They look but they do not see

[luvmy40]

Yeah, I'm not comfortable at a red light until there are at least three cars in line behind me. I always stay far to the right or enough back from anyone in front of me to have an escape path, never sit in neutral and always keep an eye on the rear view!

[koolaid_kid]

We all know they are out to get us. Went to the bank yesterday and then to the grocery store. Two close calls in 17 miles (just filled up so my odometer was current). IDK, all we can do is be vigilant.
I don't give them anything more than a loud toot on my Fiamm Freeway Blasters, since one fellow pulled out a pistol and pointed it at me. Not worth it to me.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Times like that I wish I had a train horn !!!

[earlfor]

That and people who pass you and then slow down to a speed slower than you were travelling when they passed are my biggest peeves.

Around here, we have idiot cagers that no matter how fast you're going on a motorcycle, they have to prove they can catch/tail gate and pass you. Then as soon as they get in front of you, they drop 20 mph off their speed.
It annoys the hell out of me.

[GSXR7ED]

I know this situation!

Interesting seeing talk of cagers feeling bikes don't have the same right to the road that they do. I actually run into almost a reverse situation sometimes. When I'm on a highway and nearing a merge lane, I will sometimes drop back a bit and give a merging car room to enter my lane (I give way if they have position on me.) For some reason, some drivers (not to sound sexist, but often women) refuse to enter the lane. This leads to a "you first; no, you first!" moment where I'm unwilling to speed up for fear THAT'S when the driver will decide to enter the lane and then, as the driver is running out of merge lane, she will slow down, then I will slow down, etc.

Merging behaviour is one of my pet peeves about peoples' driving. I see people on on-ramps actually STOP when they enter the merge lane and THEN look back for a break in traffic to merge. This, of course, causes a backup behind them AND in the highway lane where some well-meaning person slows to a crawl to let the stopped car in.

That and people who pass you and then slow down to a speed slower than you were travelling when they passed are my biggest peeves.

I've had the opposite happen to me when I merge. As I proceed to merge, a car is at least 200 feet away from the merge lane...I am increasing my speed to the posted speed limit of 55. The car is increasing their speed as to be on my tail by the time I've merged--I'm like WTF??? Then they have the audacity to look in my direction as they pass on my left. I make it a point to make eye contact when such interaction occurs.

You on the other hand, have the courtesy to slow down and allow the merge. This pedejo made it a point to make me feel like I impeded him.

One thing that truly bothers me is people not following the rule of, "slow traffic keep right". I guess my 3 years in Germany did teach me not to be in the fast lane for very long...pass and get back in the right lane.

Trouble is, here in Delaware...there are left turn lanes on our Hwy 1 so people are slowing down in the fast lane. Then you gotta watch out for people on the right trying to get across. My pucker factor is evident when I see cars waiting to cross.


Ed

[coldwhiteguy]

Even vigilant drivers screw up

I always look for bicycles and motorcycles, and don't use my cell phone, and still, I almost pulled out in front of a motorcycle. I didn't see him till my second, last check look, before I took my foot off the brake. It really shook me up that day and as a rider, I try to never forget that it's not just idiots that are a threat, but also simple human error.

[GSXR7ED]

Awareness

I always look for bicycles and motorcycles, and don't use my cell phone, and still, I almost pulled out in front of a motorcycle. I didn't see him till my second, last check look, before I took my foot off the brake. It really shook me up that day and as a rider, I try to never forget that it's not just idiots that are a threat, but also simple human error.

You know...ever since I started riding in the Fall of 2011, I have become more aware of the hazards on the road. Not that I didn't know they existed (more like taking it for granted and thinking, "I'll never collide into any of these landmarks") but that now I'm on a bike--I have no frame to absorb the impact and seatbelt to keep me from going airborne!

Every time I see a rider my thought process is this:

1. Are they wearing gear?
2. What type of bike is it?
3. Are they making an ass of themselves?

Of course, these thoughts run through my mind with cars but unless it's a unique car, I won't bother.

Usually, I'll hear the motocycle from their loud pipes but there are times when I don't, so constant glancing at all mirrors helps me locate them.

I'm almost driving like I ride at times...with my head like a swivel. You never know who's gonna pull up beside you...maybe it will be a Hot chick? In any case, don't beat yourself up too bad for BARELY avoiding an accident. You know what you need to improve on; just do it. (And don't dwell on the incident. Learn to get over it and move on)


Ed

[GateKeeper]

We all know they are out to get us. Went to the bank yesterday and then to the grocery store. Two close calls in 17 miles (just filled up so my odometer was current). IDK, all we can do is be vigilant.
I don't give them anything more than a loud toot on my Fiamm Freeway Blasters, since one fellow pulled out a pistol and pointed it at me. Not worth it to me.

A) take down plate of a$$ hole, and call or go see the police file complaint

B) pull out your pistol, shoot him, call police to report a self defense shooting

I am sure neither are all that great, but B would be my way of doing things....

I think....

.

[earlfor]

I don't give them anything more than a loud toot on my Fiamm Freeway Blasters,



since one fellow pulled out a pistol and pointed it at me. Not worth it to me.

I'm pretty sure that is a felony. You should have taken his license number and called the police. They take that sort of thing SERIOUSLY. That is assault with a deadly weapon.

[Redman]

..........
............................................. even when cagers are looking right at you, they sometimes just don't see you.
..

