Thanks for Running Me Off the HOV

[Naked_Duc]

Almost didn't make it to work this morning on the NCX. Luckily for me, I was able to avoid disaster. Plus I was fully geared up so IF I had to go down, I was well protected (that thought did come thru my head in that split second).

For those familiar with Seattle traffic, you would know that the I-405 NB thru Renton blows mud in the AM, PM, weekday, weekend, and any other time. This Monday morning was no exception. From HWY167 NB, I merged onto I-405 NB and made my way to the HOV lane. I sped up and ran up the hill, got up to about 45 MPH as the regular traffic moved at about 10 MPH pace. I followed about 1.5 sec behind a car in front me of, trailing by a cruiser 100 ft and gaining.

After about 10 sec into the pace of the HOV traffic, a Prius pulled into the HOV lane, right after the car in front of me had passed. My guess is that he didn't see me at all and thought he could squeeze in between that car in front of me and the cruiser behind me.

RANT: I want to apologize in advance to some of you for what I am about to say. Toyota makes great cars and if you drive a Toyota, I am pretty sure you are a fine driver. But in my unscientific observation, I find a lot of inattentive, clueless, or unskilled drivers out there and a lot of those people just happen to be driving a Toyota. Excessive braking, incapable of passing slow semi-trucks and causing traffic jam, white-knuckling at normal condition, not to mention bad weather, etc. Not all Toyota drivers are bad drivers but a lot of bad drivers are in a Toyota. /RANT

Back to the story. So this Prius pulled out 30 feet in front of me, going about 10 MPH. I immediately pulled in the clutch and brake lever. I could feel the front dipping down and my upper body rising up with the sudden shift in momentum - I got a great view of the rear bumper closing up. I knew I couldn't slow down fast enough since road was still a little damp from the earlier rain. I managed to continue braking while swerving to the left, avoiding the Prius. I went in to the shoulder and passed the Prius while STILL ON THE BRAKE. At that time, he was just fully in the lane, speeding up.

As I passed him, the bike was leaning to the left and my body was leaning to the right, staring right at the car. I remember looking right at the driver, who was looking straight ahead, totally unaware of what's happening. The co-pilot, a woman, was looking to the driver and looking at me as I passed. Apparently she saw the whole thing unfold.

I then eased off the brake and left my momentum carry me thru the dirt and gravel in the shoulder and passed the Prius. I looked back and raised my right arm in protest. "WTF was that?"

 

[Chestnut]

I completely agree about the Toyota thing. There are people who drive and people who kinda sorta point their transportation appliance down the road. Toyota makes vehicles that attract a lot of the second type.
Glad you're ok. Was the lane open to merging traffic or did they cut across some kind of solid line, too? I see that all the time here.

 

[DanH]

Wow, glad you made it through safely. The 405 was a nightmare this morning. You'd think Seattlites would have learned to drive in the rain by now.

 

[Jarvis]

Im glad all is ok, always having to watch out for someone who isnt watching out for themself......ya know.
My drive to work is great! 18 miles and all 2 lane back roads...So I can go 50 or 70mpg and I might pass 30 cars during the entire ride.....Now the only this I have to really watch out for are the animals crossing...

 

[shadowsmurf]

Nice to see that you survived this unfortunate experience, and that you used your brain to get out of that spot. The ability to think clearly and quickly in a crisis is always a good thing. From my own personal observations, I don't think Toyota drivers are any worse, or better, than any other car drivers out there. They are popular cars, so there are just more of them on the road. I think this is more a statement of the overall poor level of care and attention most people have when driving period.

 

[Naked_Duc]

Glad you're ok. Was the lane open to merging traffic or did they cut across some kind of solid line, too? I see that all the time here.

The HOV was open to merging traffic but it was obviously not a safe time for the Prius to merge

 

[Jarvis]

I cant tell you how many cars that I have passed and the driver is not driving, they are texting!!!!!!! Now that "drives" me nuts...

 

[Naked_Duc]

From my own personal observations, I don't think Toyota drivers are any worse, or better, than any other car drivers out there. They are popular cars, so there are just more of them on the road. I think this is more a statement of the overall poor level of care and attention most people have when driving period.

