• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Thinking of giving up riding after near miss

S

sparrow23

New member
Joined
Jul 9, 2023
Location
South bay
Moto(s)
Ninja 400
So commuting back from work today a White Chevrolet Van (plate 37393N2) ran a red light and it was a near miss (video here: https://youtu.be/vPj05EV8AD8). I was trying to think what I could have done differently here and the only thing I came up with was: instead of pulling up in front of the row of cars, wait behind the 1st car and follow it on green.

But then I saw my other commute videos and there are cases where I need to stay in the left most lane (because I have to turn left at the next light). In those cases, if I filter (at a red light) and wait behind the 1st car, then on green, if the lane on right of me goes faster, I've seen people get impatient and I bet some morons will try to pass me. So waiting behind the 1st car is a no go.

That pretty much leaves me with no filtering to the front and that's even more riskier with rear end collisions and will also leave me soaked in sweat waiting in my gear. I guess that leaves me with, stop commuting on motorcycle ? Thoughts ?
 
Can you change the route you take to one that is safer and take you through less hazardous conditions? Good for you that you use a camera just in case.
By the way, what camera are you using?
 
the only other alternative route has even more lights, so higher chances of red light runners catching me :(

camera is a GoPro hero 5
 
Good to see that you weren't hit.

It appears that the van ran the light, but I wouldn't have entered the intersection until I saw the approaching vehicles drastically slow and I was convinced they were going to stop, especially given the higher approach speeds of the road you were entering. It looks like you just put your faith in the traffic lights.

Remember, we do not have to split lanes. If we choose to do so, we don't have to split to the very front. We certainly don't need to be the first vehicle into the intersection.

Motorcycles are never going to be as safe as cars. Take some time to think about it. You may decide to make some adjustments to your riding style, you may decide to take a temporary break, or a permanent one. Leave your options open.
 
I’ve had a few accidents on my bikes over the years and I’ve stopped riding a couple of times because of them but the bug has always come back and I end up riding again.

Nothing wrong with taking a break after a close call. My advice is that if nothing is wrong with your bike, prep it for long term storage and take a break. Don’t sell it. I did that and regretted it. If you don’t get the itch to ride again after a year or two then consider selling your bike.
 
Most of us seasoned riders have had a few and some got unlucky and ended up in a collision. I have had to shake off the bad vibes a couple times, but just riding for joy takes it away quickly for me.

I agree with Enchanter on if you would have just watched another second you likely would have seen it coming. Watching in SloMo you can see that van. Glad he at least took avoiding action.

You have the classic head shake down man. No No No!! That and the palm up sent him a message.

Try getting out the country hills and enjoy the vibe of the ride vs the hectic nature of a commute.

Whatever your decision is it is yours to make.

Best wishes.
 
Last edited:
Whether to keep riding or not is a completely personal choice. Riding will always have a certain level of hazard, it's impossible to be completely safe. For me, I remind myself I could fall down some stairs or crash my bicycle. Life itself is not safe. But you have to do what is best for you. I wish you the best whichever way you decide.

Mad
 
Two things happened there. The van ran the late yellow/red, and he also was merging into the next lane. That intersection has two lanes available for a right turn, you took the outer one (which was your right), but that happened to be the same one he was merging into.

If he had blown the red and stayed in his lane, it would perhaps be surprising, but not dangerous.

Seems like an intersection that's worth a beat when the light changes. I noticed you looked at the traffic, you looked at the light go green, and then you turned, but you did not look back at the traffic. That's a habit worth looking into I think. Odds are were you to have looked back, you would have seen and avoided the van.

Make no mistake, the van was wrong here, but whoever is at fault is mostly moot if you're the one on the ground.

And we, as riders, are actually in control more than we think. Lighting can strike the best of us, I've been rear ended, knocked down on freeways (and I am not "the best of us"). But most incidents have something to teach us.

Finally, making gestures to idiots in vans are just more potential to go bad. I'd work on that habit too.
 
IDK, you could just as easily made that mistake in a car.

Nothing wrong with waiting one more second due to taking one more glance to the left in that situation whether in a car or on a bike.
 
I can’t add to the advice already given. But every rider has had or will have close calls. When I was riding, I always looked everywhere for possible bozos doing dangerous stuff. Doing so kept me accident free for more than 30 years. I was also a prolific lane splitter.
 
I can't really add much to what has already been said. Don't enter the intersection when the light turns green rather when you're confident that it's safe to do so.
Confronting someone when they've made a mistake can compound into more mistakes. Save your angst for another time.
Riding is dangerous.
Weigh your risk vs reward and make your choice.
 
Last edited:
berth said:
Two things happened there. The van ran the late yellow/red, and he also was merging into the next lane. That intersection has two lanes available for a right turn, you took the outer one (which was your right), but that happened to be the same one he was merging into.

