| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2015/10/has-an-auto mobile-driver-ever-try-to-hit-you-deliberately-wit h-link-to-video/ I'm thinking a proper fix to this ai$$hat would be to simply switch scenario's 90 degrees. Take the same stretch of road, put him on a bike, towed by line and steering locked straight, and have someone bash him exactly like he bashed the kids on the bike. Of course, that's purely fantasy. REALITY states that there are countless a$$hats very similar to the old douche,DAILY, and most of them are texting or jabbering on a frickin cel phone. What he did was attempted vehicular homicide X2, but what stupid cagers do daily is no less lethal. BE SAFE, FRIENDS. | ||
| Rick_a |
People are crazy. I tend to stay away from red necks in lifted trucks, guys in 5.0 Mustangs, kids driving anything, people in dilapidated vehicles (some just don't give a flip), anyone driving a mini van (a lot of those folks just ain't right) those on phones, and anyone driving erratically or aggressively gets a wide berth. I've had people risk their lives and mine just to say something stupid down the road. The last time a fella in an old import car jalopy chased me for miles just for that reason. I nodded as he said, "YOUR GONNA BUST YOUR @SS SOMEDAY. WATCH OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES..." as I left in a wheelie. It was over me passing him on a double yellow as he was below the speed limit and I was slightly above. That goofball all of a sudden decided to go my speed, then started sticking his bumper dangerously close to my rear tire. We did twice the speed limit from then on until I lost him in traffic. Getting blatantly cut off happens often. It's hard to tell whether it's intentional or not, but when it risks my life I get upset for a second. My supermoto gets a lot less respect on the road than my streetbike. Nobody messes with the streetbike but folks disregard the motard. To most it's just a "dirt bike." | ||
| Robertl |
I've become much more aggressive riding than I used to be just to get away from all the crazies out there. Often if I turn around and look at them they will back off. I think most of them aren't even aware of what they are doing and the other half don't care. I4 between Daytona Beach and Orlando is the worst driving I've seen to date so I rarely get on there with my bike. In our little car people cut us off all the time, ride on our bumper, etc. They aren't as bad when in the jeep but still do it. Saturday I was in the jeep going o the expo doing 15 over the limit in the middle lane, people were still cutting me off and riding my bumper. Earlier in the year, near my house I was far over in the left lane approaching a red light. Some old lady decided to just pass me in the same lane so she could get to the red light faster. If I ever get to paint my buell it is going to be high vis yellow. Ride safe. | ||
| 86129squids |
Thinking about it again, I've always believed (and heard) that picking a used police bike, and dressing the part, kinda decreases ai$$hattery. That option isn't immediately open to me, but there are several good looking retired po po bikes around here locally... I'm blessed to live in a part of the country where peeps aren't TOO bad/stupid on the roads, and bikes are expected by all. If I lived almost anywhere in FL or most of the big cities, I'd be a dirt-only rider. | ||
| Rick_a |
Just the other day a guy in an SUV cut me off repeatedly. At the next stop he didn't notice I moved so as to catch his face in the mirror. I watched him shake his head then look in the side view. I gave him a big nod "yes" as he looked at me and that seemed to stop the shenanigans. | ||
| Greg_e |
Please note, the motorcycle was passing two vehicles in a no passing zone. Doesn't make it right to try to kill them, but they shouldn't have been doing that in the first place. It gives all the rest of us a bad name when overly aggressive riders do this kind of shit. And yes, I still get some asshats trying to push me off the road even when passing in legal areas. Doesn't matter if car or motorcycle as I've had it happen too frequently in both. Then there are the other idiots who decide that once you get out next to them, it's time to race! (Message edited by Greg_E on October 21, 2015) | ||
| Oddball |
I saw that on the news. I'm sure they'll hit the rider with crossing the double yellow (no passing zone) violation. The old guy should also get something for his action. He probably wasn't thinking about anyone sporting a go-pro. | ||
| Sifo |
Yes the bike crossed the double yellow to pass. The car also crossed that same double yellow to hit the bike. Somehow one violation of the double yellow seems FAR worse than the other. I seriously hope the car driver gets convicted of a serious felony. Yesterday AM I pulled to a stop at a traffic light, with a white Lexus in front of me and a big red box truck in front of her. We were all just sitting waiting for the light to change, when all of a sudden the lady in the Lexus started accelerating. I'm not talking about taking her foot off the brake and rolling forward, but accelerating forward like the light had changed. Her brake lights never even came on before the impact with the truck. She hit hard enough to punt the truck out into the intersection! I haven't got a clue what went through her mind that told her that it was go time, but clearly she took off without even looking forward. The roads are a dangerous place, and they are getting worse every single day. | ||
| Oldog |
The old guy has been caught and is looking at attempted murder charges, assault charges | ||
| Hootowl |
