"Close Calls". | GTAMotorcycle.com

"Close Calls".

PrivatePilot

PrivatePilot

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I hope I'm not coming across as a knob or anything for asking the question, But I'm wondering how many other members are having.

Myself, in the last 5 years (and about 100,000km or so on 2 wheels over that period) I've had what I'd call three, with 2 of them being pretty tame:

- Car coming out from an intersection in a rural area of Prince Edward County and not looking. Saw it coming and was on the brakes before the car even saw me. The only crappy part about it was that I had a few friends behind me that *didn't* see it coming like I did and were caught off guard when I got on the binders hard.

- Car decided he wanted my lane on the 401 headed to Niagara one day even though I was already in it. Yay for horns.

- Iron Mountain road in South Dakota last summer. Came around one of the famous corkscrews (admittedly carrying some speed, I was having a ball carving the road) and found some dolt on a Harley duckwalking around the corner because he was in way over his head.

That said, I read some posts here with others making it sound like they're having them semi or fairly regularly.

Just curious.
 
i had a couple on 17 last week, going through small towns and people pull out not looking
 
PrivatePilot said:
I hope I'm not coming across as a knob or anything for asking the question, But I'm wondering how many other members are having.

Myself, in the last 5 years (and about 100,000km or so on 2 wheels over that period) I've had what I'd call three, with 2 of them being pretty tame:

- Car coming out from an intersection in a rural area of Prince Edward County and not looking. Saw it coming and was on the brakes before the car even saw me. The only crappy part about it was that I had a few friends behind me that *didn't* see it coming like I did and were caught off guard when I got on the binders hard.

- Car decided he wanted my lane on the 401 headed to Niagara one day even though I was already in it. Yay for horns.

- Iron Mountain road in South Dakota last summer. Came around one of the famous corkscrews (admittedly carrying some speed, I was having a ball carving the road) and found some dolt on a Harley duckwalking around the corner because he was in way over his head.

That said, I read some posts here with others making it sound like they're having them semi or fairly regularly.

Just curious.
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ride in the city and expect the circus. since i did most of my mileage on commute or rips around the city i probably avoided ending up under my bike a few times a month depending on where we are drawing the line on 'close'.

really i'll never get the people merging on the highway who are just way way wayyyy out to lunch.
 
Guess it depends on what you consider close.

The only time I would consider a truly close call was when a pickup turned left in front of me, he slammed his brakes I swerved and grazed his bumper.

But if you consider anything that you need to take action to avoid collision a close call, regardless of how aggressively you need to, then every damn time I ride to work in Brampton.
 
I can't remember all of them, so I guess they weren't that bad. Worst are the space cadets merging onto 410. Had a couple try to come over top of me crossing 2 lanes to do it. One guy in Arizona on a rented BMW GS lost control and almost slammed into me at a gas station but fell over first.

Overall I guess I've been lucky predicting other people's moves. Comes from years of being a professional driver I guess. In a lot of cases, you can see these people and just foresee what they might do. Still waiting for the big one though, I guess sooner or later I'll get hit.
 
I have people do dumb stuff around me all the time. They're not close calls because I know that they're going to do it before they do.
 
I don't own a car and use my bike as a glorified around-town scooter and most close calls involve oblivious cagers. Cabbies used to be a constant threat but their numbers are going down.

Sometimes I'm the instigator - I can be a bit of a late braker. :oops:
 
Fountain Street North / Victoria Street North
^ Always expect people in the left lane to go into the right lane while turning left because they want to go onto Ebycrest Road

Fountain Street South / Shantz Hill Road
^ Be hyper aware and slow down. I hate whoever designed this road. Hill with a bend plus the Potential of accident from left turners, right turners, cars leaving the gas station, cars merging to go to Preston, speeders who got off the freeway by Preston Pkwy etc

The Boardwalk in Waterloo...

Roundabouts on Franklin Bouvelard in Cambridge
 
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One. I was on left lane, right tire track as taught. Right lane had a bus that just stopped and the car behind it decides to pull out without looking. I was going speed limit, knew it was coming, had to swerve around the driver. Since then I am left tire track on left lane to give myself room..
 
Other then the time I fell off my bike 20 years ago, the only times I've had close calls was when I used to cut through the Exhibition from the Lakeshore on the way to work. There were many cars/trucks trying turn left onto the Gardiner from the straight through lane. The route was a lot faster, but I eventually abandoned it as being too unsafe.
 
I had a deer get in my way in West Virginia, so I had to take it out. I met it's brother some years later in Pennsylvania and he was still mad at me so he took a run at me and almost got me.

Many years ago I was coming around a corner on Elephant Lake Road and there was a frog sitting on the road right on my line. Good thing he ribbitted, because I managed to swerve at the last moment.

Asides from that, I've been hit by cars, trucks, vans and run off the road a few times by my own doing. Every one of my mishaps or these types of close calls was a direct result of something I could have been doing better, whether it's increasing my following distance, slowing down, checking my mirrors more often, and just plain old paying better attention at all times. At first glance it's usually the fault of the other driver, but then very quickly I realize that in some way, I am part of the problem too.
 
