A little rattled (a near-crash report)

Dr. Mega wrote:
 > A round on me... I need something to calm the nerves a bit...


Amazing content:
* Woman driver
* Seat belt
* Cell phone
* SUV
* Roll-over accident
* Motorcycles

Almost like reading a cliche`, deja vu, or greenie propaganda. Or all of
above. Ok - I'm bored, this am

dp
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

"Vox Knox" wrote in message

 >



(snipped...sorry Doc)

 > I hope someone (like the insurance companies) are building a data base on
 > auto accidents with cell phone involement. Aught to be a law like in NY
and
 > I think
 > Conn.
 >
 > Just this afternoon while on the scooter, I encountered two separate
 > incidents with cell phone drivers who were totally oblivious to their
 > automobile environement. Gabbing on the goddamn fone, 60 m/h in a 45 zone,
 > one hand on the fone, one on the stearing wheel, no turn signals, .....
 >
 > Stay the hell away from them...
 >
 > Vox Knox

The cell phone law in New York is a bust IMO. I've seen no decrease in
cell phone use since the law was enacted.
Two close encounters with oblivious drivers on phones so far this
season. One jabbering away while her car drifted halfway into my lane
(oncoming) on a long straight stretch. She swerved about 30 yards in front
of me, but by that time I was already riding right of the white line.
The other was a man behind me so into his conversation that he didn't
observe that traffic had nearly stopped for a left-turning vehicle. As he
skidded past me on the right and came to a stop I saw the phone in his hand,
hopefully crushed by his death grip on the wheel.
Neither driver had a 'hands free' set up.
Luckily no one was hurt either time, but I expect a few more encounters
before the season ends.
You can't stay away from these idiots. They're *everywhere*!

--
Roadrash
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

"Vox Knox" wrote in


 > Just this afternoon while on the scooter, I encountered two separate
 > incidents with cell phone drivers who were totally oblivious to their
 > automobile environement. Gabbing on the goddamn fone, 60 m/h in a 45

Similar thing happened to me on a stretch where the right lane goes away
due to construction. I was *right next* to a soccer mom's window... didn't
stop her from trying to drift right into me. If I had a baseball bat handy
I could've reached over and gently tapped her on the shoulder with it...
gently of course. As it was, I gunned it and got in front of the stupid
ginch. Look in the mirror and what do I see? Cell phone glued to the
right ear.

I now have a Howard's Horn installed; when I can ride again will post a
report first time I have a good chance to use it. For those who don't
know, Howard makes a nice 130 decibel air horn
(http://www.howardshorns.com) for about $150 or so. Installed quick and
easy (well, as easy as it can be on crutches) in a few hours; compressor
fit nicely under the stock horn cover.

No, I don't work for Howard <sfsf>.


--
Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead.
-James Thurber
Yank mycrank to Email.
Various Jap 1977-1990
'90 XLH 1990-2003 (enough bugs in the teeth)
'03 FLHT 2003-?
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

On Thu, 20 May 2004 22:04:40 -0500, "Dr. Mega"
etched the phosphur particles on my screen
with the following:

 > She had to have flipped six to eight times. Turns out she was
 >talking on her cell phone.

A neighbor lady had just left her home. Reached over at the first turn
and started dialing her cell phone. Mind you - she had just left her
house. Anyway while in the turn and busy dialing she rear ends a
parked Bellsouth telephone truck. Guy inside is doing paper work.
Snapped his neck.

Driving anything requires 100% attention.



Ride Safe!

Greasy Rider
'97 FLHTCi Lehman trike
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://rmhfaq.com" target="_blank">http://rmhfaq.com</a>
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

Greasy Rider @ invalid.com wrote in

 >
 > Driving anything requires 100% attention.
 >

Amen to that. Saw a great window sticker a while back... "Would you drive
any better with that cell phone shoved up your butt?"

My wife does embroidery (hats, patches, etc). I'm going to have her make
me a patch with that on it and it's going on the back of my vest.


--
Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead.
-James Thurber
Yank mycrank to Email.
Various Jap 1977-1990
'90 XLH 1990-2003 (enough bugs in the teeth)
'03 FLHT 2003-?
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

On Fri, 21 May 2004 14:53:29 GMT, RedOregon
etched the phosphur particles on my
screen with the following:



  >>
  >> Driving anything requires 100% attention.
  >>
 >
 >Amen to that. Saw a great window sticker a while back... "Would you drive
 >any better with that cell phone shoved up your butt?"
 >
 >My wife does embroidery (hats, patches, etc). I'm going to have her make
 >me a patch with that on it and it's going on the back of my vest.

I've got a bumper sticker on my truck:

HANG UP AND DRIVE

Might save her some time and stitches.



Ride Safe!