Attempted murder won't stick. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I heard assault with a deadly weapon charges. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Aggravated assault according to NBC news. I want to know when Texas instituted the death penalty for passing on a double yellow. I mean obviously this guy is a representative of the state of Texas legal system - cop, judge, jury, and executioner. Since he decided to try and KILL a biker for passing him. I'd rather see attempted vehicular manslaughter. Was the rider wrong passing on a double yellow? Yup, and he admitted it. Watching the footage it looked like a clear straight stretch? The only reason I can think for the double yellow is driveways. Still wrong? Yes. Worthy of the death penalty, served up by a self-righteous old man in a crappy mood? Nope. Not even close. But apparently grandpa figured the penalty fit the "crime". | ||
| Rick_a |
Some folks have a very don't give a flip attitude towards life in general. They project it on the road. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I think it has a lot to do with our culture of outrage. The media paints one sided stories to drive emotional responses, then feeds off the outrage do drive engagement. The result is a steadily building anger and snap judgments and instant responses at perceived injustices. Not to excuse what the guy did. Just to say that our culture is making these kinds of incredibly bad decisions more common. | ||
| Mrakz83 |
I agree, Reepicheep! | ||
| Fresnobuell |
So you are telling me you would ride for possibly miles on end behind a person doing the speed limit or slower if double yellows were present? You wouldn't get nervous as cars start to stack up on your butt? Those no passing zones are designed with cars in mind, not our bikes, which can easily, in many circumstances, pass safely. That being said if I am passing a car, on a double yellow or not, I try to be considerate to the vehicle I am passing. This means using my turn signal, giving a wide berth as I am passing and trying to not blow by at high RPM or a huge speed differential. Mostly, I am trying not to scare the crap out of the cager as I go by. Of course, this is dictated by the circumstances and if there is oncoming traffic or it NEEDS to be done quickly, well it will be done quickly. | ||
| Greg_e |
Um, generally speaking, yes I do wait or pull over to let them get away. If they are moving at half the speed limit, I may flash my lights a couple of times and most people will pull over and let me by. I do recall one night in my car having to follow a slow mover for about 5 miles of vision obscured road. Once the passing lane arrived I passed, and then I could see an old man waving his arms and flipping me off. They then tried to stay on my bumper for several miles, but that didn't work. You just don't know what you'll get, so on a cycle I try to play safely when I can. The video above shows why, there are too many unstable people out driving around. | ||
| Greatlaker |
"our culture is making these kinds of incredibly bad decisions more common." I don't think a shift in culture is making these decisions more common. Crap like this has always happened, its just that previously people didn't have cameras on their helmets to record it. Were it not for a Go-Pro and the internet this story would be buried on page six of some small, local newspaper and nobody would be talking about this incident. Its the fact that this assault was recorded and broadcast to millions over the internet (and later picked up by mainstream media) that so many people are outraged. What amazes me about that video is a citizen who feels so self righteous about the rules of the road that he would endanger someone else to make a point. In Ontario solid lines are for suggested use of the road and are not legally binding statute for motorists. I would imagine that if Texas had similar laws for road use as Ontario this may not have been an incident. Are solid lines treated the same in all U.S. states? There must be a few renegade states in the U.S. where passing a over a solid line won't get you a ticket. | ||
| Aesquire |
I'd be lying if I said I have never broken a traffic rule. But I have been stuck behind some person doing the speed limit in a no passing zone. And no, you don't pass, because that's going to be the one time & place a police officer is there. Then you get busted for speeding, crossing a double yellow line, unsafe passing, reckless endangerment, spitting on motherhood and probably resisting arrest. No matter how "safe" or self righteous you feel. Murphy's law. OTOH I OFTEN get stuck behind some bozo doing 40 in a 55 zone. In the hilly country I live there are few places..... some, but few, where you can safely pass even with double yellow lines. I might pass, illegally, under those circumstances. I'm not going to admit to doing so online, (unlike I have admitted to occasionally breaking the speed limit ) & can't off the top of my head recall doing so this year. I have broken the speed limit to pass safely and otherwise legally. Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6. But if busted, and polite discussion fails, I pay the fine. My choice, my responsibility. I do try hard not to be upset at some person driving the speed limit. Why be upset at some innocent? My need for speed doesn't trump his desire to be a good law abiding citizen. Some days that person might be me. I'm more likely to be going 2-5 over, but I do cruise control in my car at the posted speed in towns I know to target speeders with out of town plates. Yes, in NY you can tell. Road rage and homicidal lunatics are everywhere. If stuck in a line of cars seems suicidal, turn. Park or take an alternate route. Life is too short to court death by road rage. (Message edited by aesquire on October 21, 2015) | ||