LOL. Like I said, it's my UNSCIENTIFIC observation. I thought about it from a statistics point of view. Was it the result of simply more Toyota's on the road or was there a disproportionally high % of Toyota drivers that are bad? I think I would conclude that there are bad drivers in every made and model but Toyota does have disproportionally higher % of bad drivers. Camry drivers are the worst of the worst. Prius drivers tend to be self absorbed and pay no attention to others. Nissan and Honda drivers are to be better.

But if you want to talk crazy lane changers (no blinker, no looking), it has to be mini-vans!

 

[Fuzzy]

Glad you are OK. Not sure where you were in lane and no excuse for Prius, but best place is right third if left lane. Less probability of being blocked from view by cage in front or behind you. Also less likely to be in mirror blind spot of car in next lane. (For you folks in UK and other places on the wrong side of the road, reverse the advice. )

 

[L.B.S.]

Almost didn't make it to work this morning on the NCX. Luckily for me, I was able to avoid disaster. Plus I was fully geared up so IF I had to go down, I was well protected (that thought did come thru my head in that split second).

For those familiar with Seattle traffic, you would know that the I-405 NB thru Renton blows mud in the AM, PM, weekday, weekend, and any other time. This Monday morning was no exception. From HWY167 NB, I merged onto I-405 NB and made my way to the HOV lane. I sped up and ran up the hill, got up to about 45 MPH as the regular traffic moved at about 10 MPH pace. I followed about 1.5 sec behind a car in front me of, trailing by a cruiser 100 ft and gaining.

After about 10 sec into the pace of the HOV traffic, a Prius pulled into the HOV lane, right after the car in front of me had passed. My guess is that he didn't see me at all and thought he could squeeze in between that car in front of me and the cruiser behind me.

RANT: I want to apologize in advance to some of you for what I am about to say. Toyota makes great cars and if you drive a Toyota, I am pretty sure you are a fine driver. But in my unscientific observation, I find a lot of inattentive, clueless, or unskilled drivers out there and a lot of those people just happen to be driving a Toyota. Excessive braking, incapable of passing slow semi-trucks and causing traffic jam, white-knuckling at normal condition, not to mention bad weather, etc. Not all Toyota drivers are bad drivers but a lot of bad drivers are in a Toyota. /RANT

Back to the story. So this Prius pulled out 30 feet in front of me, going about 10 MPH. I immediately pulled in the clutch and brake lever. I could feel the front dipping down and my upper body rising up with the sudden shift in momentum - I got a great view of the rear bumper closing up. I knew I couldn't slow down fast enough since road was still a little damp from the earlier rain. I managed to continue braking while swerving to the left, avoiding the Prius. I went in to the shoulder and passed the Prius while STILL ON THE BRAKE. At that time, he was just fully in the lane, speeding up.

As I passed him, the bike was leaning to the left and my body was leaning to the right, staring right at the car. I remember looking right at the driver, who was looking straight ahead, totally unaware of what's happening. The co-pilot, a woman, was looking to the driver and looking at me as I passed. Apparently she saw the whole thing unfold.

I then eased off the brake and left my momentum carry me thru the dirt and gravel in the shoulder and passed the Prius. I looked back and raised my right arm in protest. "WTF was that?"

oof!

Good on you for surviving that little nasty!

I've always worried about people operating motor vehicles, that have utterly no clue or interest as to how they work, and the things they continually do, that beggar belief.

Sure, you hear of the spectacular crashes involving twerps racing their Mustangs and crashing into lamp posts at 120 mph, but you never hear on the news: "Another 500 motorcyclists narrowly managed to avoid being killed by clueless Prius drivers who didn't shoulder check before changing lanes, while going 40 mph slower than the vehicle they just pulled in front of.

 

[dduelin]

Where in the lane were you? Left, center, right? Where you in the shadow of the car ahead of you? Was it possible to improve your visibility to the driver that cut you off?

I think you did a fine job of managing the crisis and handling your motorcycle in a stressful situation. It could have been much worse.

Sometimes after a close call a post incident review reminds me how I can reduce the chances I give other drivers to kill me.

 

[L.B.S.]

