An open letter to an angry motorcycle rider

[xcel]

Bikers: Even the most attentive miss something which could have turned into someting far uglier... DO NOT TAUNT A CAR!

Marcus Roark - Motorcyclist - Aug. 8, 2009

Dear Angry Rider:

I am a lifelong motorcyclist, and have been riding on- and off-road for more than 30 years. As such, I make it a point to watch out for motorcyclists whenever I drive my car. But something you did today disturbed me...

Driving to work, I decided to move from the right (slow) lane to the middle lane to avoid a slower vehicle. Before doing this, I checked both side mirrors as well as the rear-view. Not seeing any vehicles in the vicinity, I changed lanes. Once in my new lane, I looked in my rear-view to find you a scant few feet away. It was obvious that you were running considerably faster than the other traffic. Being a motorcyclist myself, I was shocked and ashamed that I came so close to taking out a fellow rider! As I tried to figure out how I failed to notice you, you came up on me in the left (fast) lane. I was sorry for my apparent inattentiveness, but unsure how to express that while driving down the freeway. Then you moved your helmet in an "I'm-staring-mad-at-you!" manner and shot me the finger!

I tried not to judge you harshly; after all, I had nearly flattened you. After giving me your "salute," you sped on by and I thought that was the end of it.

Instead, you moved to the right lane and slowed down so you could flip me off again! This is the point at which I no longer cared about your safety. My adrenaline flared and I returned your "show of affection." In the heat of that moment, I was tempted to show you how foolish it is for a motorcycle rider to taunt a car driver. I was angry and ashamed-angry that you goaded me, and ashamed that I bought into it. I could not believe how infuriated you were able to make me! Did you not think about how utterly defenseless you were and how much protection I had? Why would you try to instigate hostility in someone who could end your life with a simple twitch of the steering wheel?

I spent the next hour fighting the emotions from our encounter, and only now am I able to clearly think about what went wrong:

1. I could have looked twice before making my lane change. Knowing full well that here in California many motorcycles lane split at stupid-fast speeds, I should have looked farther behind me.

2.I could have refrained from returning your second salute, and held my emotions in check.

3. You could have avoided speeding up to me in my blind spot. If you can't see my face in the mirror, I can't see you! The traffic was light, and there were no cars in the fast lane to impede your progress.

4. You could have assumed that my trespassing in your zone was an honest mistake (it was), and be happy that everyone was okay.

5. Barring that, you could have avoided the second encounter altogether. Had I been a less well-adjusted individual, you might not be reading this now. What is most alarming to me is how your handling of the situation caused a downward spiral. When I violated your road space, you presented such a bad image of a motorcyclist that even I-a fellow rider-momentarily wished you harm. Imagine what someone who already has a negative view of motor-cyclists might feel after such an encounter!

I deeply regret my handling of this situation. It has taught me quite a bit about how motorists see motorcyclists, and how our actions can reverberate in their minds much longer than we realize.

Sincerely,

A Fellow Rider

[Chuck]

This seems to reflect a bigger problem as in Experts: Gym shooter a classic mass murderer

• A speeding biker acts as though everyone is supposed to clear from him like he is POTUS
• A driver did not see his warp signature in time
• He goes into road rage and gives bikers a bad name.

At the lowest common denominator, bad driving and wasting gas is not technique, but behaviorial.

[Traal]

The author didn't signal, and still doesn't appear to realize this fact.

[GrendelKhan]

Delta, maybe it's not just the biker. Isn't it possible that Marcus' perspective on the incident might not be the whole truth? I've seen LOTS of people change lanes without adequately checking, with cars next to them, let alone motorbikes. Sometimes even trucks. Rarely have I seen the motorbike be the problem. Almost always it's the cages.

Look, I have no idea what actually happened. But maybe Marcus deserved the finger. Maybe Marcus almost killed someone because he couldn't be bothered to look properly. I don't know, just playing devil's advocate.

But those fantasies he had about "a simple twitch of the steering wheel"; there's another word for that - it's called "premeditation".

Oh, and Marcus, maybe be careful - some of those riders aren't as "defenseless" as you might think. I've had a couple people intentionally "twitch" their steering wheels at me. They both regret it very much.

[Yaris Hilton]

A road raging biker is an idiot.

[diamondlarry]

Originally Posted by Yaris Hilton

A road raging biker is an idiot.

+1. When I worked at a company that had a very large number of electric forklifts, we were told that pedestrians always had the right of way. They also told us that as pedestrians, we still needed to take precautions and pay attention to our surroundings. Because, even though we would always be in the right, we could end up being dead right.

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by Traal

The author didn't signal, and still doesn't appear to realize this fact.

If I was writing this story, I'm not too sure that I would have mentioned anything about using the turn signal..
Since, it's an integral to my driving. Done without thinking about it.

[Indigo]

I'm a pretty experienced biker myself. However, I drive a motorcycle much more conservatively than I drive a car.

What drives me crazy is when a motorcyclist will ride the dotted line inbetween lanes so as to thread between two cars. This is usually done at a speed differential of 30 MPH or more (thus, if the flow of traffic is 60 MPH, the biker does 90 MPH).

Also, please consider shifting your transmission out of 3rd gear once in a while. Most bikes are of the 6MT variety, so there is no reason to have your engine whine at 8000 RPM all the time.

Oh, and red lights? They apply to you too.

[diamondlarry]

Originally Posted by Traal

The author didn't signal, and still doesn't appear to realize this fact.

I see that since no one has addressed the fact that the motorcyclist was speeding, I'll go ahead and tackle it. If, even as Rich has noted, using the turn signal is such an integral part of our driving, it still may not have been enough. If the motorcyclist was traveling significantly faster than he should have been, it's very possible that you could look, see the cycle while signaling, and based on what the speed of all of the other traffic/what the cycle should have been traveling at, make the lane change and still have an accident. So Traal, I hope by your comment that you weren't in any way trying to justify the cyclist's actions.

[Taliesin]

Since the author admitted that he got out of hand and became an idiot himself, I hear the beginning of a joke coming:

"Two idiots are driving on the road...."


Either way, I don't see enough information here to tell me who has the original fault. As the writer admits, both of them ended up wrong.