Road Rage and Motorcycling
- Thread starter cabanza
- Start date
Not experience anything i would describe as road rage been a few horn blowing and two fingers even the odd Wanker and fuck off rant. but never had a full on physical confrontation in nearly 50 years here and New zealand.
Suppose the only experience i could describe as potentially concerning if you like, was one night coming up the M1 Motorway in Derbyshire. it was 1990s i was on a Yamaha RD350LC VPVS i was riding the legal limit 70 MPH and a black BMW E30 5 series coming up in my mirror sudenly braked hard as it was overtaking me probably braked from 100mph to 70 mph . it drove along side me and started weaving from side to side and was getting way to close i dropped two gears and was on it up to just over 100MPH i was then up to an off ramp i was up it and straight round the roundabout at the top at a mental speed and back on the same motorway same direction i rode at 80 ish looking in the mirrors all the time but the car never showed up again, i did drop off into Nottingham and threaded my way across to the A1 heading north and home just to be cautious.
Probably drunk or perhaps some wannabe boy racer type wanting to race, the thing was he was swerving about i did not want to get swept up by his reckless behavior so i got the hell outa there and exercised caution in changing route etc.
Suppose the only experience i could describe as potentially concerning if you like, was one night coming up the M1 Motorway in Derbyshire. it was 1990s i was on a Yamaha RD350LC VPVS i was riding the legal limit 70 MPH and a black BMW E30 5 series coming up in my mirror sudenly braked hard as it was overtaking me probably braked from 100mph to 70 mph . it drove along side me and started weaving from side to side and was getting way to close i dropped two gears and was on it up to just over 100MPH i was then up to an off ramp i was up it and straight round the roundabout at the top at a mental speed and back on the same motorway same direction i rode at 80 ish looking in the mirrors all the time but the car never showed up again, i did drop off into Nottingham and threaded my way across to the A1 heading north and home just to be cautious.
Probably drunk or perhaps some wannabe boy racer type wanting to race, the thing was he was swerving about i did not want to get swept up by his reckless behavior so i got the hell outa there and exercised caution in changing route etc.
I can get mad when someone does something utterly stupid, but we are already at a disadvantage on the road so no need to get someone in a 5000+ lb weapon fired up too.
Luckily I've also never had anyone else get totally pissed at me as well. The closest was a few years back, I and 2 other riders in a steady rain passed an SUV at about 40mph (in a 55). We stopped for fuel just a few miles up the road and the SUV pulled in behind us, a gent in his 70s got out of the passenger side yelling at us for being maniacs, roaring around them at high speed and scaring his granddaughter (learner's permit). One of my friends pulled off his lid and the guy was surprised to see John was about the same age as him. They chatted for a moment and the guy said he'd call the cops, John offered to do it for him and the dude finally realized maybe he was overreacting.
Luckily I've also never had anyone else get totally pissed at me as well. The closest was a few years back, I and 2 other riders in a steady rain passed an SUV at about 40mph (in a 55). We stopped for fuel just a few miles up the road and the SUV pulled in behind us, a gent in his 70s got out of the passenger side yelling at us for being maniacs, roaring around them at high speed and scaring his granddaughter (learner's permit). One of my friends pulled off his lid and the guy was surprised to see John was about the same age as him. They chatted for a moment and the guy said he'd call the cops, John offered to do it for him and the dude finally realized maybe he was overreacting.
By now most have probably seen this, but apparently the small car merged into this rider's lane and pissed him off so he tried to kick the door. The rest was a mess and they have arrested the rider since.
Fortunately the worst "road rage" I've ever experienced while riding was getting flipped off a few times. My best revenge has been since owning large displacement bikes that are fast, so I could catch up to them, flip them off myself and then leave them far behind.
Fortunately the worst "road rage" I've ever experienced while riding was getting flipped off a few times. My best revenge has been since owning large displacement bikes that are fast, so I could catch up to them, flip them off myself and then leave them far behind.
Best thing IMHO is just let the morons "win" by getting off the road. I have done that a few times just to give myself the time to unwind and not get drawn in a stupid situation/action....
Best 'revenge' I had , was when some moron was pushing everyone to get out of his way in very congested traffic and when I was able to do so, he went past giving me, and other drivers, the finger. Well Karma is a bitch, as when he was next to a tractor trailer a tire blew and destroyed the right side of his truck. I had already smelled that rubber smell and seen small rubber particles on the road so I was moving away from said TT before the tire blew.. Now it was my turn to give him the finger....
Other times I was being passed and the drivers got pulled over for speeding so there is that too... 😇
Best 'revenge' I had , was when some moron was pushing everyone to get out of his way in very congested traffic and when I was able to do so, he went past giving me, and other drivers, the finger. Well Karma is a bitch, as when he was next to a tractor trailer a tire blew and destroyed the right side of his truck. I had already smelled that rubber smell and seen small rubber particles on the road so I was moving away from said TT before the tire blew.. Now it was my turn to give him the finger....
