At a roundabout I was just moving off, but stopped because of someone who clearly was not going to give way for me entering the roundabout first (or just plain did not see me). I had stopped and was just about to go again, but before I knew what happened I was on my arse and the bike was under me... The bloke that had been tailgaiting me for about a kilometer had ran straight up my arse because he didn't maintain enough distance for an emergency stop. He must have hit me at about 10-15km/h. LUCKY I had seen the other bloke who was not going to give way for me entering the roundabout, because then I would have been t-boned and then run up the arse by Mr. Tailgaiter. Thankfully he stopped and was very apologetic... exchanged details and so on. I came out of this debacle without a scatch because I had the basic gear on... kevlar jeans, mesh jacket, leather boots and gloves, and of course the helmet. Not a scratch. Bike damage was a front left indicator, clutch lever, headlight globe, a rear wheel that needed to be re-aligned in the swingarm, and my brand new numberplate bent in half long ways. Already fixed up with spares, and Mr. Tailgaiter has oh so generously offered to foot the bill for any repairs. So, lessons? Wear at least basic gear whenever you ride... Watch your mirrors for tailgaiters, and let them pass you if possible. And if in a car, leave a 3-5 second gap between you and the next vehicle at all times.
I REALLY hate tailgaters and will pull off the road to let them past so they can annoy somebody else.
bugger, as long as you are okay. Judging by your list of faults, old mate wont have too much to pay. Did you hit your head ? Is your helmet \ riding gear okay ?
could have been very bad, close call I slow down, turn around and give tailgaters the bird, it gets their attention
Pleased to hear that you are OK and the bike hasn't suffered too badly. Tailgaters sadly live amongst us and we seem to be seeing more of them Take care mate.
There really is more to the road than just following rules and hoping for the best. I find and see that the weak and timid road users get picked on because others are agitated and in a rush. There is a fine balance of assertiveness that needs to be had. I have never once been tail gated in my entire time on a bike because the volume and way I behave on the bike grabs attention in an assertive way. Not to the extent of breaking the law but enough to attract unwanted attention from police. I'm actually pretty happy with the road users in Sydney mostly, I honestly don't spaz out or even beep the horn when a road about user "has a moment" and doesn't give way because like you, you can pretty much tell when and when they won't stop, this only becomes a problem when 2 people are reckless at the same time. As for being rear ended if you legally can filter as much as possible. It's very rare that a person on a small sports bike would be in a situation where there wasn't a solution and being spirited compliments that very well. In a nutshell even though you weren't at fault your life and health is worth more than a law suit agreeing with you, with that being the case it is up to you to do better if it's your fault or not because your already fully aware that other road users are negligent. This is just my opinion of course and not meant as negative or offensive but in short do something about it next time e.g. If someone tail gates pull over, throw a spark plug at them, speed, change lanes etc before more factors come into play. Reminds me of red light cameras and people rushing the orange up someone's ass that are trying to stop, i always watch the rear and will run the red light happily if I think they can't stop in time. Hasn't happened but I'm watching. I see so many motorcycle riders listening to music, it's like are you serious? All the crashes I see I think well if you ate your wheetbix and where 100% body and mind you could have done something about that. Motorcycles aren't a game, people will die and get badly hurt if they suck and aren't putting in 110%.
Glad to hear that you aren't physically unhurt Linkin. The comments also from Damus are interesting too about always concentrating. On my way home from work yesterday I approached a right hand corner that I have taken so many times before, it was late afternoon and the road I was heading into was somewhat dark and and in the shadow of trees. I knew my line though and love that corner, anyway...leaned in and took the favoured line to then see a pensioner in a motorized buggy riding on the road heading straight at me and towards the corner. Seems this old guy didn't know or didn't care that he was driving into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road. Luckily I had time to react and get around him but it made me realize that you have to keep the concentration levels up...always! Particularly on local roads.
glad to hear your ok bud. defo a case of dress for the slide and not the ride. On a side note (be glad its not Perth you live in.....drivers are disastrous) apart from the normal issues ie phones ect, i believe those whom are not thought to drive in a manual car suffer worse when it comes to being distracted and as well knowing what they car is doing. i think learning to drive a manual car gives you more awareness of whats going on with you and your vehicle, however in saying that i also think that those driving a auto car have a tendency to drift off more often, i'm not exempt from this haha, i have also driven a manual car and would think of myself as a fairly alert and aware driver. since coming to Australia 8 years ago ive started driving auto and i think my driving has become worse. i find when im driving my ute (manual) im a lot more alert and when im driving my car (auto) i tend to be a bit slack and dopey behind the wheel?? maybe thats just me?
Want tailgaters? Come to the great western highway , blue mountains NSW. **** a duck does anyone up here NOT tailgate??? I drive for a living, 5 days a week in disability transport, and can't keep the bastards off my tail. Now being back on a bike, yep.. Same thing. Last guy was so close I could read "titleist" on his golf hat. Turned around and have him the death stare, he be like " Whaat? Whatsamatter?". I've driven in the USA, Japan, UK and no one tailgates like Australians do. And hardly anyone seems to realise it's a bad idea? "I like to see what's in front clearly" one guy defended. Yeah? So you need to be able to read the AS rating on the back of my helmet too? BF
I just go 10-20 under when they tailgate until they pass me. I also figured out that holding your wipers on at 70 km/hr if you're driving (yes I've experimented) will pretty much always cover the windscreen of the person behind you so I've emptied many a tank doing just that. Wait, I'm not helping am I?
Where I used to work many years ago there was about 50+ blokes on the day shift and there were two terrible tailgaters every afternoon at the '4pm grand prix'. One was so bad that when he came up behind me riding my trail bike (with full knobbies tyres) I would pull over into the dirt and spray him with rocks until he backed off. He was not happy and tried to get me to pay for his chipped paint on the GT Falcon. I told him I was letting him past and he could go jump. We didn't speak much after that.