They are not looking for empty road for a certain distance. They just point their face in that direction and without much analysis just somehow decide to go or to wait without a lot of thought involved.

Which is why I have learned to look at driver some, but more watch the front wheel. That will give first indication of movement and acceleration and direction. Sometimes at night, can not see driver anyway, but maybe can see light of the brake light going off.

Another way to say the above: They are not looking for empty clear road, but just if they don't see a car or truck, they may pull out. And this may include if something is blocking their view (like a car turning, or a pole or sign blocking view of your bike for half a second), they don't see a car or truck, so pull out.
So if I lost sight of them for half a second by a pole or sign or bush or car turning, I know they didn't see me for that time either.

Other thing I look for: If a car is stopped and looks like they are infact stopped and waiting, I think "are they stopped and waiting for me, or are they stopped and waiting for something else, such as; that other car coming from other direction, and are they going to pull out right after that other car". SO watch them more critically at that point after that other car goes by.

.

[gsgeezer]

I saw a cager with a "no texting" bumper sticker; guess what they were doing?

[tkent02]

I saw a cager with a "no texting" bumper sticker; guess what they were doing?

Drinking a beer?

[gsgeezer]

Drinking a beer?

I couldn't tell; the passenger's head obscured my view.
(Actually, it wasn't that long ago that in MO and MN, you could drink a beer, while driving, as long as you were SOBER)

[Brendan W]

Cagers look right through us......... An everyday experience for most riders which has fascinated me for many years. I would like to share my homespun philosophy on the particular subject of cagers not seeing riders.
Warning - I may have dreamed up all this stuff to stay sane.

What if it's actually true that cagers don't see us when they are looking right at us and it's not carelessness or disrespect?
Reading research in the 70's it was reported that to cagers, motorcycles were the least conspicuous vehicles on freeways, however the most conspicuous were police motorcycles.
At one point in the 80s Volvos pulling out in front of cycles in the UK got so bad you could buy aerosol cans of Volvo repellant for your bike. Most reckoned Volvo were too successful in their safety cage marketing and drivers felt invulnerable.
My IT friends tell me that there is no way the brain processes all the data collected by the eye - the brain applies a need to know filter based on perceived threats or opportunities and perhaps cultural conditioning.
It's famously said that if the human eye were an instrument it would be returned to it's maker for repair.
My first flight instructor taught me the difference between looking into a space and seeing into it - sort of the optical equivalent of hearing and listening.
We all know the stories about the sad lives of the immortal, the invisible and King Midas and how their powers ultimately lead to tragedy. Guess what. I think riders are actually invisible in some situations. When we say we're invisible what we really mean is that a cager person has had no respect or care for me and has chosen to treat me like a lower life form with no rights. Socially 'invisible' if you like. The truth could be a lot weirder than that.
Depending on the demands on the brain at the time I believe a driver can look into a space , make eye contact with a rider on collision course, relegate the threat level to low and then their brain completely erases the rider and his or her machine. They never actually saw you and you don't exist.
I don't think there is much point in getting mad at them for some perceived failing, lack of courtesy or respect. That will only reduce your survival chances.
The way I look at it I have to deal with true invisibility and it's not the cagers fault. Makes us superheroes in a way

[Gregory]

Cagers look right through us......... An everyday experience for most riders which has fascinated me for many years. I would like to share my homespun philosophy on the particular subject of cagers not seeing riders.
Warning - I may have dreamed up all this stuff to stay sane.

What if it's actually true that cagers don't see us when they are looking right at us and it's not carelessness or disrespect?
Reading research in the 70's it was reported that to cagers, motorcycles were the least conspicuous vehicles on freeways, however the most conspicuous were police motorcycles.
At one point in the 80s Volvos pulling out in front of cycles in the UK got so bad you could buy aerosol cans of Volvo repellant for your bike. Most reckoned Volvo were too successful in their safety cage marketing and drivers felt invulnerable.
My IT friends tell me that there is no way the brain processes all the data collected by the eye - the brain applies a need to know filter based on perceived threats or opportunities and perhaps cultural conditioning.
It's famously said that if the human eye were an instrument it would be returned to it's maker for repair.
My first flight instructor taught me the difference between looking into a space and seeing into it - sort of the optical equivalent of hearing and listening.
We all know the stories about the sad lives of the immortal, the invisible and King Midas and how their powers ultimately lead to tragedy. Guess what. I think riders are actually invisible in some situations. When we say we're invisible what we really mean is that a cager person has had no respect or care for me and has chosen to treat me like a lower life form with no rights. Socially 'invisible' if you like. The truth could be a lot weirder than that.
Depending on the demands on the brain at the time I believe a driver can look into a space , make eye contact with a rider on collision course, relegate the threat level to low and then their brain completely erases the rider and his or her machine. They never actually saw you and you don't exist.
I don't think there is much point in getting mad at them for some perceived failing, lack of courtesy or respect. That will only reduce your survival chances.
The way I look at it I have to deal with true invisibility and it's not the cagers fault. Makes us superheroes in a way

I bet you are right. I have caught a few shows on cable lately that show the weird tricks our minds play on us. Brain Games was one of them, I cant remember the other shows name. If you watch these shows you will never fully believe an eyewitness account of identifying a criminal again. Our minds are very flawed....some more than others.