Location: London/Durham
Posts: 6,869
I'm Lawrence.
That's a nice story Alan, and ended well, although I thought you were going to say "We ended up swapping phone numbers, and now we're married with three smashing auburn-haired kiddies". Good that you stopped to apologise, showed the biker that car drivers are human beings too.
Probably stating the obvious, but I think spring/early summer is the most hazardous time of year for bikes, because (a) most bikers these days are 'fair weather riders' and after leaving the bike in the garage, riding skills are a bit rusty, and (b) car drivers have had several months of seeing next to no bikes on the road, and you are less likely to see something you're not expecting to see.
I just dropped in, to see what condition my condition was in
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Forget the past, it's gone. And don't worry about the future, it doesn't exist. There is only NOW.
KICKSTARTER: ENABLING SCAMMERS SINCE 2009
That’s how it is here, you see no bikes all Winter, then on the first warm day of Spring, the roads are lousy with them! My arm gets tired of waving. It’s a custom here, that when you pass a bike going the other way you wave, in some capacity. I usually just wag a finger, to not be rude, but it does get tiresome. And while the road is full of bikes on those first few Spring days, after a time, it slacks off, and the number of bikes becomes moderate.
I subconsciously am watching the speed of oncoming traffic, if an oncoming car is slowing down, chances are he’s going to turn. So occasionally I’m mashing my brakes for no reason but better safe than sorry.
Big Harley’s are heavy! So it’s easy to misjudge the brakes if you’re used to a lighter, or sportier bike. It is quite popular to replace the brakes with aftermarket 4 piston brakes, but many don’t know how to do it proper, once mounted you’ve got to burn the new pads in, or they’ll glaze and loose stopping power. My brakes are stock on the red Road King, but they stop to my satisfaction. After all, I’m not racing around like I did when I was younger. I didn’t buy a road bike until I was 32, a good thing, I’d have run up a tree if I had one in my 20’s. When I was young, dumb, and full of, err, testosterone.
Russell
Good post Rob - my thoughts exactly.
I'm by no means a 'perfect driver', but I always try to think of other road users when I'm driving. Apropos stopping on a slip road when joining a motorway: I have had to do this a couple of times on a short slip approach when there has been a convoy of three, four or five trucks barrelling along at 60mph with little space between them to join.
In general the aspect I find most alarming is the lack of indication stating intention when overtaking and lane changing and when on a roundabout, and sheer lack of courtesy when giving way.
With increasing numbers on the road, the situation can only get worse.
Barry
Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness
Posts: 2,602
I'm Dave.
Ah - they are indeed rare in your neck of the woods I believe. OTOH manoeuvres such as U turns are legal and perhaps common. Hardly legal at all in the UK, as also turn on red.
There was one roundabout in Fresno near the road with all the auto agents.
Doesn’t your State have a DMV booklet explaining what to do on the roundabouts?
In the UK I figure one problem is that many of us don’t know what the speed limits actually are, and that includes me sometimes. I think many people think the national limit is 70mph - but it’s not quite as simple as that, and depends on the road. If it’s a single carriageway road I think the limit is 60mph, but then some roads are very poor and even that speed can be too much, whereas other roads are very good and 60mph feels too slow.
Dave
There very well may be info on how to maneuver a roundabout in the driver’s manual, but I took my driver’s test in 1977, so I wouldn’t know.
We do have U turns, except where posted, “No U Turn”. And right turn on red, except where posted, “No Right Turn on Red”. So, always a state of confusion, and gives cops plenty of reasons to write tickets.
The thing we do have, and luckily they are rare, are 4 way stops. Yes, an intersection where all 4 roads have a stop sign. The rules for who gets to go first are sketchy. The car on the right goes first, providing they both arrived at the same time. Of course, if all 4 arrived at the same time, who is on the right? Most drivers blow the horn and run the intersection.