I was on the QEW in heavy fast moving traffic when a dump truck not far ahead lost his drive shaft, about a hundred pound chunk of steel took out half a dozen cars around me and sent car parts flying everywhere, that was very exciting.
There is no plan of defence against an incident like that, it just was not my time to go and it was pure luck when I rode straight on through it.
 
shanekingsley said:
............At first glance it's usually the fault of the other driver, but then very quickly I realize that in some way, I am part of the problem too...............
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When you're riding a motorcycle it's small consolation that the other driver was at fault when the consequences can be so severe for the rider.

On most recent bike, 18 years and 125,000 km, I have had relatively few close calls. Never had anyone turn left in front of me (thank you headlight modulator). I have been forced out of my lane a few times, but better effort at staying out of a driver's blind spot would have prevented that. I've killed a few squirrels, 1 weasel like creature (made a terrible popping sound.....), 1 snake and missed a huge raccoon at 90 kph by about a foot.

Aside from just being in the wrong place at the wrong time (driveshaft example above) I think if you're having too many close calls you're doing something wrong. Riding too aggressive or not enough defensive riding IMO.
 
Michael0124 said:
every damn time I ride to work in Brampton.
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I live there and wear a Sena Prism Tube camera on my helmet and this year has been especially bad so I'm actually keeping the close call clips for a later compilation of "riding in Brampton" … stay tuned later in the season.
 
Evoex said:
ride in the city and expect the circus. since i did most of my mileage on commute or rips around the city i probably avoided ending up under my bike a few times a month depending on where we are drawing the line on 'close'.

really i'll never get the people merging on the highway who are just way way wayyyy out to lunch.
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I can’t count them. I live and ride a lot in the GTA which on a motorcycle feels like the reality version of Grand Theft Auto (vs Greater Toronto Area).
I practice every safety tactic possible and it’s saved me so far.

My three most memorable: Hwy 7 east at McCowan. Lady in a Subaru doing makeup with a phone in her hand suddenly changes lanes nearing a stoplight. She clips my front tire. I had a fistful of brakes and managed to stop. I got off my bike at the intersection to check for damage, the Subaru driver felt the need to coach me on speeding — she rolled sown her passenger window and shouted “slow down!” I was a little ****** so I reached in, grabbed her car keys and tossed them into the bus shelter beside me.

Warden south at Dennison. A GTR turns right onto Warden blowing his red at about 40kmh. With a fistful of brakes And a hard swerve I managed to slip behind him and rodethe curb it up the sidewalk.

Hwy 7 east at Kennedy. Teenage girl in an F150 stops 15’ into the intersection for a red light. I see her reverse lights, and as she hammers the gas I use my escape route. The dummy behind me rolls forward and his Lexus gets a face full of F150 rear bumper.

I could go on.

Most of my close calls have been urban riding situations. Touch wood I have never been down.
 
Evoex said:
ride in the city and expect the circus. since i did most of my mileage on commute or rips around the city i probably avoided ending up under my bike a few times a month depending on where we are drawing the line on 'close'.

really i'll never get the people merging on the highway who are just way way wayyyy out to lunch.
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Yeah, this... Ride from Brampton to Downtown on the daily commute, and I'd say a "close" call would happen once every 5-10 commutes. Not nearly as often as a lot of people claim, though. I feel safer on my bike than in my car.

A "close call" for me, means something abnormal like someone not seeing me, or one of us disobeying the rules and avoiding something that would otherwise have been catastrophic (for me).
 
shanekingsley said:
in some way, I am part of the problem too.
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^ This

I think as motorcyclists we place blame on cagers almost always.
I think people are just too busy, head in the clouds, multitasking, in thier own world....
I too am guilty of stupid ****, everyone has good & bad days, and ultimately that affects your judgement (whether you're on a bike or a cage).
I've run myself of the road, just having an off-day, mind elsewhere, and as a matter of fact, I was following Shane (Jul 15/2017), ended up in the grass, banged up the bike and me, both are all fixed up since and I've learned from that...I try to make sure my head is clear and focus on the ride.
 

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Chrispy said:
One. I was on left lane, right tire track as taught. Right lane had a bus that just stopped and the car behind it decides to pull out without looking. I was going speed limit, knew it was coming, had to swerve around the driver. Since then I am left tire track on left lane to give myself room..
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The problem is that room is now open to cars and where will you go if they take it?

Change tire tracks to adapt to changing situations but i wouldn't willingly give up the right side as norm.
 
Not on a bike.Did a buddy jump with a young guy from about 11,000ft to teach him some turns.Plan was for us to hold hands...break...he does a nice slow 360 turn...hook up again,repeat.His first turn was so fast that i didn't get my head out of the way.WHAM right in the face,seeing stars and blood obscuring all vision.Waved off and opened my main at about 7500ft.Could have very easily been fatal.
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