teenager on a cell phone

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curlyred
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teenager on a cell phone

Post by curlyred »

:evil: I was riding in the car with the family, home from putt putt and saw this idiot tailgating a guy on a street bike. I mean, at one point we couldn't even see the biker because this person was so close up his ...ahem...rear.

When the road finally widened to 2 lanes, we tried to speed up and see if we could get in front of her and slow down. It was a teenage girl on a cell phone! Laughing and cutting up and paying absolutely NO attention to the road. I swear they need to raise the driving age or outlaw cell phone use while the car is in motion.

We weren't able to safely get in front of her. I hope he made it to where he was going.
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jfrost2
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Post by jfrost2 »

Yea, I just got cut off today while riding too. I was riding home in my street and some jerk teen girl ran right through the stop sign while talking on her phone. She had a 3-4 year old in the front seat standing up on the seat too.

I honked and braked real quick, she didnt even look, all she did was floor it and escape.

Sometimes I wish a cop was there all of the sudden to just pull idiots like this over.
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curlyred
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teenager on a cell phone

Post by curlyred »

Seriously! I have never been fortunate enough to see it happen. (the cops stopping these fools, I mean....) I think these morons just always get away with it. What kind of karma does that take?

Or does it fall under "God takes care of fools and small children"? :x
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k1dude
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Post by k1dude »

I just got back from running errands and I almost got taken out 3 times!!!

The first was a guy pulling out into the street and not looking. He was looking down at his center consol with his wife and 3 kids in the SUV. I saw it coming. I hit my brakes hard and came to a complete stop. Sure enough, without even looking up he pulled right out into the road. When he finally looked up he was 15 feet into the road (where he would've taken me out) and saw me at a complete stop. So what did he do? He came to an abrupt stop (shocked) blocking both roads. Nice.

The second was right after the first incident. I pulled into the shopping center parking area and stopped at a stop sign. At that point a couple punks in a muscle car saw me. I watched him in my rear view as he raced up to me doing about 30 mph with his engine roaring and slammed on his brakes to try and scare me. I waited for traffic to clear and proceeded. He rolled through the stop sign and continued to rev his engine about 5 feet behind me trying to get me to turn and look at him.

The third was after I was leaving the store. Behind the strip mall is a driveway for the trucks to unload at the back of the stores. There's a 3 way stop there. I was going to pull out and saw a Mercedes racing about 45mph (15mph speed limit) down the drive and I knew he wouldn't be able to stop for the stop sign. Sure enough, he slammed on his brakes when he realized he had a stop sign and he skidded right through the sign (right where I would have been).

All three incidents happened within a block of each other and within a 10 minute span. I figured screw the rest of my errands, I'm going home where it's safe. There seemed to be too many idiots out this afternoon.
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Cheshire
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Post by Cheshire »

One of the best things my driver's ed instructor (way back when for my original driver's license) ever told our class was, "Be prepared for everyone you encounter to do the worst thing. Most of the time it won't happen, but you'll be prepared for it when it does."
That single sentence has saved my butt more times than I care to think about.
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Post by jmazza »

k1dude wrote:I just got back from running errands and I almost got taken out 3 times!!!

.
Wow- great job avoiding them all. What strikes me as I read your post is that you saw each one coming. That's exactly how we all can avoid most accidents, as the same things are going to happen again and again to us on the road.
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Cheshire
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Post by Cheshire »

k1dude... :shock: Those are the kind of days I just tell myself "abort" and go home. Good to hear you're unscathed.
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curlyred
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teenager on a cell phone

Post by curlyred »

k1dude...good call on going home. I wish there could be a "designated idiots" day on the roadways so we'd know when to stay home.

Glad you're ok.
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weaseltamer
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Post by weaseltamer »

although not on my scooter my boyfriend and i were in my crown vic (him driving) to get groceries and as we're going through a light in the left lane someone pulls out widely into the right lane and i'm convinced they were reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally close to hitting us with me in the passenger seat.

there was a cop driving about two car lengths back and if he hadn't been talking on his cellphone he would have likely pulled them over for recklessness, if not towards our vehicle then immediately after when they careened across the left lane to the turn lane to make a left turn. *sigh*
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greencountry
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Post by greencountry »

Today I stopped at a stop sign and then heard a screech from the car right behind me. I turned right, then looked over at the driver. She was busy texting or looking up something on her phone.

