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Side swiped on 101S this morning

Variable said:
One thing I noticed I wrote was it was the number 1 lane, actually I should have written it was the number 4 and 3 lanes (fast lane and lane to the right of it) where this occurred.
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You were right the first time. Lanes are numbered from left to right.
 
You count the lanes from the left. Fwiw - I always ride the left side of the #1 lane. The middle is full of oil and the inside doesn't give you any time to react and sort of cloaks you amongst the cars in the #2 lane in a quick glance in the mirror. You need separation or you just look like another headlight. I've had cars move in on me still, but I just slid over on the shoulder and continued. Annoyed, but no drama.
 
Variable said:
I saw the traffic start to speed up in lane 1 and a gap opened as I was approaching.
Sure enough a RAV4 type of SUV dives in, blinker goes on right as she dives in >
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Whenever I see a gap or a gap open up, and a car is in position to slam into it, I almost instintively shift my weight and start a turn into the open spot. It is very slight, and more of a weave. But even though the car may be getting closer to me than I am moving away from it, in a game of thousandths of seconds it could make the difference between contact and not. Plus my inertia is already taking me in the direction away from the car, and adding more "turn" to it is eaiser than starting from a straight line. A similar situation happened to me a few weeks ago, but instead of me looking at her rear corner coming into my "motorcycles only" lane, I was just behind her front passenger door and just happened to see her front right tire come from #1 lane into #2 lane about a foot in as I am passing. I did not have ANY time to react! What save my ass is that I was already in #2 and going deeper into it. I consider myself a "safer" lane splitter and am often moving over for the crazy splitters. I am so glad it turned out for the best for you. It is a nerve wrecking game we play.
 
dowlinginchico said:
Whenever I see a gap or a gap open up, and a car is in position to slam into it, I almost instintively shift my weight and start a turn into the open spot. It is very slight, and more of a weave. But even though the car may be getting closer to me than I am moving away from it, in a game of thousandths of seconds it could make the difference between contact and not. Plus my inertia is already taking me in the direction away from the car, and adding more "turn" to it is eaiser than starting from a straight line.
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Good technique. :thumbup

The cut-off with a vehicle moving into an open space is the most common lane-splitting crash reported on BARF. By preparing to occupy the gap yourself, you gain time and space to avoid contact.

It's also a good idea to slow down as you near a gap. This works with your swerve because it takes less linear distance to execute the maneuver if it becomes necessary.

Some lane "sharing" purists might object to your move because it's a lane change if you cross the lane line. But my opinion is that the benefit of added space cushion in the presence of a cut-off threat outweighs the legal technicality.

dowlinginchico said:
Did I just bring back a dead post? SORRY
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And then bumped it 8 minutes later. Mods are gonna come down hard. ;)
 
Dowling: I would have swerved if there was space on the left or right, but I was surrounded by cars and did not leave myself an escape route, as I normally would.

You and Dan have good techniques and some that i normally follow as well, as for this one instance I just could not avoid the car. I blame it on the both of us. Her, for not looking (or caring, take your pick) before merging and me for being complacent while lane sharing, as I have been doing that same route for over 10 years now and not leaving myself an out.

Also, a majority of us in Calif. lane share, so no biggie bumping this thread. May just keep someone else reading this on their toes, so to speak. :thumbup

Ride fast and safer!
 
Variable said:
Dowling: I would have swerved if there was space on the left or right, but I was surrounded by cars and did not leave myself an escape route, as I normally would.

You and Dan have good techniques and some that i normally follow as well, as for this one instance I just could not avoid the car. I blame it on the both of us. Her, for not looking (or caring, take your pick) before merging and me for being complacent while lane sharing, as I have been doing that same route for over 10 years now and not leaving myself an out.
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There's always that brief vulnerability when splitting past a gap, no matter what we try to do to eliminate it. At +10mph to traffic, you may have been slightly faster than I would normally negotiate a gap, but then you had little warning that the gap was opening. The fact that you kept the bike upright in spite of the impact is remarkable. Getting hit by other vehicles is a real danger in a splitting crash, and you did well to avoid it. :thumbup
 
DataDan said:
Good technique. :thumbup
And then bumped it 8 minutes later. Mods are gonna come down hard. ;)
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Thanks for the love. I feel this is a very important topic and I like to learn from others close calls or worse. I jumped right in with out looking. But even though it may be a good technique, moving into a gap usually means the car behind the gap is very close to you, therefore hard breaking at that point may be a very bad idea. Or even worse, if contact is made and motorcycle goes down in the gap, guess what is coming next. Going down scares me, but getting ran over gives me nightmares. I need to work on my teleport invention. It will solve all problems, someday.
 
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