Greasy Rider
'97 FLHTCi Lehman trike
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://rmhfaq.com" target="_blank">http://rmhfaq.com</a>
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

Greasy Rider @ invalid.com wrote in message ...
 > On Thu, 20 May 2004 22:04:40 -0500, "Dr. Mega"

 > with the following:
 >
  > > She had to have flipped six to eight times. Turns out she was
  > >talking on her cell phone.
 >
 > A neighbor lady had just left her home. Reached over at the first turn
 > and started dialing her cell phone. Mind you - she had just left her
 > house. Anyway while in the turn and busy dialing she rear ends a
 > parked Bellsouth telephone truck. Guy inside is doing paper work.
 > Snapped his neck.
 >
 > Driving anything requires 100% attention.

10-4 to that!

Just completed a ride to Myrtle Beach for Bike Week and spent 14 hours
on the road each way. Saw too many hammer lane drivers on their
cells.

Two other observations: way too much tailgating at 80 mph. Also,
virtually every time I left enough space between me and the the
vehicle ahead of me in the left lane, a cage would pass me on the
right and pull into the safe space I was trying to maintain.

I saw more people reading books while driving than I'd seen in a long
time. An airhorn is in my future. Good idea.

Stupidist move I saw: After hearing a CB report of a dead dear in the
middle of the road a half a mile ahead, a train of hammer lane
tailgaters approached and I could see them swerving to the left as
they avoided the deer. Except for the idiot in front of me who was
following too close and not paying attention. Drove right through the
deer. It aspirated with parts flying everywhere. It was a first for
me. Green fluid and blood was everywhere. I let out the clutch and
decided to coast through the mess, not knowing how slippery it all
would be. No problem, but left me shaking my head.

Oh, yeah...truckers, while universally disliking cagers, were very
accomodating to me the entire trip.

Regards,

Doug
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

Woa, simmer down there potroast..

There are lots of causes for crashes that rank above cell phones.

car stereos being one
eating while driving
passengers disracting the driver being another

cell phones are not the number 1 cause that's for sure.. Are you going to
ban passengers in a car? Food? Remove the stereos?

anti-cellphone laws were catching on when they were, more or less, tools for
lawyers and doctors and toys for people with money.

Now they're so common you see cops talking on the phone while they're
driving.

"Vox Knox" wrote in message

 > I hope someone (like the insurance companies) are building a data base on
 > auto accidents with cell phone involement. Aught to be a law like in NY
and
 > I think
 > Conn.
 >
 > Just this afternoon while on the scooter, I encountered two separate
 > incidents with cell phone drivers who were totally oblivious to their
 > automobile environement. Gabbing on the goddamn fone, 60 m/h in a 45 zone,
 > one hand on the fone, one on the stearing wheel, no turn signals, .....
 >
 > Stay the hell away from them...
 >
 > Vox Knox
 >
 >
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

 >
  >>I hope someone (like the insurance companies) are building a data base on
  >>auto accidents with cell phone involement. Aught to be a law like in NY
 >
 > and
 >
  >>I think
  >>Conn.
  >>
  >>Just this afternoon while on the scooter, I encountered two separate
  >>incidents with cell phone drivers who were totally oblivious to their
  >>automobile environement. Gabbing on the goddamn fone, 60 m/h in a 45 zone,
  >>one hand on the fone, one on the stearing wheel, no turn signals, .....
  >>
  >>Stay the hell away from them...
  >>

Charlie top-posted with:
 > Woa, simmer down there potroast..
 >
 > There are lots of causes for crashes that rank above cell phones.
 >
<snip>

Except that at least half of the motoring public, usually the ones that
deny it the most, don't have the brain power to pilot their car and
operate a cell phone at the same time. More often than not I can follow
someone who is driving reasonably well until I see the phone lifted to
their head. Then they suddenly can't maintain their lane or speed, quit
using signals, focused on the phone and not on driving. It's like
instant retard when they touch the phone.

When I'm approaching a car on a multi-lane I not only get in a position
to see them in their mirrors, I also check to see if they're on the
phone. I'd rather take my chances with someone that has a loud stereo or
is driving with their knees while using the hands to hold a cheeseburger.

There's many times I sit in traffic looking around at all the people on
their phones and wonder what's so goddamn important? I try to avoid
phones when I can, and not just the ones other people are using.<g>

--
- Thomas.
'01 FLHRCI BS#218 SENS
To e-mail remove the furniture.
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

On Thu, 20 May 2004 22:04:40 -0500, "Dr. Mega"
wrote:

