What the heck….mental hesitation…

[ifiddles]

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Ive ridden the mean streets for 40+ years, I think it's better now than it was in the past.

maybe in your 15MC things are better, but come in to reality and things are WAY worse...too many people are always in a rush, don't signal, tailgate, etc...one of the reasons why I haven't been riding much (if at all) these last couple of years...

 

[Relax]

Street is fun, just depends where and when.

Yup, I usually only have to deal with cars on the highway(s) to get to the riding roads, and they dwindle once there. I never ride in the city for fun, only errands or "test and tune".

 

[FullMotoJacket]

I think they are worse. More angry and distracted. More vehicles on the road too.

Someone coming from the opposite direction wandering into or just plain driving in my lane is a daily occurance now.

 

[Fuzzbuster]

Someone coming from the opposite direction wandering into or just plain driving in my lane is a daily occurance now.

Treat everything on the road like a pylon.
And remember that pylons don't have brains!

 

[Mad Mike]

maybe in your 15MC things are better, but come in to reality and things are WAY worse...too many people are always in a rush, don't signal, tailgate, etc...one of the reasons why I haven't been riding much (if at all) these last couple of years...

I live and ride in Markham, after Brampton possibly the worst place in Canada for bad driving.

Maybe I'm conditioned from so many years riding here... but it's been the same bad for as long as I can remember.

 

[Relax]

The one thing I do see more often is people not staying within their lane. And the law that forces drivers to give bicyclists 1m of space just seems to cause more problems when these cars cross into the oncoming lane to pass them and act as if they have the right of way!

 

[Fuzzbuster]

The one thing I do see more often is people not staying within their lane. And the law that forces drivers to give bicyclists 1m of space just seems to cause more problems when these cars cross into the oncoming lane to pass them and act as if they have the right of way!

I was just out for a spin and to be expected, pylons consistently acted like normal, squeezing into my space, irregular braking, u-turns and just plain lost! No need to get upset, angry or offended, simply dodge them with fluidity and finesse, don't let them ruin your fun!

 

[nobbie48]

I think they are worse. More angry and distracted. More vehicles on the road too.
If I lived in the city I don’t think I’d own a bike. I commute to the (city by car) and noticed that this summer didn’t have a significant drop in traffic volume as in previous years. Used to feel like there was 30-40 less traffic when July came. I would commute on the bike but stopped around 6 years ago.

To me it seems that since the BoC has started hiking lending rates there has been an uptick in overall tensions.

Anger stops people from thinking to the point of blind rage. A lot of people are thinking about where they're going to get the extra $400 a month or more when their mortgage renews or what their flex mortgage is going to be next month. Many have already cut back to the bare bones. There is no fat to trim.

Throw in grocery and gas prices to tighten the screws even more. Unwinding by going to dinner or on a vacation is off the radar for far too many.

A few minutes can be costly if the daycare charges for a late pickup.

You think that it'll get better and then you hear about a million students and new immigrants coming and there isn't enough housing for the people we already have.

Having all of the above and more on your mind, as you drive from your underpaid job to your overpriced, over mortgaged house is going to manifest itself as you dodge errant pedestrians and unlicensed, uninsured, untrained "E" vehicles.

Drive safely. You might be the only one doing it.

It goes against the grain but if you can afford it, give the other driver a break, even if he might just be an A-hole. Maybe the gesture will ease someone's pain.

 

[nobbie48]

I was just out for a spin and to be expected, pylons consistently acted like normal, squeezing into my space, irregular braking, u-turns and just plain lost! No need to get upset, angry or offended, simply dodge them with fluidity and finesse, don't let them ruin your fun!

Name one thing the government has done to improve driver skills. I dare you.

 

[Mad Mike]

Name one thing the government has done to improve driver skills. I dare you.

1 thing... Introduced diversity.

I'm now comfortable I can drive anywhere in the world, even on the wrong side of the road.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

No need to get upset, angry or offended, simply dodge them with fluidity and finesse, don't let them ruin your fun!

Until you come across the situation where there's nowhere/no time to dodge them, nevermind the fluidity and finesse Jedi double-speak. Then......

Sorry, but I tend to get upset when someone tries to smoke me, unwittingly or not.

 

[Fuzzbuster]

Until you come across the situation where there's nowhere/no time to dodge them, nevermind the fluidity and finesse Jedi double-speak. Then......

Sorry, but I tend to get upset when someone tries to smoke me, unwittingly or not.

Your kind of always rolling the dice on a motorcycle. Street, track or dirt it doesn't matter, that element will always be there.

 

[Sunday Rider]

It goes against the grain but if you can afford it, give the other driver a break, even if he might just be an A-hole. Maybe the gesture will ease someone's pain.

You are so right!
I started to consciously do this a few weeks ago. Instead of getting mad being cutoff and drifted into, I started backing off. I figured I wasn’t going to teach anyone anything , and what’s the point?

 

[MacDoc]

I'm now comfortable I can drive anywhere in the world, even on the wrong side of the road.

ahem that would be the OPPOSITE side of the road young man
I used a couple little tricks to keep me oriented when there no other cars around but even yesterday had to thiink about it.

 

[MacDoc]

Name one thing the government has done to improve driver skills. I dare you.

pretty good job in curbing DUI...even more so in Australia which used to be infamous for drunk driving.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

pretty good job in curbing DUI...even more so in Australia which used to be infamous for drunk driving.

Not wanting to risk fines/suspensions is not a skill.

 

[GreyGhost]

pretty good job in curbing DUI...even more so in Australia which used to be infamous for drunk driving.

Really? You think it has been curbed? Weekly dui crashes in barrie. Very often at multiple times limit. Very often a driver with previous dui's. I'd give them a D tops.

 

[oioioi]

Really? You think it has been curbed? Weekly dui crashes in barrie. Very often at multiple times limit. Very often a driver with previous dui's. I'd give them a D tops.

Agreed.
Take a look at some of the high profile DUI cases we have had over the last several years.
I bet half of them don't even make it to the media for the general public to know about.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

Your kind of always rolling the dice on a motorcycle.

The odds of rolling snake eyes is 1 in 36 (3ish%). If someone arbitrarily lowers the odds to say, 1 in 18, you're going to start thinking twice about playing the game, which is exactly what I'm seeing in this thread. Seasoned, veteran riders saying that the odds of getting taken out on the street have been lowered and the risk is starting to exceed the reward.

 

[Fuzzbuster]

The odds of rolling snake eyes is 1 in 36 (3ish%). If someone arbitrarily lowers the odds to say, 1 in 18, you're going to start thinking twice about playing the game, which is exactly what I'm seeing in this thread. Seasoned, veteran riders saying that the odds of getting taken out on the street have been lowered and the risk is starting to exceed the reward.

So then what is the safer alternative? Track?

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