Allstate - Allstate Mayhem Blindspot - YouTube

 

[Naked_Duc]

Glad you are OK. Not sure where you were in lane and no excuse for Prius, but best place is right third if left lane. Less probability of being blocked from view by cage in front or behind you. Also less likely to be in mirror blind spot of car in next lane. (For you folks in UK and other places on the wrong side of the road, reverse the advice. )

I was on the right 1/3 of the HOV lane. I tend to do that for the reason you mentioned - to be more visible. The more cars I can see in front of me, hopefully more cars can see me thru their side view mirror. SO when the Prius merged in, I had to move all the way from the right 1/3 to the shoulder. I didn't have room to swerve to the right of him since the Prius was half way into the HOV. I swerved to the left, the width of an entire lane.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, I did have 1.5 sec between me and the car in front. The road at that spot did have a slight bend to the left. I wonder if that would have limited the view from the Prius.

Funny that your brain can do so much calculation/evaluation and make a decision in that split second. Brake hard? Swerve right? Left? Brace for impact?

 

[mfb]

I am glad that you are OK. Watch out for this on your next commute! [video=youtube;cDoRmT0iRic]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDoRmT0iRic[/video]

 

[MZ5]

I managed to continue braking while swerving to the left, avoiding the Prius. I went in to the shoulder and passed the Prius while STILL ON THE BRAKE. At that time, he was just fully in the lane, speeding up.

Good job keeping your wits about you, and using your avoidance skills! Was the WaSP (or county mountie, or local, or whoever it was) uninterested? I agree and fully support the notion that we should not get too aggressive for citing people for accidents they _didn't_ cause, and yet I admit to sometimes wondering why such a situation as that doesn't result in an inattentive (or worse?) driving ticket.

But if you want to talk crazy lane changers (no blinker, no looking), it has to be mini-vans!

You're saying you think that 20- to 30-something females are horribly inattentive drivers?

 

[happy]

Almost didn't make it to work this morning on the NCX. Luckily for me, I was able to avoid disaster. Plus I was fully geared up so IF I had to go down, I was well protected (that thought did come thru my head in that split second).

For those familiar with Seattle traffic, you would know that the I-405 NB thru Renton blows mud in the AM, PM, weekday, weekend, and any other time. This Monday morning was no exception. From HWY167 NB, I merged onto I-405 NB and made my way to the HOV lane. I sped up and ran up the hill, got up to about 45 MPH as the regular traffic moved at about 10 MPH pace. I followed about 1.5 sec behind a car in front me of, trailing by a cruiser 100 ft and gaining.

After about 10 sec into the pace of the HOV traffic, a Prius pulled into the HOV lane, right after the car in front of me had passed. My guess is that he didn't see me at all and thought he could squeeze in between that car in front of me and the cruiser behind me.

RANT: I want to apologize in advance to some of you for what I am about to say. Toyota makes great cars and if you drive a Toyota, I am pretty sure you are a fine driver. But in my unscientific observation, I find a lot of inattentive, clueless, or unskilled drivers out there and a lot of those people just happen to be driving a Toyota. Excessive braking, incapable of passing slow semi-trucks and causing traffic jam, white-knuckling at normal condition, not to mention bad weather, etc. Not all Toyota drivers are bad drivers but a lot of bad drivers are in a Toyota. /RANT

Back to the story. So this Prius pulled out 30 feet in front of me, going about 10 MPH. I immediately pulled in the clutch and brake lever. I could feel the front dipping down and my upper body rising up with the sudden shift in momentum - I got a great view of the rear bumper closing up. I knew I couldn't slow down fast enough since road was still a little damp from the earlier rain. I managed to continue braking while swerving to the left, avoiding the Prius. I went in to the shoulder and passed the Prius while STILL ON THE BRAKE. At that time, he was just fully in the lane, speeding up.

As I passed him, the bike was leaning to the left and my body was leaning to the right, staring right at the car. I remember looking right at the driver, who was looking straight ahead, totally unaware of what's happening. The co-pilot, a woman, was looking to the driver and looking at me as I passed. Apparently she saw the whole thing unfold.

I then eased off the brake and left my momentum carry me thru the dirt and gravel in the shoulder and passed the Prius. I looked back and raised my right arm in protest. "WTF was that?"