| Aesquire |
To be fair, my belief that I will get busted for crossing a double yellow line is based on the ticket I got when a car almost rammed me pulling out of a parking lot in a city park, and to avoid death for myself and my passenger, crossed the double yellow line and returned to my lane just as a police car came over the hill and saw my actions, but not the reason for them. The officer also didn't believe I pulled over when he hit his lights and siren, stating "there was no way I could have caught you". Even my incredulous protest that I'd have to be an idiot to start a police chase with a passenger in my responsibility failed to get me out of an unfair ticket. My passenger's sticking up for me did no good either. Life is like that some time. But we were both alive and I did get to tell it to the Judge. Who fined me. Life is like that too. So I have a superstition that if anyone will get caught, it's me. Feel free to follow your Wyrd. OTOH, Once upon a Time, I bought a Suzuki GS1100E from a fellow at work, Ron, who's Mother was a dispatcher for the State Police. I gathered he was well known as a nice, but rambunctious lad. The bike was Champagne colored with orange letters, and he had recovered the seat in 1968 Dodge hemi Orange. So it was visually distinctive. I got pulled over shortly after buying the bike by a Sheriff's Deputy, who greeted me with a cheerful "Hi Ron, How's the Mom?" When I informed him I had just bought the bike from Ron, and his Mom was doing fine, I'd seen her last week, he told me to be careful and let me go. Over the next month I met, was pulled over, by every single LEO in the county. With the same results. Sometimes twice. ( Pulled over, Trooper gets out of car, walks towards me, Stops, says "Oh, it's you" shakes head and drives off. ) I pretty much didn't have to worry about traffic laws for over a year in that county. I had ZERO immunity the next one over.  | ||
| Aesquire |
I will say the Homicidal, and utterly uncaring reject of humanity in the OP's posted story is an extreme example. This one is a bit less.... today. Tomorrow he may be worse. http://jalopnik.com/ultimate-level-bmw-douche-doub le-parks-takes-bat-to-pi-1713911021 | ||
| Oddball |
It looks to me like the type i call "aggressive passives". Just today i was on a 4 lane divided. Right lane had a couple rigs and delivery trucks doing the posted to 5 under. One clown parked himself in the left lane next to the end of the lead rig. I rolled up behind all the others already piled up behind him. Over the next few miles his inconsistent on-off the gas drove the guys behind him crazy. He slowly inch wormed his way up the trailer while being flashed to move the whole time. Eventually he edged out far enough past the rig he could be passed in the right lane. Which people did while his speed increased significantly. I see that a lot. They will pace and "snuggle" with other vehicles then speed up when there is the ability to pass them. Many times making a pass difficult or impossible. Then slow back down and pace the approached vehicle. Other variations, You approach and pass a slower vehicle on a highway with no congestion. The passed vehicle speeds up and matches your pace or snuggles you from the slow lane. They will even do this in groups. Sometimes the aggressive passives will come racing up on you from behind. Following the old standards of the road you move out of the way since your the slower traffic. They instantly slow down being unable to lead themselves. The last one i can think of at the moment involves their own convenience. A store on a busy intersection has two entrances. Instead of taking the path which would require them to exit on the side road, go down the block and u-turn at that light to return to the main road's light and then cross or make a left turn. They will leave by the exit on the main road just in front of the intersection. A line will form behind them waiting to turn right and merge into traffic because they are waiting on a clear open road to cross the right turn lane and 2 traffic lanes in order to get to the left turn lame. They attempt to make an aggressive move passively and sometimes go thru multiple light cycles waiting. Ugh..... | ||
| Reepicheep |
Greatlaker, in the US the federal government collects a gas tax (they make more from a gallon of gas then the gas station or refiners do) and then they apportion it back out to the states for road maintenance, but with a lot of rules attached. That makes it hard for individual states to vary too much with road laws. You will see some differences in what each state considers in terms of maximum speeds for secondary roads, and you see some variation in helmet laws, and a few other minor things. But in general, the rules don't vary much. | ||
| Robertl |
