BE SEEN!

[vinny]

This weekend the wife and I took the Goldwing for her first "overnighter" through parts of North Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina. Had a great time and looks like the wife is really starting to like riding pillion. Yesterday, while riding just north of Chattanooga, TN - we came upon a motorcycle/cage accident just as the emergency responders were also arriving. Had to sit a few minutes while the LEO's and EMT's secured the scene. Rider was on all fours in his lane of travel, bike about 20 feet in front and on the side of the road. Cage facing the rider and had heavy damage to the left front fender. Appears the cage did not see the rider and attempted a left turn into the service station. The rider was 1) on a black sport bike... 2) had on a black T-shirt, shorts, and black helmet. Rider looked very dazed and was scared to move. After a few minutes, luckily the EMT's were able to help him walk out of the road. His leg was cut pretty bad, but apparently no broken bones! I was happy he was not severely injured.
Of course, I can only assume, but I wonder what his chances of being seen if he would have had on something bright and a more visible helmet, and possibly more lighting on his bike.
Seems like the general motoring public still have difficulty seeing us... even when we are dressed to the point it screams "CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?" Please do all you can to be seen.

 

[SupraSabre]

This weekend the wife and I took the Goldwing for her first "overnighter" through parts of North Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina. Had a great time and looks like the wife is really starting to like riding pillion. Yesterday, while riding just north of Chattanooga, TN - we came upon a motorcycle/cage accident just as the emergency responders were also arriving. Had to sit a few minutes while the LEO's and EMT's secured the scene. Rider was on all fours in his lane of travel, bike about 20 feet in front and on the side of the road. Cage facing the rider and had heavy damage to the left front fender. Appears the cage did not see the rider and attempted a left turn into the service station. The rider was 1) on a black sport bike... 2) had on a black T-shirt, shorts, and black helmet. Rider looked very dazed and was scared to move. After a few minutes, luckily the EMT's were able to help him walk out of the road. His leg was cut pretty bad, but apparently no broken bones! I was happy he was not severely injured.
Of course, I can only assume, but I wonder what his chances of being seen if he would have had on something bright and a more visible helmet, and possibly more lighting on his bike.
Seems like the general motoring public still have difficulty seeing us... even when we are dressed to the point it screams "CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?" Please do all you can to be seen.

When you look right at most motorcycles, and even with their headlights on, they are hard too see! That's why I added driving lights to the forks and even have my modulator going at certain times to make sure they see me! But even with that, there is no guaranty! 4:

 

[copperhead]

LOUD COLORS SAVE LIVES. Most cages are pretty soundproof.

 

[SupraSabre]

Statistically following distance and lane position have been bigger factors in left turn interactions than (the lack of) lighting and high viz gear. If you're not positioned so that you can physically be SEEN, the rest is moot. Plenty of riders wearing high viz gear and running high beams & secondary lighting have met the same ill fate because they weren't seen earlier due to poor lane positioning.

It all boils down to Motorcycles are still I N V I S A B L E, even when you do everything you can to be seen!

 

[challenger]

... the mindset of most drivers is "I didn't see the motorcycle'' ... my response when I chased the guy down, got his company name off the door, got his license number (I work at 911), called his boss, and had a loooong conversation about driver safety was to tell them "YOU WEREN'T LOOKING!" Because we, Americans, think of driving as some God given right, very few of us have really learned the proper methods of driving ... bikers hopefully are better educated here than cagers because of the MSF, but most drivers don't need a REAL driving course to get a license. The Germans are REQUIRED to take and pass a 6 weeks driving course, then take a driving test. Fail either and you start over and a good driving school will cost you between $2000 to $3500 each time you take it.

Yes ... I dress to be seen, I move around in MY lane, I keep a 3 second interval when possible, I flash my brights to get cagers attention, I TRY to make eye contact every time, and I WILL chase you down and call your boss because I want to get home alive!

We can ONLY do SO much ... the rest is up to the cagers ... and that loose cannon wing-nut that thinks he's Mario Andretti!

:soapbox Dan

 

[Superzuki]

Most drivers 'see' a threat level and not necessarily any vehicle.