Hi Duk
I don't want to preach, but that is a very dangerous and a very wrong action to take when you want to brake (normal or emergency).
What you should have done is:
1. Brake with brake lever
2. Only pull in the clutch when you have almost come to a stop
3. In case of emergency, there is no real need to pull in the clutch (just let the engine die out).

Why do I say this? It is because this movement may one day save your life.
Most people who do not have a very comprehensive motorcycle training will do what you did.

Pulling in the clutch is a "normal reaction" but it is wrong. It frees the rotor from the engine-brake and your bike is effectively freewheeling and "out of control".
With the engine brake and the disc brakes, you can stop at least 50% more effective.

It takes a lot of practise and nerve to pull in only the brake lever. I know.

I hope you are well and learn from this.
Over here, it is the Alfa Romeo drivers who are a menace.


Ride safe.
Joe

 

[Capt Clutchless]

I'm glad you are ok, I was just about to post my morning experience when I saw this. I will say that since I started riding a MC like 3 months ago I have become a much better and aware driver. I think the general public just needs a bit more education in regard to others on the road. To get a drivers license I think that you should have to log a few hours riding a bicycle out on public roads. I think that will help them understand the importance of being an attentive driver.

In regard to the Toyota thing... I personally see it here in the Dallas are with Lexus drivers. I don't know if they are too comfortable, or think the road is all theirs, but many of them drive like CRAP! Hmmm isn't Lexus the upline of Toyota?!

 

[cburn]

Hi Duk
I don't want to preach, but that is a very dangerous and a very wrong action to take when you want to brake (normal or emergency).
What you should have done is:
1. Brake with brake lever
2. Only pull in the clutch when you have almost come to a stop
3. In case of emergency, there is no real need to pull in the clutch (just let the engine die out).

Why do I say this? It is because this movement may one day save your life.
Most people who do not have a very comprehensive motorcycle training will do what you did.

Pulling in the clutch is a "normal reaction" but it is wrong. It frees the rotor from the engine-brake and your bike is effectively freewheeling and "out of control".
With the engine brake and the disc brakes, you can stop at least 50% more effective.

It takes a lot of practise and nerve to pull in only the brake lever. I know.

I hope you are well and learn from this.
Over here, it is the Alfa Romeo drivers who are a menace.


Ride safe.
Joe

Can I trouble you for a source on this? I've been taught that you should be ready to move after a panic stop (cars behind you).

 

[kjang]

As a first time toyota driver (me, its wife's car) I always look for motorcyclist around me. I always give them room. I know, I am the exception.

Ken

 

[Naked_Duc]

Hi Duk
I don't want to preach, but that is a very dangerous and a very wrong action to take when you want to brake (normal or emergency).
What you should have done is:
1. Brake with brake lever
2. Only pull in the clutch when you have almost come to a stop
3. In case of emergency, there is no real need to pull in the clutch (just let the engine die out).

Why do I say this? It is because this movement may one day save your life.
Most people who do not have a very comprehensive motorcycle training will do what you did.

Pulling in the clutch is a "normal reaction" but it is wrong. It frees the rotor from the engine-brake and your bike is effectively freewheeling and "out of control".
With the engine brake and the disc brakes, you can stop at least 50% more effective.

Not sure if I've heard of leaving the clutch in during a emergency stop. So in this case, if I were to stop completely and not using the clutch, the engine would wind down to about 10 MPH and die from low RPM, if I don't do it right. It would effectively cause the rear wheel to lock up and skid... IMO, there are already plenty of dangerous things to worry about than to remember to pull in the clutch in at the end of a panic stop. This is one more thing to worry about and might cause more harm (completely avoided disaster, forgot to pull in clutch at the end, engine stall, fall flat on my face INTO TRAFFIC on the highway). Beside, engine brake in 6th gear just isn't that powerful to begin with. Applying rear brake would be much more effective.

Thinking back to driving a manual transmission car during a panic stop, I was also taught to push both the clutch and brake paddles. Was that incorrect, too?

I am sure there is a reason or study behind what you are saying. But I am not sure if it's a widely accepted practice. Correct me if I am off base here.