Car pulls out in front of me...did I do the right thing?

[Silverbird]

I'm going the speed limit (30) , east bound with the sun behind me down a 2 lane street coming into town.  This was on the last day in the last hour of my 8 day trip and I was just thinking to myself that I couldn't remember the last time I had a close call... Two seconds later a car on the right side starts to creep out to cross the eastbound lane and head westbound.  Soon enough I realize he didn't see me and we're headed for a collision.   I was aware of a car on my right so I immediatly swerved left and braked with plenty in reserve to avoid lockup.  I took the chance that he would eventually see me if I was right in front of him, which he did and stopped in the middle of the street. By the time I stopped I was a few feet in the westbound turn-in lane with my tire a few inched from the conctete median.  The car proceeds behind me and I back up and wait for an opening to continue eastbound.

[badger]

If you didn't get hit, didn't hit anything and didn't go down, then it sounds like it was one of the right ways of handling it.  Could there have been other ways?  Probably, but it sounds like this worked out well for you  

[Gaolee]

If it all turned out just fine, then it was the right thing to do.  Well done.

[Desmo Demon]

No one-finger salute?

[Clive]

I'm going the speed limit (30) , east bound with the sun behind me down a 2 lane street coming into town.  This was on the last day in the last hour of my 8 day trip and I was just thinking to myself that I couldn't remember the last time I had a close call... Two seconds later a car on the right side starts to creep out to cross the eastbound lane and head westbound.  Soon enough I realize he didn't see me and we're headed for a collision.   I was aware of a car on my right ...

Did he not see the car immediately to your right, also bearing down on him???

[balrog]

If it all turned out just fine, then it was the right thing to do.  Well done.

Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. There *may* have been better ways to deal with it, only you can work that out, but you saw it, dealt with it and rode away.

[Silverbird]

Did he not see the car immediately to your right, also bearing down on him???

I was thinking about that.  The car to my left must have been farth back than I thought.  I was just aware that it was there so didn't feel safe diving into the other lane.  There was another car 3 car lengths to my right that was hiding hid me right until he started to pull out.  

The more I think about it, I really swerved.  Lots of lean angle.   Anybody who didn't see what was going on must have thought I was a real dumbass, lost with all the luggage I was carrying.

[Albie]

You forgot to take his mirror off.  

[Heath3n]

You and the bike stayed up and intact. In this type of situation, it's the results that matter, not the method!  

[jschmidt]

You could have done another thing, but no one can really tell you another thing that would better guarantee the outcome you got.

[bomber]

you clearly neglected to pull your Desert Eagle 50 calibre revolver from it's appropriately positions RAM mount and put a slug between the doofus's eyes

(jk)

you're here, posting, not injured, cleared some potential blockage from your circulatory system -- sounds good to me!

[Lawn Dart]

you clearly neglected to pull your Desert Eagle 50 calibre revolver from it's appropriately positions RAM mount and put a slug between the doofus's eyes

(jk)

you're here, posting, not injured, cleared some potential blockage from your circulatory system -- sounds good to me!

Dude, that's S.O.P. out here in So. Cal.  

[DataDan]

There was another car 3 car lengths to my right that was hiding hid me right until he started to pull out.

Aha.

This is a nasty situation I call a Rolling Blind Spot (MC-USA link; my STN post on the subject was lost in the meltdown). It's a surprisingly frequent cause of crashes, often deadly ones. I think you did an excellent job, given how the situation evolved.

However, you could have prevented it from reaching a crisis if you had recognized the danger of the obstructed sightline earlier. Harry Hurt studied a similar crash and felt that it was important enough to describe in detail in his report:

These findings [about view obstructions] provide important components for a traffic strategy for a motorcycle rider. The motorcycle rider must locate himself or herself in traffic to insure a clear path of view to all prospective hazards. If such location is not possible, every intersection offers the possible challenge of the motorcycle right-of-way.

A representative accident case illustrates this problem. A motorcycle is proceeding in the curb lane and a van is travelling ahead in the parallel fast lane. Approaching an intersection, another automobile in oncoming traffic waits until the van clears and turns left as it passes. The left-turning automobile then moves into the right-of-way of the motorcycle. In such case, the culpability is clearly that of the automobile driver but both the motorcyclist and automobile driver had view obstruction (the van) before the crash. The strategy appropriate for the motorcycle rider is to ride abreast, or ahead, or much farther behind the van so that he or she could see and be seen. The strategic position is important to insure a clear view of the prospective challenges of right-of-way, and high conspicuity should increase the likelihood of being see.

It sounds like you saw the vehicle waiting to cross in spite of the vehicle in the right lane obstructing the sightline. Another lesson here is that just because you can see him doesn't necessarily mean that he can see you. When a sightline is partially obstructed, the motorcyclist will probably see the car because he's aware of the potential danger, but the driver may not see the motorcycle.

[Silverbird]

I've got close to 75,000 street miles now and that's first time I was doing what I was supposed to and almost got hit.  It's kind of messing with me and I couldn't fall back asleep last night.  A real wake up call.  

[Walker]

you clearly neglected to pull your Desert Eagle 50 calibre revolver from it's appropriately positions RAM mount and put a slug between the doofus's eyes
(jk)

I call BS!  Desert Eagle doesn't make a revolver, only semi-automatics.... its an important distinction

I can get a RAM mount for my Sig?

[M.Brane]

Aha.

This is a nasty situation I call a Rolling Blind Spot (MC-USA link; my STN post on the subject was lost in the meltdown). It's a surprisingly frequent cause of crashes, often deadly ones. I think you did an excellent job, given how the situation evolved.

However, you could have prevented it from reaching a crisis if you had recognized the danger of the obstructed sightline earlier. Harry Hurt studied a similar crash and felt that it was important enough to describe in detail in his report:


It sounds like you saw the vehicle waiting to cross in spite of the vehicle in the right lane obstructing the sightline. Another lesson here is that just because you can see him doesn't necessarily mean that he can see you. When a sightline is partially obstructed, the motorcyclist will probably see the car because he's aware of the potential danger, but the driver may not see the motorcycle.

 Exactly.

 Never allow yourself into a situation where any driver cannot clearly see you. I know this is often impossible in certain situations, but it's something to think about.

 I avoid following close behind large vehicles like the plague. I either pass them or stay well back. My former boss's son is a motor CHP, and was hit by a drunk turning left because he was following close behind another vehicle through an intersection. He wasn't seriously hurt, but if people will hit a CHP they'll hit anybody.