Yesterday as I was just getting onto the freeway, I merged into the 3rd lane (1st being left lane, 4th being right lane) coming onto the I-5 from Encinitas Blvd. As I was accelerating up to faster lane speed (the right lane goes about 55, the left runs about 75), a truck up ahead changed lanes from the 2nd, to the 3rd, in front of me. He was a few carlengths ahead, but I was coming up on him quick. So I look back, it's clear, and I move to the 2nd lane and begin to pass him. As my front wheel gets even with his bumper (keep in mind, I am accelerating past him), he puts on his turn signal left (he just had merged right?) AND JERKS OVER INTO MY LANE AT THE SAME TIME. I immediately swerved left and into the 4th lane, and THANKFULLY nobody was there for me to ram into. He came about 14-18 inches away from hitting me.

All I remember thinking afterwards is "Living feels pretty nice...."

 

damn man, glad youre okay.
expletive truck driver,
sounds like he was doing it on purpose .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by knockout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">damn man, glad youre okay.
expletive truck driver,
sounds like he was doing it on purpose .</TD></TR></TABLE>

ya. be careful man.

 

gotta ride more defensive then that... When I ride I treat everyone in a cage to be the worst drivers known to mankind. Glad you're alright. now learn from it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EngineNoO9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">gotta ride more defensive then that... When I ride I treat everyone in a cage to be the worst drivers known to mankind. Glad you're alright. now learn from it </TD></TR></TABLE>

No doubt. Eventhough at times, no matter how defensive you are, you get creamed. Just remember to always have an escape/out route incase a car in front of your pulls a move like that. Also, sometimes you have to be a bit aggressive to BE defensive. If that makes any sense.

 

a lot of people will try to merge from 4 to 1 asap so you have to expect those bone headed lane changes.

 

Yeah, I know what you guys are saying. I ride pretty aggressively when I am on the freeway, but this is incentive to push it up a notch. I ride very clear-headed...I am paying attention, thinking ahead...I just gotta play the chess game a little more intuitively.

Thanks for the wellwishing and advice fellas.

 

one more piece of advise.. don't mess around on the freeway. If you get hit and manage to survive the initial impact, you'll most likely be too fucked up to move or unconscious so you will get ran over because cars won't see you in time.. trust me. People that drive on the freeways and large fast moving streets, drive in a trance and almost always tailgates.

I work on a major street and most cars drive about 50-60mph on it. I see accidents happen on that street at least once a month. twice last week.

 

Yeah, that's what scares me. When I am riding around, and you see the people next to you chatting away on a phone, or staring off into space, or filling out paperwork (wtf??)....that's what really scares me. Riding down the road at 80, looking at the guy next to you totally lost in outer space, in a giant vehicle....

Of course, I'm glad I didn't get creamed...and since I didn't, I can be thankful for the experience and keep in in my mind to be twice as aware every damn time in the future....

That's the challenge, riding at the top of your game EVERY time.

 

Hey man, we're glad that you're still here with us.

 

Thanks buddy!

Let this be a reminder to everyone, don't get careless!

 

Nice save. Way to stay on top of your situation.

Unlike the jackass Gixxer rider I saw in rush hour traffic this morning weaving dangerouslyly in & out of highway lanes. . . with a helmet as his only gear.

 

Thankfully my freeway experiences have been relatively "OH ****!"-free (other than breakdowns - but that's another story). Have had some close calls in town though. Really sobers you up!

Good save and stay safe out there!

 

This is only the first close call, unfortunately there will be many more because people just don't pay attention

Glad to hear you came/rode out of that situation unscathed

 

Good ****, glad your fine.

I had a somewhat close one today. I was traveling along in the left lane of a four lane road with a center turn lane. People like to turn into the turn lane to merge so they don't have to wait for a break. I see a lady start to turn left in front of me, i was already planning for her to just cut right in front of me, so i did a quick lane check and moved over to the right lane, and gave her the HORN! She looked completely oblivious and didn't even see me after i passed her on the right. It was a real old lady, so i'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she can't see ****.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by knockout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
expletive truck driver,
sounds like he was doing it on purpose .</TD></TR></TABLE>

+1. Truck drivers are given too much credit for "knowing the road" and blah blah blah cuz they drive so much. i still and will always think they suck. i know 98% of our nations good are delivered on semis but they still suck.

glad you were safe! my dad said when he rode he would constantly play a game in his mind, trying to find the worst possible situation at every instant and think of a way out. stay safe!

 

you'll get many more of these "close calls" when you ride. when in doubt, gas it! that saying has saved my *** numerous amount of times. ride safe!

 

I'm glad to see it's only a close call...

Close calls suck...but are better than wrecking.

 

Thanks friends.

I love this place.

 

Good to see you got that little scare with no repercussions, however the truck did not almost hit you... you almost hit the truck. But that point will be lost if you take offense to my observation on how you described your close call. I have seen more than once, an accelerating motorcycle go down because the pilot did not or could not see what was influencing the traffic patterns ahead on the freeway. I used to paint a mark on my helmet, when I was riding daily, for every close call I encountered. Needless to say that helemt was full up in short order. Stay calm and stay alive...

 

Okay, I'll get off my soap box now

 

heh, I'm not offended. I know what you are saying. I usually have a pretty good instinct as to when people are going to turn. I can see drivers body language with the way they handle the car, where they are going, a fair amount of the time.

It's possible I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have...I don't remember it vividly, I think all the adrenaline took over.

Like I said, it's a lesson to be learned.

Marks on the helmet as a reminder is a good idea...

 

Right no brotha

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MSchu &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good to see you got that little scare with no repercussions, however the truck did not almost hit you... you almost hit the truck. But that point will be lost if you take offense to my observation on how you described your close call. I have seen more than once, an accelerating motorcycle go down because the pilot did not or could not see what was influencing the traffic patterns ahead on the freeway. I used to paint a mark on my helmet, when I was riding daily, for every close call I encountered. Needless to say that helemt was full up in short order. Stay calm and stay alive... </TD></TR></TABLE>

im gonna do that once i start riding. good idea

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thehondabuddy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">+1. Truck drivers are given too much credit for "knowing the road" and blah blah blah cuz they drive so much. i still and will always think they suck. i know 98% of our nations good are delivered on semis but they still suck. </TD></TR></TABLE>

It's $$&gt;safety for truckers. Countless times I've read about jack-knifed trucks because of too much weight. Truckers have to push as much as they can, as fast as they can, so they can get $$$ and move onto the next load. Now I know they are getting more strict, as far as mileage logs and weigh stations...but let's not forget that after being on the road for 20 straight hours, it might be hard to see a lil bike coming up behind him.