Got side-swiped on the bike tonight

[Merzbow]

So out on one of the cruising strips in my area, Gratiot, tonight. I was with some buddies cruising around on my bike. One other biker and a couple cars.There was this gold concorde with some younger girls and guys in it that was driving next to us for a while. We stopped at a light, turned green and we went, Concorde was in front and as I approached it to pass it, she decided to come into my lane, then hesitated as I was saying "no F'ing way is she going to hit me", then she finished cutting in, in a split second, hitting me from the side, I had my rear wheel locked and I was leaning on her rear quarter panel at around 40mph. Time slowed down and she turned and was looking at me from the driver's seat as I was staring at her through the window before she finally swerved back into her lane...and guess what??? SHE WAS ON THE #@%& CELLPHONE!!! Big surprise! Any kind of stupid driving you see 90% of the time involves a moron on a cellphone. Out of all the retarded driving laws around here, a cellphone ban while driving I would be in full support of. I HATE cell phones and idiot drivers, and how the hell she forgot that we were riding by them for a good couple of miles and how she couldn't hear the ear piercing exhausts that my Ducati has and my friends GSXR has is beyond me!!!She's lucky I was still shocked that it actually happened or she would be buying a new side mirror and a new side window because my fist would have been smashing through them. My buddy on the other bike was about to kill her but I signaled for him to let it go and we just pulled off for a bit. I hope she can't sleep tonight and stops talking while driving.Anyways, no damage to me OR the Duc fortunately but I just needed to vent my rage and remind all of you bikers NOT TO PACE NEXT TO CARS. You probably already know that but just keep your eyes open and ride safe...Also for all those that talk on their cellphones for longer than 2 minutes while driving...PLEASE STOP...I still owe too much money on my bike for some idiot to wreck it and I don't want to be roadkill

[808 Vibes]

I'm so glad to hear you are OK. I *****HATE***** donkeys driving on cel phones with an undying passion. There is a new law here but it doesn't start until July or so.

[Raven]

I'm glad you and the precious Duc are fine. Cell phones are banned while driving here in Quebec, although handsfree is allowed. It seems that if the person is talking without holding a phone, most times they stay focused more and are less likely to zone out and think they are sitting in their living room not their car.

[djkeev]

Sounds like an amazing thing that you are ok.We also have a hand held cell phone ban here in NJ but....... many many many people still do it. It really doesn't improve things all that much anyway. The greatest distraction comes not from talking but from dialing and answering. Some people can only single task with no multitasking skills at all so choice comes down to driving OR talking.You probably know this but never drive and just "hang" in someones blind spot. Be it on a bike or in a car, don't just linger where they cannot see you, you might as well tap on the window and ask to be hit. Even an attentive driver can miss seeing a car that has been in the blind spot for a period of time. It is amazing how many people drive in this manner, just keeping up you the rear wheel/ back bumper. You know what happens? They get side swiped.Depending on the make of car, No, she didn't hear your noisy bike. Between the quality of the sound deadening, the entertainment system blasting, people talking and the cell phone she was in her own little world.Dave

[renate]

California does have a no cellphone while driving law,but I still see people doing it anyway.

[jwalcik]

Quote, originally posted by Merzbow »Out of all the retarded driving laws around here, a cellphone ban while driving I would be in full support of.At least some portions of Michigan do already have a ban on talking on a cell phone while driving. Some of them have even been in place for quite a while. I remember my Dad giving me a head's up on the new law during a visit in 2002 or so.

[Merzbow]

Hmm, well I haven't heard of the law being enforced here yet lol. Of course, there are always cops around giving my reckless driving tickets for revving the engine of my girls trans am 3000 rpms, but when something like this happens, they are no where to be seen. I could have called it in, my friend is a cop but since there was no damage I didn't want it to ruin the rest of my night and I'm sure shes going to feel it from not on....or at least I hope so. Other wise shes just an idiot.I wasn't riding next to her at all. I'm just saying she was in the same pack of cars as us for a couple miles and she looked at us a few times I know for a fact before hand. I was behind her at the light a few cars back and eventually caught up to her to pass her and as I was approaching she swerved over. I know people say not to pace cars so I never do, it just happened to be bad timing when I came along side her I guess.I dunno, there's no way she didn't hear us because my friends exhaust is high pitched and basically open header on a bike that revs to like 14,000 rpm. When I mean loud, I don't mean average crotch rocket loud, it's loud as in damage to your ear drums loud at cruising speed. I can hear him when he leaves my house til he gets to around 16 mile and schoenherr which is a good 5 miles away riding normal, and when he gives it gas I can hear him for another couple of miles after that lol.

[ajflan]

It was actually me. I snuck up next to her car on the other side and swerved towards her causing her to hit you. Then I acted like I was in front of you guys the whole time and didn't even see it. I wanted to see if you had the skills to stay on the bike. You clearly do. Well done.

[morbay]

Well considering all the f-upped laws Pennsylvania has I am quite surprised they have not grabbed on to this one with both hands. It is of course in the works. "House Bill 1827"

[Merzbow]

They should pass a self defense law for bikers allowing us to carry a hand gun and shoot someone that's about to hit us if the circumstances are right for self defense (removed)...The funny thing is, most people hold a disposition against bikers for what we are and because of all the stereo types and the idiots that screw around. Ironically other motorists not paying attention cause most of the deaths/accidents...figure that one out? Is it because people are intimidated by bikers for some ridiculous reason? Or because we ride on the roads how we see fit to keep from getting killed or ride faster and sharper than cars just because we can do so easier so it makes us look like we are "racing around".Like when I crashed my bike on the freeway due to an exit ramp that was in horrible shape so the cops wrote me a reckless driving ticket because someone called in and because of where my bike landed in a field: "There's no way the bike made it this far in if you weren't speeding!" is what the SEVEN OFFICERS told me when they arrived in 3 squad cars. Oh yeah? Well you'd be surprised how far you can go through a field when you're traveling 65mph. They never even asked if I was ok.Sorry for the rant, I'm just really pissed off about the whole ordeal lol. Thanks for the comments and dealing with me lol.

[morbay]

Oh I agree, I owned a bike for a while. My main point was that the state of PA has some silly laws all around, and where this would most likely be a good one to pass, they are more concerned with not allowing me to have any extra exterior lighting or tinting my windows too dark.

[Tubaryan12]

Quote, originally posted by Merzbow »Also for all those that talk on their cellphones for longer than 2 minutes while driving...PLEASE STOP...[rant]No. Don't talk on it and drive at all. Pull over. Nothing is that important. If you must talk, don't talk any longer than to say "I'm driving, I'll call you right back".And for the love of God, DO NOT TEXT WHILE DRIVING!Your other tips on riding are good, but because of "Herb"s accident, I'll add another:Red means "STOP".Yellow means "STOP". Not "speed up if you think you can make it"Green means "Look both ways, then GO".[/rant]

[Kamikaze]

This is one reason why sometimes I drive like an *** on my bike... what does it do? get your attention. You might be muttering under your breath stupid crotch rocket... but you did notice me didn't you? better that than side swiping me and then having me destroy you and your car. I could rant for an hour on this Merz, it pisses me off too just hearing about it... I try to drive sensible but it seems those are the times when people don't see me. Too many times I'm just normal driving and someone pulls in front of me, or changes lanes right in front of me.... I'll stop my rant... Glad to hear everythings ok.

[Merzbow]

lol thanks for the support