 >A round on me... I need something to calm the nerves a bit...
 >
 >Yesterday I was coming back from a meeting at company HQ, a nice little
 >15-mile jaunt down a scenic stretch of highway. I was following my assistant
 >who was behind a guy going a tad slow, and both of us were thinking about
 >passing when an oncoming SUV (a Ford Escape, I think) swerves all over the
 >road before bouncing end over end like a ball down the road toward us. It
 >was the freakiest thing I've ever witnessed in person, I think. We all jam
 >on our brakes and I damn near put my new bike (just piked up the RK a week
 >and a half ago) in the back of my assistant's Jeep. Fortunately I was able
 >to stop/swerve in time and missed her by a few inches.
 >
 >Probably the most incredible thing about this was the woman in the SUV was
 >basically unharmed, save a cut to her hand, presumably from every window in
 >her vehicle being smashed. She was wearing a seat belt and I know it saved
 >her life. She had to have flipped six to eight times. Turns out she was
 >talking on her cell phone.
 >
 >Anyway, thanks for listening. Bottoms up.
 >
 >=DM=

Congrats on the new RK. Glad you're alive to relate this tale. If
you've ever had any thoughts about ending up in your assistant's
truck, I bet what almost happened ain't what you had in mind...

"Let's be careful out there..." Sgt. Esterhaus, "Hill Street Blues"


'97 FLSTF
To reply by e-mail, remove nospam from address.
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

On 22 May 2004 03:17:46 -0700, a63strat DeleteThis @adelphia.net (Doug) wrote:


  >> On Thu, 20 May 2004 22:04:40 -0500, "Dr. Mega"

  >> with the following:
  >>
   >> > She had to have flipped six to eight times. Turns out she was
   >> >talking on her cell phone.
  >>
  >> A neighbor lady had just left her home. Reached over at the first turn
  >> and started dialing her cell phone. Mind you - she had just left her
  >> house. Anyway while in the turn and busy dialing she rear ends a
  >> parked Bellsouth telephone truck. Guy inside is doing paper work.
  >> Snapped his neck.
  >>
  >> Driving anything requires 100% attention.
 >
 >10-4 to that!
 >
 >Just completed a ride to Myrtle Beach for Bike Week and spent 14 hours
 >on the road each way. Saw too many hammer lane drivers on their
 >cells.
 >
 >Two other observations: way too much tailgating at 80 mph. Also,
 >virtually every time I left enough space between me and the the
 >vehicle ahead of me in the left lane, a cage would pass me on the
 >right and pull into the safe space I was trying to maintain.

Don't that just piss you off to no end! Same shit happens to me. I
invariably end up the last one in any clump of traffic due to people
coming up and taking over my buffer zone, forcing me to keep dropping
back until they're all ahead of me. Hell of it is, if they kept
pulling away and left me behind it would be one thing, but they get of
ahead of you and then slow down to the speed that everyone else is
driving. It's like it just drives them apeshit to see that "unused"
space or something.

 >
<snip some more good stuff>


'97 FLSTF
To reply by e-mail, remove nospam from address.
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

Thomas wrote in


 > There's many times I sit in traffic looking around at all the people
 > on their phones and wonder what's so goddamn important? I try to avoid
 > phones when I can, and not just the ones other people are using.<g>

Co-worker of mine, *whenever* he hears a cell phone or a beeper go off,
immediately responds with, "Hey, look at me, I'm important, I'm important!"
Tends to embarass the crap out of whoever the ringee is, as well as give
everyone else in the area a good laugh.


--
Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead.
-James Thurber
Yank mycrank to Email.
Various Jap 1977-1990
'90 XLH 1990-2003 (enough bugs in the teeth)
'03 FLHT 2003-?
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report) 

"Vox Knox" wrote in message ...


  > > A round on me... I need something to calm the nerves a bit...
  > >
(snip story of a bozo crashing her SUV cuz of cell phone use while
driving)
  > >
  > > =DM=
  > >
  > > --
  > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  > > Baraboo, WI
  > > '86 Honda VT1100
  > > '04 FLHRI
 >
 > I hope someone (like the insurance companies) are building a data base on
 > auto accidents with cell phone involement. Aught to be a law like in NY and
 > I think
 > Conn.
 >
 > Just this afternoon while on the scooter, I encountered two separate
 > incidents with cell phone drivers who were totally oblivious to their
 > automobile environement. Gabbing on the goddamn fone, 60 m/h in a 45 zone,
 > one hand on the fone, one on the stearing wheel, no turn signals, .....
 >
 > Stay the hell away from them...
 >
 > Vox Knox

I was sitting at a red light in the inside left-turn lane to get onto
the interstate, when a young lady in a little Japanese jobbie pulls up
next to me in the adjacent left turn lane. I notice she has
2...that's right, I said two...cell phones. She was juggling them
around and dialing numbers. Light turned green, and I paused to let
her go first. Didn't want to have her run over me. Once on the slab,
curiosity got to me and I eased up next to her and glanced in. Sure
enough, a cell phone in each hand, each one pressed up against an ear,
driving with her knees. She was driving pretty well, too. Shook my
head and sped up to get away from her.

Fricken amazing what people will do.

Andy aka Big Stinkie
 >> Stay informed about: A little rattled (a near-crash report)