LOL! Seriously, glad it went your way so to speak. Always expect the unexpected, especially on a bike.

 

Last may riding at 70 mph the car in front of me ran over a mattress. When he ran it over it flipped into the air and knocked me off my bike. I had zero time to react. I slid down the hwy for what seemed like a hundred or so yards. Broke my right wrist and i had road rash that took over two months to heal. I now have a titanium plate with twelve screws holding my wrist together. I was just happy I didn't get run over after I hit the ground.

 

Glad you dodged that one.

I saw a funny version of a similar incident. A 7 Up truck had just completed a delivery. He forgot to close the doors. He took at turn in the parking lot, right at the top of a long, steep entrance. Hundreds of bottles of soda fell out and rolled down the hill. I'm sure HE didn't think it was funny, but *I* sure as hell did!

 

You need to make up your mind. In another thread you said stopped 10 feet from another car/truck was to far away. So, what is it.

 

I pulled over to help someone along the road one time and there was a driveshaft sticking out of the radiator on his car! The vehicle in front of him lost a u-joint and dropped the drive shaft. It bounced just right and wound up going through the radiator on the car behind him. Just imagine if it would have bounced a little higher and came through the windshield. It would suck getting lanced by a driveshaft.

 

well I've had plenty of close calls. After 23 years of riding I learned the hard way that distance is your friend. I typically keep a wide gap between me and whatever is in front of me. As much as I try to always think of what may happen I sometimes forget and get comfortable. Thats when bad things happen.

Here's my list of general precautions I think about while riding -
- Stay far behind, never tail gate (minimum 2 seconds at highway speeds)
- Keep relative speed different then all others around you. Moving targets are easier to see
- Never stay in someones blind spot
- Absolutely NEVER use the right lane to pass the slow guy, unless he's in the far left
- If first at the light, count at least 3 seconds before crossing the intersection
- Carry a tire repair kit, rain gear, first aid kit, and hand gun at all times.
- Never pass traffic faster then 20mph above their speed
- always assume someone will open their door as your passing
- don't pass on 2 lane roads if there are upcoming streets or driveways to turn left into.
- don't go faster then 100mph unless the road is dry and there's nobody else on it.
- don't drive behind pickups, dump trucks, or semi's

What else am I missing? There's a bunch of things to keep in mind when riding. These become second nature after enough miles and close calls. I've been extremely lucky so far. In 23 years I've only gone down once. That's all it took to respect any bike I ride.

There are cases where an accident is completely unavoidable no matter how experienced or aware you are. Those "oh ****" moments can happen at any time. Just be aware of your surroundings and always have an exit plan just in case.

 

What's the handgun for? I'd planned to always keep mine in the house.

 

Going faster than you should and following too closely will ALWAYS get you into trouble
Moral of the story

 

Just in case. On occasion I'm stuck at a clients office until late at night (midnight or so). They are not exactly in the best part of town. When it hits the fan I would rather have something to defend myself with than not. I'll probably end up shooting myself with it anyhow. Isn't that what usually happens?

 

When I first started riding, I was following an "empty" dump truck, about 8 to 10 carlengths back, when a piece of loose gravel came out of his box, took one hop and struck my right knee. It was all I could do to keep the bike up. I ended up pulling over to check for bleeding.

Construction equipment on flatbeds is another hazard, all that dried mud breaking off in the wind! Not to mention road gators!