Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Forsaken wrote:The other day I was making a left at a green light. There was a truck coming from where I was going, so he was making a right on red. (Legal here in PA, if it's clear) As I was rounding the corner he was just starting to pull into the intersection and SLAMMED on his breaks, I think he thought he was going to hit me, though he had acres of room. Then yelled something out his window. Green, red... I wonder who's got the right-of-way.

I gave him the one finger salute which may have been uncalled for. Then he turned his truck around and followed me for about a half a mile. Good times.

One thing I gotta wonder is... did you use your TURN SIGNAL? Did the trucker think you were going to go straight and YOU turned instead, surprising him?

P

Yes I used my signal.

On the note of tailgaters, if you've got the testicular fortitude, spike your breaks. If they hit you, even if you do 80-0 in 10 feet, they're at fault. At least here in PA. I've always thought of doing that, but I just don't have what it takes. My roomate did that to someone when he was in his truck. The car behind him swerved and went off the road. No one was hurt, but I bet next time the guy will think twice before riding someone's bumper.

Forsaken wrote:Yes I used my signal.

On the note of tailgaters, if you've got the testicular fortitude, spike your breaks. If they hit you, even if you do 80-0 in 10 feet, they're at fault. At least here in PA. I've always thought of doing that, but I just don't have what it takes. My roomate did that to someone when he was in his truck. The car behind him swerved and went off the road. No one was hurt, but I bet next time the guy will think twice before riding someone's bumper.

That advice may not work in other states. It won't in AZ or NM. In most cases, if someone rear ends you, most of the time they're at fault. However, if you hit the brakes for no apparent reason (just to cause some tailgater to run into you), you will be considered at fault. Had a couple of friends try that stunt and both lost.

On top of that, the wisdom of intentionally getting someone to rear-end you seems somewhat questionable. You could end up dead or seriously injured. If the other guy happens to be broke with no insurance, it might not seem like a very smart move, after the fact.

sv-wolf wrote:There's also this special trick that cagers do, I've noticed. They look straight at you but don't see you. They come with brains fitted with filters that don't see anything with less than four wheels.

That just happened to me the other day. Stupid 16 year old driver made a left turn right in front of me. Because I had no room to maneuver, I started performing a perfect MSF style emergency stop, and then he finally sees me and stops his car with it blocking my entire lane. I came to a stop about 1 foot from his right fender...and just shook my head. At the next light, the guy in the car behind me stuck his head out the window and shouted "You did a really good job back there, man!". I gave him a thumbs up.

flynrider wrote:

Forsaken wrote:Yes I used my signal.

On the note of tailgaters, if you've got the testicular fortitude, spike your breaks. If they hit you, even if you do 80-0 in 10 feet, they're at fault. At least here in PA. I've always thought of doing that, but I just don't have what it takes. My roomate did that to someone when he was in his truck. The car behind him swerved and went off the road. No one was hurt, but I bet next time the guy will think twice before riding someone's bumper.

That advice may not work in other states. It won't in AZ or NM. In most cases, if someone rear ends you, most of the time they're at fault. However, if you hit the brakes for no apparent reason (just to cause some tailgater to run into you), you will be considered at fault. Had a couple of friends try that stunt and both lost.

On top of that, the wisdom of intentionally getting someone to rear-end you seems somewhat questionable. You could end up dead or seriously injured. If the other guy happens to be broke with no insurance, it might not seem like a very smart move, after the fact.

as long as you have a good excuse for stopping fast your ok. say a dog ran across the street so you had to stop. how can they prove a dog didnt run by? when the cops get there dont mention the person tail gating say you didnt know he was so close but obviously he was closer than he should had been or he could have stopped to.

Yes, you could get seriously injured, or they could. Which is why it takes some serious minerals.

Just wait for an intersection, or side street, perfect alibi.

iwannadie wrote:
as long as you have a good excuse for stopping fast your ok. say a dog ran across the street so you had to stop. how can they prove a dog didnt run by? when the cops get there dont mention the person tail gating say you didnt know he was so close but obviously he was closer than he should had been or he could have stopped to.

In both cases that I know of, witnesses to the accident kindly informed the police that no obstacle suddenly appeared in the first car's path. If there's not likely to be any witnesses, you might get away with it.

I see that you're from Mesa, AZ. Did you know that nearly half of the cages in the valley are running around without insurance? Even if you pulled it off, the other driver would get a ticket, but in the end, you'd likely be stuck with the bill to fix your ride (and yourself, if you're injured).

I almost got hit today. Making a left turn at an intersection. There was a line of cars across from me waiting to go. So when it was open the first car across from me went through, I began to pull out and just as I was moving into the lane the next car decided to go. They stopped about 4 inches from me. Oddly enough the first thing that shot through my mind wasn't that my right leg was almost crushed, but that I can't afford to buy new pipes! I wasn't rushing traffic or anything either. Just following standard right-of-way procedure. Sometimes I don't get what makes people so stupid.

flynrider wrote:

iwannadie wrote:
as long as you have a good excuse for stopping fast your ok. say a dog ran across the street so you had to stop. how can they prove a dog didnt run by? when the cops get there dont mention the person tail gating say you didnt know he was so close but obviously he was closer than he should had been or he could have stopped to.

In both cases that I know of, witnesses to the accident kindly informed the police that no obstacle suddenly appeared in the first car's path. If there's not likely to be any witnesses, you might get away with it.

I see that you're from Mesa, AZ. Did you know that nearly half of the cages in the valley are running around without insurance? Even if you pulled it off, the other driver would get a ticket, but in the end, you'd likely be stuck with the bill to fix your ride (and yourself, if you're injured).

well obviously you have to pick your battle and not do this sort of thing in front of a crowd. but a witness can only see so much, its your word against theres not much can be done about that a cop cant just beleive one person over you.

as for insurance obviously you cant do this trick with some junker car, but a nice new suv with soccer mom #1 at the wheel is a near promise to have good insurance, if not youll end up owning a nice suv with frontal damge while she pays for it.

I can't see myself going through the pain and aggravation of intentionally causing a crash - no matter how offensive a tailgater may be. My tact is to tap the brakes once as a warning signal. If they don't get off my tail, then I pull off and let them go by. I get enough satisfaction watching them speed up, only to have to ride their brakes behind the next victim. I'd rather be a witness to what they do ahead of me than the remaining damaged bits of what they've done behind me.

Cheers,
Loonette