Not far at all from my house is an interstate highway with a posted speed of 75mph. The local city police set up radar on a straightaway inside city limits, and bag speeders all day! And, mind you it’s not reckless driving unless you’re going 15mph over the speed limit. So they usually won’t bother you for going less than 10 miles over. They call it the, “Million Dollar Mile”, because the city makes several million dollars a year from speeding, and reckless, tickets issued on this one stretch of road! I don’t recall ever driving through without seeing a car pulled over there, they stay busy, people driving 90mph and faster!
Many years ago, there was talk of an American Autobahn, but, that would have required them to make it much tougher to get a license, so, they keep it so very easy to get a license, and no super fast lanes. Honestly, you answer 10 multiple choice questions, and drive around the parking lot. That is all that is required, they’ll even read the questions to you if you can’t read. A friend of mine who pasted away several years ago now, lived in Florida, which has a disproportionately senior population, he was legally blind! And still had his driver’s license.
Russell
I know I'm not perfect and, whilst I would never intimidate or cut anyone up deliberately, I admit I've made mistakes in the past- misjudged a situation or found myself in the wrong lane in an unfamiliar place.
However, if I do something daft and I get hooted at, or lights flashed at me, then like many people, I will stick my hand up - however it's not showing one or two fingers or making a 'wanker' sign; it's a palms-up gesture to say sorry. Amusingly, I've done this a couple of times to drivers who are clearly ready for a big argument - watching them deflate completely and acknowledge my apology in an almost disappointed way is quite funny!
Engineers: fixing problems you didn't know you had in ways you don't understand.
I do the same.....................Mostly.
It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!
Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness
Posts: 2,602
I'm Dave.
Here is the DMV book for CA - https://www.dmv.ca.gov/web/eng_pdf/dl600.pdf
and here is the DMV book for Virginia - https://driving-tests.org/virginia/v...ndbook-manual/
The CA book does have a section on roundabouts - page 36.
Odd how one has many more pages than the other. Also, looks like the 2019 revisions for CA actually decriminalised refusing to give a blood test for DUI, though perhaps urine tests or breathalyser tests are allowed alternatives. In the UK refusing to be tested is an offence - though one is allowed a choice of tests I think.
In the UK it would often be impossible to do a U turn quickly because the roads are too narrow - even the wider ones, so generally banned.We do have U turns, except where posted, “No U Turn”. And right turn on red, except where posted, “No Right Turn on Red”. So, always a state of confusion, and gives cops plenty of reasons to write tickets.
Turn on red is not allowed in the UK, except if one has already decided to turn when there was a green light, in order to complete the movement - if safe to do so.
I rather liked 4 way stops, as they are - or should be - fairly safe. They do slow the traffic down. If they are busy they work rather like a roundabout, with an important difference - everyone gets a turn - if things work as they should. In the UK it is permitted to approach a roundabout at speed, and if there's a stream of traffic it can be very hard for cars from other directions to break into that.The thing we do have, and luckily they are rare, are 4 way stops. Yes, an intersection where all 4 roads have a stop sign. The rules for who gets to go first are sketchy. The car on the right goes first, providing they both arrived at the same time. Of course, if all 4 arrived at the same time, who is on the right? Most drivers blow the horn and run the intersection.
Maybe in some states 4-way stops are less of a problem. There might be quite a lot in some cities in CA.
One problem with 4 way stops in the US is if drivers from other countries encounter them - as indeed I did when I first started to drive in the US. Drivers from the UK or Europe will stop (OK), but not know what to do next.
Some UK towns now have something called a road table. This is a 4 way area. Nobody has a clue what to do on those.
Love that! Bureaucracy doesn't always join up - probably different departments, and privacy laws prevented data exchange. Or just simply what we would call a cock up.A friend of mine who passed away several years ago now, lived in Florida, which has a disproportionately senior population, he was legally blind! And still had his driver’s license.
I liked the sign outside the airport in Boston, which said something like "In this state pedestrians always have right of way".
The consequences if they didn't .... doh .... though on the other hand pedestrians can be a nuisance if they misbehave.
Dave