Wondering if riders should consider majority right turns

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mimico_polak said:
when I'm stopped at a red light behind some cars I ALWAYS point my car near the centre line /yellow line so if the guy behind me doesn't stop, at least I get pushed into thing air instead of the car in front of me and become a sandwich.
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If you stop to the left or right of the car in front, about once a day some moron will stop up right beside you in your lane. That extra 6 feet will get him home 0.003 sec sooner.
 
CafeRay said:
I agree with this law.

Too many times I see people come to a stop, then jump out of the car suddenly to check the trunk or whatever crap they have in the back of their he-man truck.

If bikes could filter, we would just see more "door prizes". Again, in Europe this is ok because drivers are trained not to do stupid things. In Ontario, we save up all our stupid and wait until we get into a car.
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I'd much rather be a door prize at low speed than be hit from the rear. And there was an incident where if I didn't filter I would have been destroyed.
 
When approaching an intersection where someone in the opposite direction is lined up to make a left turn (possibly in to me) I've got into the habit of doing a couple quick swerves in my lane. Just makes me a little more visible. I do this when approaching a driveway where the cars are trying to pull out into traffic, or across me from a center turning lane too.

Even if they just stop for a sec and think "WTF is he doing" at least I'm on their mind.
 
CafeRay said:
Nothing wrong with our laws. We have the worst trained drivers on the roads. The law says you slow to prepare to stop on yellow, the reality is most people throttle it.

You pass some stupid test at 16, and never get re-tested the rest of your life. Police only enforce parking and speeding, because they really only care about laws that generate revenue. You can cross three lanes back and forth all day 12" from someone's bumper in a massive pickup up the 400, no one will stop you.

If you have to consider only right turns and everything dangerous about a bike, it's time to sell the bike and take your life forward in Rob Ford mode.
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Re your first comment, I will not elaborate in fear of being labeled a racist.

re the police / revenue: The police are controlled by the politicians who are elected by the misinformed hoi poloi.

If we made drivers tests as strict as pilots licences we would have to rebuild the country. NO highways and only public transit. Dead traffic victims are collateral damage from the quest for profit.
 
I saw a rider today almost get smoked by a car making a left turn cause the rider was riding on the wrong tire track - beside the left turn lane (3 lanes) with a line of cars - going above the speed limit. Pretty much invisible until its too late.

At least try to make yourself seen when going through intersections...
 
Kawithumb said:
When approaching an intersection where someone in the opposite direction is lined up to make a left turn (possibly in to me) I've got into the habit of doing a couple quick swerves in my lane. Just makes me a little more visible. I do this when approaching a driveway where the cars are trying to pull out into traffic, or across me from a center turning lane too.

Even if they just stop for a sec and think "WTF is he doing" at least I'm on their mind.
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Here is a thread I started that talks about avoiding this kind of crash scenerio:

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...ing-that-will-help-you-stay-alive-this-season


I think if more riders watched the video and took the time to understand what is going on there would be far fewer bike crashes.



..Tom
 
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Paul1000RR said:
Even when in my car i slow down and prepare for some goof ball to come in front on me, meanwhile guys on their bikes ride like they're invincible.

Flame away...
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You slow down ? Preparing for what ? What driving school teaches this ?

What about the guy behind you ? He is thinking what a goof ball slowing down on a green light for no reason .
 
you do the best you can for safety in the situation you are presented. Sometimes that includes predicting the danger by slowing down before the danger actually presents it self. Sometimes it means switching to another lane. Sometimes it means speeding up because it's about to happen faster than the guy behind can slow down and there's nowhere else safe to pull over. It's all situational.
 
pfbmgd said:
You slow down ? Preparing for what ? What driving school teaches this ?

What about the guy behind you ? He is thinking what a goof ball slowing down on a green light for no reason .
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Happens every time on the Gardiner right after the Lakeshore/Jameson exit heading east, that left bend.

This morning, following car in the left lane, no one in front of her, BRAKE LIGHTS!
 
OnAnySunday said:
Happens every time on the Gardiner right after the Lakeshore/Jameson exit heading east, that left bend.

This morning, following car in the left lane, no one in front of her, BRAKE LIGHTS!
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This weekend has been just wacky... think I'll just walk and take the bus for a day or two.

Today in the rain, I was riding home to Kitchener on the 401. A G35 had gotten on the 401 at exit 278 going eastbound, lost traction in the wet, and crashed into the divider. The people going westbound slowed from 130km/hr to 20km/hr to look at the scene... The guy directly in front of me literally went from 120km/hr to a stop to rubberneck... I locked up my front tires and almost ended up sitting in his back seat, bike and all. ABS kicked in to let me know I was in the oh **** zone and got enough time to split the right and centre lanes and avoid a crash. It happened that I came to a stop right by his driver side window... he was stunned to see me... he was still looking at the G35. The guy driving still had no idea what was happening behind him and there wasn't anyone ahead of him, he just stopped almost out of the blue, like a sudden brake check.

My friend on a Vulcan ended up on the shoulder, and the car behind us went off the road too... It was insane.

And yesterday some lady rear ended my Impreza while I was waiting at a red light. She was fidgeting with her GPS.
 
Type17 said:
This weekend has been just wacky... think I'll just walk and take the bus for a day or two.

Today in the rain, I was riding home to Kitchener on the 401. A G35 had gotten on the 401 at exit 278 going eastbound, lost traction in the wet, and crashed into the divider. The people going westbound slowed from 130km/hr to 20km/hr to look at the scene... The guy directly in front of me literally went from 120km/hr to a stop to rubberneck... I locked up my front tires and almost ended up sitting in his back seat, bike and all. ABS kicked in to let me know I was in the oh **** zone and got enough time to split the right and centre lanes and avoid a crash. It happened that I came to a stop right by his driver side window... he was stunned to see me... he was still looking at the G35. The guy driving still had no idea what was happening behind him and there wasn't anyone ahead of him, he just stopped almost out of the blue, like a sudden brake check.

My friend on a Vulcan ended up on the shoulder, and the car behind us went off the road too... It was insane.

And yesterday some lady rear ended my Impreza while I was waiting at a red light. She was fidgeting with her GPS.
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Was this you today?

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There is a group of people in the States who do not drive over bridges because those might collapse. Maybe there already is a registered group that only takes right turns...
 
I had a worrisome moment today involving a left turn.

I was riding south bound on #6 and wanted to turn left into Two Wheel Motorsports but couldn't because of a line of cars heading North. So there I was in the fast lane stopped (no left turn lane) watching my mirrors and I saw cars coming behind me -- three in a row. The first car sees me, changes to right. Second car, slightly delayed reaction, sees me and changes to right. Third car is coming and I was getting worried. It didn't look like he saw me and was getting pretty close so I started to move again -- I was just about to gun it to avoid being hit when he finally saw me and went right.

I don't know what I could have done differently to avoid this... I suppose I could of kept driving until no more cars where heading north and then did a u-turn.
 
I've done that - hit a spot with a proper left hand turn lane and come back the other way.
Some places I've driven have the left turn lane beyond the stoplight - actually a dedicated U turn lane.
 
MacDoc said:
I've done that - hit a spot with a proper left hand turn lane and come back the other way.
Some places I've driven have the left turn lane beyond the stoplight - actually a dedicated U turn lane.
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That's a good strategy for the bike. If you feel too vulnerable where you need to turn then just move on and U-turn.
 
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