A "moment"

[RichPurn]

Hello everyone.

Not knowing any other bikers, I just wanted to share a nasty moment I had yesterday on the M4 with people who would understand.

I was in the fast lane. Basically, a Jaguar moved into the middle lane parallel to me and to my disbelief just carried on moving right towards me. I beeped madly, but they were oblivious so I had to accelerate out of trouble. It was pretty close. The driver was obviously aware immediately afterwards as they hung back until they were a dot in my mirrors.

My reaction to this is threefold. First, it is to criticise myself. Rather than being outraged at their stupidity and beeping partly in anger, I should have just accelerated immediately. My awareness of the situation as it unfolded was fine, but I should not have thought that beeping would be enough in the first instance.

Secondly comes the realisation that the incident has actually made me safer. Would my commute on Monday have been any less dangerous if this had not happened? Of course not; I have just been jolted into a sharper awareness of what is always true: biking is dangerous. It is important always to be aware of that. I will also now be much more aware of similar situations and how to react if they happen. So I am in profit, safety-wise.

Third is my reaction as a father of a baby and a toddler - I think you probably all get the picture on that.

Sorry if this isn't the most upbeat of postings, but I know that all experienced motorcyclists have had these moments and I would be really interested in any thoughts that people might have.

Cheers

Richard

[ProfG]

Hi Richard,

Few points:

a) How about going to the introductions to say hello and about yourself and where you're from
b) There is no such thing as a 'fast lane'. It's an overtaking lane where one goes to overtake and then get back to the nearside lane as soon as it is clear to do so
c) There are idiots and arrogant morons on all roads. Once you realised what the idiot was about to do, you put distance between yourself and him which was the right thing to do. Your safety is the most important point to consider above all other considerations.
d) Welcome to the forum  

[Gassoon]

Hi Richard, totally sympathise with you and the shock you experienced there. I think that you have the right attitude in seeking to learn from it    (I wonder if the Jag driver is seeking to learn from his experience? to be honest, he/she may perceive it quite differently, assuming you came rapidly up in the outside lane behind the jag??!)

Your reaction in exercising your right thumb on the old horn button was only too human a reaction, and now you are training yourself to react differently   .

I fdo eel sorry for the poor sods who don't have that ability.

[RichPurn]

Thanks for the replies

I'll just put it down to experience, I suppose. Trying to anticipate and react sensibly to the idiocies of other road users is a pretty basic part of the art of motorcycling...

[Timmo]

Used your horn to make other driver aware you where there, and then got the hell out of dodge. Well Done. You need to view the Forum more often and you would know the Red Stroms are faster!

[obalanga]

thanks for your post. In my opinion, no point in kicking yourself about the incident. The most important thing is that you are OK and secondly you learn't something from it. I'd go further to add it maybe the wrong thing in surmising that you should have used your throttle rather than your horn. The reason being no two incidents are identical. When I am filtering in a built up area, rather than have m left hand hovering over the clutch in anticipation of a smidsy, I would rather have my thumb hovering over the horn, In any event I will have a second or two's grace to engage the clutch in the event of an emergency. On the other hand, in "the fast lane" I tend to rely on anticipation and my wrist to get me out of trouble. Which ever way you go, just try to live through it.

[RevCounter]

I see this everyday !

Don't beat yourself up, you dealt with it, survived and will learn from the experience.

Bet the Jag got a shock when you appeared in front of him (having used the extra grunt / speed only available on a Red one).

Welcome btw too

[ProfG]

I tend to rely on my wrist to get me out of trouble..

I do too. Got me saved from a lot of grief with the skirties.
     

[RichPurn]

Thanks for the welcome - am certainly grateful for the Vstrom's grunt in the situation (black ones have a bit of that as well, you know!)  

[Madyokel]

I was going to post a tongue in cheek comment to Mr. Gassoon regarding the use of his RIGHT thumb on the old horn , suggesting that crossing his arms on the motorway could be a bit iffy , and that the button UNDER his right thumb might make a noise when he is changing gear , but for all the wrong reasons. I was going to but nobody likes a smartar*se do they? so I won't.

[Hondaman]

What a great, honest, level headed post about a scarry & potentially dangerous situation.
Not great to have it happen but learning from these things is important.

It reminds me of a similar situation.
A homeward leg of a month trip to Greece,  in the Netherlands I clocked a blinged up Focus on a slip way to my right, don't know why but I did.
Seconds later he'd diagonally crossed 2 quite busy lanes at speed & his bonnet was inches from us halfway into the outside lane at ~ 80mph - mucho frantic flapping of the wifes arms & he clocked us with a horrified look that I'll never fotget & retreated.
A bit close for comfort that one!

[FlyingPanMan]

RichPurn, I don't know if you're a cager also, but I'm sure you're aware that all cars have "blind spots" from their mirrors, as do bikers. Basically, if a biker/car is anywhere alongside and/or slightly to the rear of a vehicle, there is every chance he can't see you in the lane next to him.

You said you were in the right-hand lane. If you think about it, that becomes a much larger blind spot area for the driver and extends even further back. If you had been in the middle lane (assuming three lanes), he'd have had a better chance of seeing you coming up behind.

If you were "gradually" overtaking in that right-hand lane, you could have been in his blind spot for a very long time before he moved over.

I don't know, I wasn't there but maybe that's what happened. I've seen many bikers putting themselves into that vulnerable position - in traffic, as well as motorways. Let's hope your post will make a few more aware of the danger.

Horn on a motorway? Well, I have fitted a powerful air-horn but still doubt it's efficacy in that scenario.

The moral I'm getting at is this: Position your bike to be seen by others at all times. Don't sit in their blind spots.

AND... It's not what you see, it's what you CAN'T see that'll get you!

[frez]

Some people just don't look properly, if you are lucky they will indicate before they move but don't count on it. I've had drivers do it when I'm in a car and a bike. It's not worth getting bent out of shape over, treat it as a life lesson, you will be better prepared next time.