that well. So I just move over and do less. Or leave earlier and cruise the back streets.
I should probably have a mechanic give her a look, though. Thanks.

Does sound a bit on the slow side. Her 750 had lots of power and she loved the throttle. I has a SV 1000 at the time and she never had trouble staying at 120+ on the highway. Nice bike.
 
One thing I want to add is how I hate when 18 wheelers drive in the left lane of a multi lane road. Seen more than enough accidents with drivers turning left in front of them because they were far enough back, but didn't see the car in the lane beside coming up and t bone.

Edit: Not blaming the truck drivers, the left turning vehicle should not have turned, but these accidents could be limited if trucks always use right lane, imo.


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