 

[Digiamo]

Where all the gear you can stand then ride like you're naked...
Be as visible as possible then ride like you're invisible.

 

[rush2112]

And Charlie was in that area last week and went down. Not riding there for a while.... He's still in the hospital in Chattanooga....

Glad to hear she likes to ride...

 

[SupraSabre]

The street I ride down to get to home from the main hwy is bad for that kind of surprise.

I often have right turners in front of me and folks sitting waiting to turn left from the right. The right turners often block the view of the other drivers and those drivers (ones wanting to turn left from the right) seem to think it is clear since they can't see anyone. Of course their veiw is blocked, but that doesn't stop them from coming out anyway. I always approach that type of a situation (simular to the motorcycle in the video) with caution. I've had too many close calls, that would not have been close calls if I was riding like a lot of the people do around here.

 

[BigH]

... the mindset of most drivers is "I didn't see the motorcycle'' ... my response when I chased the guy down, got his company name off the door, got his license number (I work at 911), called his boss, and had a loooong conversation about driver safety was to tell them "YOU WEREN'T LOOKING!" Because we, Americans, think of driving as some God given right, very few of us have really learned the proper methods of driving ... bikers hopefully are better educated here than cagers because of the MSF, but most drivers don't need a REAL driving course to get a license. The Germans are REQUIRED to take and pass a 6 weeks driving course, then take a driving test. Fail either and you start over and a good driving school will cost you between $2000 to $3500 each time you take it.

Yes ... I dress to be seen, I move around in MY lane, I keep a 3 second interval when possible, I flash my brights to get cagers attention, I TRY to make eye contact every time, and I WILL chase you down and call your boss because I want to get home alive!

We can ONLY do SO much ... the rest is up to the cagers ... and that loose cannon wing-nut that thinks he's Mario Andretti!

:soapbox Dan

+1 at 100%

 

[SteveST1300]

Its funny those of us in the sport touring community like to add lights wear high viz etc those in the sport bike world like to minimize lights even turn signals when my son rode a sport bike the first thing he did was put on smaller signals and under tail brake light kit all that made the bike more invisible! This while I was adding tail brights and hyperlights and fork lights.

 

[970mike]

I am one that knows drivers don't see anything when they pull right out in front of a very well lit up bright BIG red fire truck with all the emergency lights flashing and the siren screaming full blast along with the air horn. So ride like the other vehicles don't see you and you will stand a better chance of returning home in one piece.

 

[lectricmojo]

Exactly Mike !!
Every, and I mean every time that a fire truck is having to run down the road here... it is guaranteed that he is going to have to stop, or almost stop and LAY DOWN on his horn to get someone out of the way after you have heard the sirens for minutes already !!

 

[v65infla]

I have recently starting wearing Hi-Viz jacket and helmet. A promise kept to the wife when a co-worker who happened to be a guy she knew from high school was hit and killed by a left turning motorist. When riding I try to keep in mind that every single car is out to kill me. At least once every ride there is some incident that could have been different if I wasn't paying attention.

 

[Bones]

Cagers don't see big boxy ambulances with lights flashing and sirens blaring, either. I sat in the front seat of one while my dad was a passenger in back and people just didn't give way. Even lots of people who DID see the ambulance didn't move out of the way. That experience has a lot to do with my approach to riding a motorcycle: assume no one sees me and, on the off chance they do see me, assume their intent is to run me down.

 

[Mellow]

my approach to riding a motorcycle: assume no one sees me and, on the off chance they do see me, assume their intent is to run me down.

+1 Gazillion.

 

[st1300r]

.02
The biggest difficulty is they can't see you if they don't look. Too lazy to turn their head and miss a text just glance in the mirror as they are already moving over.
2nd They see you but don't interpret what they are seeing correctly.
Then there's the criminals that see you and assume you'll get out of the way.

Worst part of my commute is off the interstate on 2 lane each direction no break down lanes and a gazillion strip stores on both sides of the street. That's were I'm most likely to get taken out.

 

[SupraSabre]

Just this morning coming in I had some bozo come into my lane and when I hit the horn, he just looked at me like "what?"

:banghead: