I almost get taken out…fucking people in cars really don’t pay attention :nuts:. Coming up 65 across that elevated part of the highway i see a blue cobalt merging…he merges to the left lane i’m in the right…turn signal on his car clicks off…as i’m moving closer to him i am almost adjacent to this prick when he decides to do a no signal change…i’m laying on the horn and downshifting/braking as safely as i can, i change into the left lane an proceed to pass him…fucker was messing with his radio the entire time…wtf…second was when i was coming through the city right before you hit regent square and there is that intersection that you can turn right at to go to squirrel hill, i am already in the intersection as the light goes yellow…some dumb bitch in a kia or whatever the pos was decides to hurry and take the turn before she even makes it to the intersection…i can’t swerve with the cars parked on the right side of the road and i end up locking my rear tire, she stops before i’m at the point of no return with the rear tire sliding out to my right…i get off the brake and go the rest of the way home with the jitters…fucking cagers
I almost got killed atleast 6 times on my way back from the pens game. Its really getting out of hand. People need to stop playing with themselves and pay attention.
I honestly don’t see how these people are allowed to drive…there should be an attentive test along with the drivers license test
welcome to the motorcycle world. you have to think a couple steps ahead while riding.
I know what you mean. I’m in Myrtle for bike week. I’ll try to keep a log of how many close calls I have, but I think the post-limits won’t allow a list that big 
Sorta related:
I’m driving down 279 to Robinson one morning, where it will randomly go from 50-55 down to 10mph when the on ramps pike up. So you have to be on your toes.
A lady driving along talking on her cell phone and putting on mascara! I couldn’t believe it. It’s people like that who will get others killed. No way I would wanna ride a bike and have to worry about that. I got respect for you guys.
this is why I will never have a street bike. I love bikes but I like my life more.
I have been in 3 accidents in my life and all 3 times I was stopped and ran into, If I had a bike I probably would not be here typing shit on Pittspeed. 
I hopefully don’t jinx it, but I haven’t had that many close calls. One that actually resulted in a bit of a hit, but we were both a little at fault, even though I had my turn signal on to do a U-turn, in stopped traffic, some lady in a volvo tried to pass me on the left in a single lane area with a double yellow line.
Anyway, what I have learned is that you need to expect people to do the dumbest stuff when you are on a bike. Always ride in control, always ride super defensively and you should be alright. Gotta constantly be looking around and watching mirrors. My biggest fear is getting crushed at a light so I always keep it in gear and pretty much ready to roll or drop the bike and run if I see something about to happen behind me.
Me too. And one of the reasons I actually didn’t try and get rid of all the reflectors in the back like a lot of people do. Or go with puny-ass little signals.
And any time I come to a stop, I am checking my mirror. I have my right mirror set up to see pretty much the lane behind me. If I’m passing or anything that involves needing to see a lane to the right, I turn my head like blind spot searching, because my right mirror is set to see what is exactly behind me so I know if some moron is riding up on me at a light.
I think never ever letting your guard down and planning the worst case scenario for everything you see occuring helps a lot. If you’re just out riding mindlessly or even above your skill level, you will get clobbered.
couldnt have said it better. i always keep my gaurd up… thats why i like highway riding… a lil more relaxing then city riding.
Did you take the MSP course or at least read the book? Because i remember seeing an instruction in the book to always keep the bike in gear at a stoplight. I rarely ever put my bike in neutral at a light unless i know i have to adjust something like my pants or one of the mirrors(one was loose and would move at highway speeds…has since been tightened up)
:stupid:
You always need to leave yourself an out. Never, ever just hang next to a car. Always try to make yourself visible – that means stay out of blind spots. If you are in a lane next to a cager, than ride a bit in front of him/her so you can be seen.
That’s what i was thinking. Leave yourself an out and do head movements try to give others a warning where your going, besides flipping the tiny turn signal on.
Also never ride beside a big truck, A good wind will blow him right into you.
Obviously i don’t ride a bike, but gives the big rig drivers some indication what your doing and becoming a speed bump that he will rarely notice 
I know this ^^ wasn’t directed towards me, but anyhow… after years of riding with a renewed permit every year, I finally took the course instead of just going to test for the license.
It should be mandatory, and not only do I find a parking lot every few weeks and practice some of the stuff learned in the course, I plan to take it at the beginning of every year to make sure my skills are there for the start of every riding season.
I’ve seen some complete idiot moves on a bike by people who may have ridden a while but really have no clue. Sometimes even something so simple as which 1/3 of your lane to choose depending on the situation.
As for being in neutral at stops… if it’s an extended light and someone is already stopped behind me, I go neutral. I hate holding the clutch in.
Anyhow, I wish the course were required.
yep, I took the course and as Lee fah-quad said, I like to go to empty lots and practice at least at the beginning of the season. The slow-speed stuff is the first to go. Pretty much anybody could ride a bike at 20+ mph and figure things out. Also, I do the same thing as him at lights. If the guy behind me starts and it seems I’m going to be there a while, bike goes into neutral and I usually stand up and stretch or something to stay fresh.
and listen to the sixspeed4 dude. you always have to have an out and at least one plan for how to not die in a situation. You will find with proper lane position and looking ahead, many situations can be avoided before they become situations.
Having an out saved my ass three times today alone. Myrtle is way worse than Daytona. Too many crazy cagers that don’t care about two wheel denizens.
buddy of mine that i was riding with ended up almost getting creamed when we were on our way home from the meet, he had to do a mean ass swerve to stop from catching the mid/rear end of the car…
Crazy cause we were just talking about it.
my buddy jim had some asswipe in a dumptruck back into his brand new daytona 675 yesterday on the main road. traffic was stopped he was about 6 feet behind the truck all of the sudden the guys starts backing up, jim was beeping and yelling but had no place to go because of traffic comming the other way but the thing only had about 900 miles on it
before
on that triple. Beautiful bike. I guess I’d take the insurance money and make it a naked sport bike with bolt-on mods after all that damage…