Other times I was being passed and the drivers got pulled over for speeding so there is that too... 😇
Yep, and those situations are very rewarding. One time I had picked up my daughter (middle school age) and taken her back to the office where I worked at the time, then we left to go home later and we were on a local road near my work that I was very familiar with - and knew there could very well be a speed trap set up just the other side of a small rise right after turning onto the road. Speed limit was only 30 because it was a moderately populated residential area and a woman in a Camry came around me after riding my ass for a short distance and I commented out loud that she better watch it, there might be a cop just past the rise in the road... and to my delight, there was. Standing in the road with speedgun in hand, he pointed to her and motioned her to pull over. Hahahaha... those moments are few and priceless.
Ride like you are invisible; ride defensively.
Check your mirrors. If a car is too close, let them go. You have no chance against a 4000 lbs object.
Remember that anybody on a bike is identified as "biker": a crazy sportbike guy that does 100mph and splits lanes or a "member of a biker gang".
Unfortunately, we are too often identified as a minority of folks that do stupid stuff on a bike.
Also, if you are the first online on a light, wait 3 or 4 seconds before taking off. A few times, I had cars running reds.
So yes, I had cars and trucks trying to push me off the road.
Check your mirrors. If a car is too close, let them go. You have no chance against a 4000 lbs object.
Remember that anybody on a bike is identified as "biker": a crazy sportbike guy that does 100mph and splits lanes or a "member of a biker gang".
Unfortunately, we are too often identified as a minority of folks that do stupid stuff on a bike.
Also, if you are the first online on a light, wait 3 or 4 seconds before taking off. A few times, I had cars running reds.
So yes, I had cars and trucks trying to push me off the road.
Folks bombing intersections for some seconds after the light goes read is nearly the law around here... A count to 3 or 5 depending on the where and when is usually enough... at least you can see who's slowing down or not at that point.
Oh man, I'll have a tarnished reputation if I post my shenanigans 😁 I don't bother folks, but I'm happy to get mouthy right back.
The counting 3-5 seconds thing...eh, I don't know about that. I mean, it's a good concept, but I just look both ways before crossing a street.
Green light just gives me permission to leave a traffic light. I'll pull away when I'm ready.
The counting 3-5 seconds thing...eh, I don't know about that. I mean, it's a good concept, but I just look both ways before crossing a street.
Green light just gives me permission to leave a traffic light. I'll pull away when I'm ready.
I constantly blow my horn and yell at folks for this. Wasn't paying attention and laid on my horn at a State Trooper once. He glared at me and I pointed to my phone clamped in it's holder and wagged my finger at him. He dropped his phone between his legs and just looked away 😂Any time I see someone on their phone while driving.
^🤣
In two cases, I had my son riding with me.
Cars ran the red, and I could only imagine what would have happened if I did not wait.
one more ...
I spend a lot of time checking the mirrors ... an SUV full of kids with the driver distracted ... and boom ...
I spend a lot of time checking the mirrors ... an SUV full of kids with the driver distracted ... and boom ...
I have seen more people on phones than I can count. There is pattern. Ive caught the school bus driver texting multiple times. If I hang out on the porch for 20 mins I will see at least a few. I guess I could install a train horn. The dam bus driver also doubles the speed limit. Just more crap than I could even say. We had one car running 80-90mph through our 25mph town multiple times a day for 6 months straight.
It's gone from being an isolated attitude about 10 to 15 years ago to being commonplace these days to be in a hurry everywhere people go now. They jockey around in traffic constantly just to get one car length ahead at the next stop light, and virtually every car driver tailgates now, even LEOs and big rigs. And you never know how someone is going to react, anymore you stand the risk of gunfire over something as simple as just driving the highways. People living in our own neighborhood drive 40+ mph on our development streets, kids who might be playing in their front yards be damned. Even all the delivery vehicles like UPS and FedEx blow past the 25 mph speed limit all the time and few around us seem to care. It's one reason I hate to even go out anymore, especially back to the much more populated area I used to live in Tampa, it's maniacal. And I have zero interest in riding anywhere beyond my rural area or the mountains when we're on vacation, riding in city areas is riskier than it's ever been in my lifetime.
This has killed my riding. Logging trucks tailgate at 8ft and a certain demographic tail gates at 1ft. On I40 it is insane. A pack of cars dam near wrecks everyone on five lanes in the middle of the night. Then there is stuff like a full size recliner chair in the lane. I lived in Florida twice. Drove in California and through the north but eastern nc takes the prize for utter insanity. Cancer and flying off the road are the biggest causes of death. The 1ft tailgaters try to pass and have no momentum. I have had to eat the ditch twice in a week just so the passing car wouldn't head on into a logging truck or me. I have no answer. I usually try to travel in off hrs. But I think many others do the same. Oh well.. best wishes for the riders in this country.
Stupidity is rampant for sure and LEO's are totally useless as they break the law all the time as well....
All true above, and with no end anywhere near in sight. It's literally like an epidemic, except you can't wear a mask to avoid the sickness... and we all have to go somewhere once in a while. Fortunately I have a lot of riding areas not too far from me now, away from most of the insanity.
The other thing that galls me is the idiotic racing toward an intersection, stop sign or red light. WTF is that all about? In my area mostly 
broads... 
broads...