BOO CRAPPY DRIVERS. :evil:
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Post by olhogrider »

Those are great examples of how it is usually the car driver's fault. You did the right thing by avoiding their stupidity. There is a mental game we should all be playing. "What is the worst thing that could happen" and ride accordingly. I have ridden with people who will take a blind curve at a speed that would not allow them to stop in an emergency. Sure, an accident would be the fault of the driver making an illegal u-turn, but the rider still gets hurt.
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Post by tatoepfer »

I agree with your philosophy - assume they WILL do the wrong thing.

I've been told "Pretend everyone is trying to kill you", and "Pretend that you are invisible"...but those are too optimistic.

BOO cell phones!!!! (Though one day I rode past a scooterist checking her text messages on her phone! WTF???)
"There's no one here...and people everywhere. You're on your own" - QOTSA
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schlagle
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Post by schlagle »

Cheshire wrote:k1dude... :shock: Those are the kind of days I just tell myself "abort" and go home. Good to hear you're unscathed.
I have to agree wholeheartedly here. I'm glad you're safe, and was smart enough to see the possible dangers before they got to you.

And, some days, there are just so many damn crazies out on the road that even I, with 15+ years of high performance riding experience, will just turn around and head back home to park it.

I used to think that the $1 million per gallon for gas would make all the lunatics stay home and allow for a nicer ride. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to have happened. I've had a higher percentage of (insert your favorite expletive here) on the road almost killing me or other riders than before. I would describe my tales here but I'd hate to scare everyone off of the sport.

Just please be careful out there. I have one belief system that is internally contradictory and that is "you're invisible and everyone is trying to kill you". It's kept me safe for over 15 years so it's probably not a bad belief system :D
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Post by runtotorun121 »

Yep, I've said it before but my husband who rides behind me on his MC has said many times that my supra-cautiousness to the Nth degree has saved our necks on more than a couple of occasions. Yes, I do anticipate that those people rolling through stop signs at the side streets (feel free to substitute "those people getting ready to dart left in front of me", "those people getting ready to zip across four lanes of traffic and a turning lane to wipe me out", or any other variety of maimers or murderers) are potentially going to lose their minds and roll right over the top of me or my sweet hubby behind me. :? So I slow, brake, or whatever it takes to avert these potential accidents. I know I may not be as much fun to ride behind in city traffic as someone who is cruising along at 45mph, but I am enjoying the ride and plan to continue for many many more years with all my appendages still attached. . . :wink:
~Celebrate~
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enzomatic
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Post by enzomatic »

k1dude wrote:I just got back from running errands and I almost got taken out 3 times!!!
what part of northern california (so I can avoid taking the buddy there)?

Also, Cell phone use illegal while driving in CA now (except w/ bluetooth or whatever) still a step in the right direction. Except it's harder to see who's on the phone and avoid them.
Looking for ppl to ride with in LA.
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Re: teenager on a cell phone

Post by ScooterDave »

curlyred wrote::evil: I was riding in the car with the family, home from putt putt and saw this idiot tailgating a guy on a street bike. I mean, at one point we couldn't even see the biker because this person was so close up his ...ahem...rear.

When the road finally widened to 2 lanes, we tried to speed up and see if we could get in front of her and slow down. It was a teenage girl on a cell phone! Laughing and cutting up and paying absolutely NO attention to the road. I swear they need to raise the driving age or outlaw cell phone use while the car is in motion.

We weren't able to safely get in front of her. I hope he made it to where he was going.
So, just so I understand. Someone was tailgating a motorcycle. You wanted to speed up and somehow wedge your car between the bike and the vehicle behind the bike. Then you wanted to slow that car way down and take the risk of wrecking and perhaps hitting the motorcyclist. Is this correct?

Who decided that you are the protector of those on two wheels in Cincinnati? When I am tailgated (and it does happen sometimes), I speed up and hit the brake lights a couple times and usually the person behind me gets the message. Or in the case of it becoming 2 lanes as in what you describe, I change lanes.