If he had blown the red and stayed in his lane, it would perhaps be surprising, but not dangerous.
Click to expand...

It was my impression that the van changed lanes to avoid hitting the OP. The OP turned into the lane the van occupied.
 
My wife got hit by some guy who ran a red light, totaling her car. She was uninjured. I mention this only because you said it might be better to wait for a car at the front to go first. In her case, she said a guy on a bike filtered to the front and caught the light just as it changed to green and whizzed right by her. Then she went and got hit.it was a big intersection with complex sight lines at rush hour, so tough one for her to avoid.

Time off might be a big help. I’ve been there myself. Hate that, but it helped.
 
In the process of commuting endless days on the same route I think it would be easy to go on autopilot and not be as vigilant as you would be on an unfamiliar road. Same road every day, same intersection, go on green, same lane every time, you get the picture.
You've probably made that turn a thousand times without incident so it would be easy to let your mind drift and not take the time to look, then look again, then look once more as others have mentioned.
In a positive way you can use this incident as a wakeup call to keep your senses at their peak once again.
 
Last edited:
Get yourself a copy of Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough and study it. That book did more to help me be a safe rider than anything else. (More details here.) After you've studied the book and applied what it teaches, get his second book and do it again.

I don't trust that everybody is going to stop when the light changes, I observe them and make sure before entering their path of travel. It appears from the video that you didn't check sufficiently before taking off.
 
All good advise. Thanks everyone, I'll take a break for some time and then decide.

I had already seen the orange on the through lane. I saw the Tesla slow down and relied on my peripheral vision to conclude that the other vehicles were quite far back when the lights turned green on the turning lane. So they wouldn't enter on a red. I didn't want to hold up the traffic behind me, so I didn't wait any longer :(
 
Enchanter said:
It appears that the van ran the light, but I wouldn't have entered the intersection until I saw the approaching vehicles drastically slow and I was convinced they were going to stop, especially given the higher approach speeds of the road you were entering. It looks like you just put your faith in the traffic lights.
Click to expand...

This is spot on and I know others have mentioned it too.

When one gets a scare like this, there is a choice: Learn what you can do to mitigate the risk or quit the activity. Nobody can tell you what the right choice is for you, but if you're interested in risk mitigation, here is a takeaway to consider:

Your personal safety can never be entrusted to other people obeying the law. The key in this and many other situations is to assess what people are really doing, rather than relying on what they should be doing. This is a longer way of saying what others have said, but this is more of a principle with which to assess any given situation. In this instance, looking a bit longer to confirm that all oncoming traffic was slowing would have prevented a somewhat near miss. What cars behind you might want you to do doesn't matter if it would imperil your safety.

Another possibility, sometimes practical and sometimes not, is to let the car on your left advance into the intersection far enough to protect you from anything coming from that side.

All things considered, this was not an especially close call, though your safety did depend on the van changing lanes, which isn't something you want to bet your life on.
 
Last edited:
YES! 2006.. Wife then, taking her to work(am) in SF from American Canyon, lanes narrowed got pinned under an 18 wheeler, I didn't see it coming, 18 wheeler touching right shoulder while splitting, no idea, could not see it in advance... got trapped!!!! took out a mirror on the left... looking for a bail on the left over stopped traffic.... everything 'no go' ... no idea how we came out of it alive? no idea!!!.. crushed or squeezed...

lost my keys for 3 weeks.... found them in the freezer in the garage..

-dar

get back on the horse! open road calls.
"stay away from big trucks!!" should add that to signature.... ... . . . . .
 
sparrow23 said:
All good advise. Thanks everyone, I'll take a break for some time and then decide.

I had already seen the orange on the through lane. I saw the Tesla slow down and relied on my peripheral vision to conclude that the other vehicles were quite far back when the lights turned green on the turning lane. So they wouldn't enter on a red. I didn't want to hold up the traffic behind me, so I didn't wait any longer :(
Click to expand...

I’m just reacting to you not wanting to hold up traffic. I feel it is every first-in-line’s responsibility to hold up traffic until it is safe to go. Often times you approach a line of vehicles at the green or stop sign, but there is a pause you can’t quite explain, could easily be someone on their phone, but you must pause with them because they have the best vantage. Maybe it’s a dog this time or something. Anyway, you are in control and they wait because you say they wait. We mustn't ever let ourselves be rushed, in fact we should always be waiting for that red light runner and expecting them even.

I know you already said most of this in your post. I’m coming off a day when two white Teslas ran the very red lights in front of me. One came from behind a large construction vehicle and was completely obscured. Had I not paused to watch that lane’s vehicle show up I would have been smithereens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top