As a kid growing up in LA and MS, we often went to visit family in East TX and I was always amazed at their behavior on the highway. My dad usually drove 8-9 over the limit. When you approached someone on a 2 lane road, they would move over on the shoulder to let you pass and even wave at you. I need to ask him if that still happens any more. Many people drive every day yet they are no better at it than they were the day, week, month before. Greatlaker, TX is one of the few states I know of that has increased speed limits. Many 2 lane highways and most 4 lanes are 70 mph, 65 mph at night and I think for big trucks all the time. Tollway outside Austin towards San Antonio is 80 and part of I10 west of San Antonio is 85 mph. Going from 70 mph (80 really) in TX to 55-60 mph in LA was enough to put anyone to sleep. 2 wrongs does not equal a right. If someone wants to cross some lines or speed, more power to them. I do get annoyed with the people crossing multiple lanes and passing on the right. Saw a mini van this morning come out of the middle lane, cross 3 lanes into the on-ramp merge lane, then back in traffic just to get 20 or so cars ahead. We also saw a Harley with a biker whip on 1 side. Breaking a window in response to someone cutting you off just doesn't seem like the brightest idea. I agree with the intersection thing above. My wife often asks me where I am going because I didn't take a shortcut and seems confused when I tell her I am going the other way b/c it is all right hand turns. Ride safe and smarter. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Flashing lights can be an instigator as well. I don't see how this is much safer than passing the car in a safe manner even with double yellows present....yes, it's legal of course, but honestly I am more worried about my safety more than any traffic ticket. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I agree and disagree at the same time. These incidents are being captured on video more and more, so you are correct that it's being reported more often. And I have to say this is a VERY good thing, because in many cases (especially involving Law Enforcement) it would be swept under the rug, citing "he-said-she-said" or "mutual combat" or "it wasn't witnessed by LE, etc." Video does not lie...yeah, there can be an interpretation issue because of the human factor, but it is the best unbiased witness one can have. That being said, there IS without a doubt a fundamental breakdown/change in society. People are just angry and this anger is manifested on many different levels--from your basic road rage to the monthly mass-shootings. Ever seen the movie "Idiocracy". There is a lot of truth to that movie, unfortunately.... PS, this Texas incident has motivated me enough to break out my first gen Go-Pro and use it on all rides from now on....it's Very true if there wasn't video, it would vastly change every aspect in the handling of this incident... (Message edited by fresnobuell on October 22, 2015) | ||
| Airbozo |
I commute two different roads (depending on my mood) and up until the last few years, slower moving cars would use a turnout 90% of the time. Hell fast moving cars would use a turnout if someone faster came up behind them. The person passing would show their appreciation by engaging emergency flashers for a short duration. Every once in a while you would come across someone that refused to move over, even though they were not doing the speed limit. It was rare though and passing was common in those circumstances. Fast forward to current times and there are so many clueless folks on the road, very few pull over and passing is happening more and more. The thing is, several of the local work trucks make it their mission to get the laggers to pull over and have been known to run them off the road at the designated turn outs. Several articles in the local rag popped up from these new residents telling everyone to slow down. People respond telling the slow drivers to use a turnout, even citing California's law concerning slower traffic pulling over if there are 5 or more cars behind them. More letters and then a note from the traffic guy saying they contacted the CHP and were told that the roads would be monitored for 6 months. CHP shows up and starts issuing tickets to both the illegal passers and the folks refusing to use turn outs. A good friend of mine was one of the passers and he was pulled over along with the guy that refused to use a turnout. My friend got a warning (he performed a safe pass, but it was over the double yellow), and the other guy got a full blown ticket for not using a turnout. More people are pulling over now and less people are passing. I hope el Nino dumps hard this year and washes all the trash out of my area. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Either clueless OR narcissistic A-hole. It's very difficult to tell much of the time. | ||
| Robertl |
Fresno, I see more and more of that movie happening every day. There was a story on the local news a while back where a guy drove a car into other cars downtown. His response to cops, "I wanted to drive like I do in the game." I used to think the studies on violent tv/games was stupid because I had no problem knowing the difference but as I age I see a lot of things that clearly show people cannot separate virtual from real life. I cannot tell if the level of ignorance is increasing or there are just so many more people now that I notice more. Driving slow in the left lane, passing in the right lane, passing using the entrance/exit ramps, crossing 3-4 lanes at once, driving through medians, texting, talking on the phone, 20+ over the limit, following too close, and omg the running red lights is just ridiculous. Either way, scary. Sometimes I think I find excuses not to go riding because I don't want to deal with all of the above. | ||
| Greatlaker |
So the driver of the white car is named William Crum, 68 years of age. Looks like he has a few screws loose. Allegations of other issues with this man are popping up. Looks like he is somewhat unstable mentally. Maybe its time to pull his license or ship him off to the loony bin. http://www.yourglenrosetx.com/article/20151020/NEW S/151029972 http://fox8.com/2015/10/19/driver-who-swerved-and- hit-a-motorcycle-i-dont-care/ |
