Rules on the road for Moto travel broken

[traveltoad]

Okay this is just the opinion of a car that drives on the road with you guys; lane splitting in places where it is not legal is dangerous, because the other traffic is not expecting it, will not be aware that you are going to do it, and may be tuning their radio at an inopportune time (not to mention that they might be using a cell phone).

It is not more safe... and drivers pay no more attention in state where it is legal.

Riding is dangerous. Period. There are no set rules for situations like that. We can all second guess what Phil did and what we would have done. Truth is each and every situation requires quick evaluation and reaction.

In this case the rider needs to evaluate what is more dangerous: staying in place; brake checking the vehicle behind; lane splitting; passing in the breakdown lane. As a rider I would evaluate each and decide the least dangerous of all options and do it.

My tendency (as I said before) is to not go backwards, or in this case to not brake check the following vehicle. For me this is almost always one of the most dangerous options.

 

[btggraphix]

It is not more safe... and drivers pay no more attention in state where it is legal.

Riding is dangerous. Period. There are no set rules for situations like that. We can all second guess what Phil did and what we would have done. Truth is each and every situation requires quick evaluation and reaction.

In this case the rider needs to evaluate what is more dangerous: staying in place; brake checking the vehicle behind; lane splitting; passing in the breakdown lane. As a rider I would evaluate each and decide the least dangerous of all options and do it.

My tendency (as I said before) is to not go backwards, or in this case to not brake check the following vehicle. For me this is almost always one of the most dangerous options.

x2. I think this is pretty well put. No way would I brake check the guy behind unless there were no other options. Unless something larger was falling out (i.e. not something blowing around in the bed which leads you to believe not so hard/heavy) no way would I try to stop. I'd much rather swerve or try to drive right through and hope for the best.

By having survived and learned out of it, by definition he did the right thing in this case. Perhaps one of several 'things' that would have worked, but his did work. I have had a few close calls, but only one accident where I was a hair's breath from dieing (I T-boned a car pulling in front of me and played superman over the car) and you ask yourself over and over what I could have done better or differently...but the bottom line is I came out OK and that's number 1. After all was said and done, I'm glad I played it how I did....but I learned a lot from the experience.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Again, lane splitting is not legal here in AZ.

Neither is losing your load, but jackwad did it anyway.

I've never lane split, and the thought of it scares the crap out of me. If I were in that situation, I'd probably pull out to the left and do an illegal pass if it was physically possible, and after scanning for police.

Backing off to leave more room in front is the textbook answer. However, it's one thing to have a guy on your *** when you're in a truck. Another on a bike.

As I said, i'd just bug out of the situation.

 

[spencyg]

I have been in situations like this before. Sketchy situation to the front and a gator to the rear. In Maine we don't have additional lanes to speak of, and most shoulders drop off, so what you have in front and in back is often all you can count on. I personally NEVER split lanes or use the miniscule breakdown lane as a viable option. People typically aren't expecting it and if you put yourself somewhere that a cager doesn't expect, your chances of getting whacked go up exponentially....same thing as with riding in a blind spot. I always slow down, if for no other reason to piss the gator off. Reaction times to upcoming events are critical to your survival, and slowing down puts the advantage distinctly in your court. You don't have to slow down forever....just until the situation ahead of you is gone or there is a safe and legal opportunity to pass. All the while, the guy who is pissing you off in the rear view mirror is equally pissed that you're going 10 MPH under the speed limit (or in most cases....just going the speed limit). I've only had one instance when this turned out to be a poor move. This situation basically was an irate driver behind me who was willing to risk her life and my own to get to her appointment 1 minute sooner. Passed on a blind curve and nearly killed us both. I write those off as situations beyond my control. I was paying attention so I slowed further when she was coming around, but a car coming in the other direction at the wrong moment would have been the end of my story. Keep a cool head, always give yourself reaction time, and always always always keep in plain view of everybody around you.

Spence