If it was bothering the motorcyclist, he could have handled it. If I was riding and I someone was tailgating and another car tried to wedge between us, I would have been super pissed at what I perceived as a jackass move.
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Post by k1dude »

enzomatic wrote:
k1dude wrote:I just got back from running errands and I almost got taken out 3 times!!!
what part of northern california (so I can avoid taking the buddy there)?

Also, Cell phone use illegal while driving in CA now (except w/ bluetooth or whatever) still a step in the right direction. Except it's harder to see who's on the phone and avoid them.
Too far from you. Placer County.
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

enzomatic wrote:Also, Cell phone use illegal while driving in CA now (except w/ bluetooth or whatever) still a step in the right direction. Except it's harder to see who's on the phone and avoid them.
Drivers under 18 aren't even allowed to use bluetooth or operate any kind of device while driving.

There's a lot of research out there saying drivers on handsfree sets are just as likely to get in an accident. But I have yet to see anything on how many drivers are less likely to be on the phone, period. The CA law is pretty weak (fine for a first offense: $20), but I have seen only a couple of people violating it and have seen far fewer people talking when driving.

Yeah, the downside is it's harder to tell who's on a phone. Hopefully, the upside makes up for that in the long run.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
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curlyred
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Re: teenager on a cell phone

Post by curlyred »

ScooterDave wrote:
curlyred wrote::evil: I was riding in the car with the family, home from putt putt and saw this idiot tailgating a guy on a street bike. I mean, at one point we couldn't even see the biker because this person was so close up his ...ahem...rear.

When the road finally widened to 2 lanes, we tried to speed up and see if we could get in front of her and slow down. It was a teenage girl on a cell phone! Laughing and cutting up and paying absolutely NO attention to the road. I swear they need to raise the driving age or outlaw cell phone use while the car is in motion.

We weren't able to safely get in front of her. I hope he made it to where he was going.
So, just so I understand. Someone was tailgating a motorcycle. You wanted to speed up and somehow wedge your car between the bike and the vehicle behind the bike. Then you wanted to slow that car way down and take the risk of wrecking and perhaps hitting the motorcyclist. Is this correct?

Who decided that you are the protector of those on two wheels in Cincinnati? When I am tailgated (and it does happen sometimes), I speed up and hit the brake lights a couple times and usually the person behind me gets the message. Or in the case of it becoming 2 lanes as in what you describe, I change lanes.

If it was bothering the motorcyclist, he could have handled it. If I was riding and I someone was tailgating and another car tried to wedge between us, I would have been super pissed at what I perceived as a jackass move.
I wasn't driving, first off. And That was originally the plan, if it could have been accomplished safely. She was tailgating something fierce but then would end up off his butt briefly. My husband's thought was he'd like to get in front of her. But he saw he couldn't do it without being a jackass, so he didn't try to "wedge" in there. He really was watching the guy on the bike and staying out of his way. More than I can say for Barbie on the cell.

I don't view myself as the protector of those on 2 wheels in Cincinnati. Neither does my husband. It was just a thought, "would have been nice to get in front of her and back way off his backside". But we werent' willing to cause an accident over it.
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Post by DennisD »

Once in a while there is a cop around.

While commuting home from work one night after 3-11 shift, a group of teenagers buzzed as close as they could to me and leaned out of the car screaming and slapping the side of the the car. I wasn't surprised as I saw them approaching in my mirror. It was uphill on a residential street and the bicycle was somewhat loaded so I was slower than usual. At the same time they buzzed close to me I looked up and there was a city cop at the intersection not 20 yards away and he saw the whole thing. As the idiots went on up the hill the cop pulled out, got behind them and pulled them over. As I passed them I nodded and smiled at the cop. The driver didn't even look, he was busy keeping his hands on the car and doing whatever else the cop told him to do.

I had been pulled over myself a couple of nights before and the cop said he just wanted a closer look at my gear as he seldom saw anyone riding a bicycle at night with as much reflective gear and lights and that he had seen me from a pretty good distance. Told me to be careful and have a good ride.
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Post by iinigma7 »

Cheshire wrote:One of the best things my driver's ed instructor (way back when for my original driver's license) ever told our class was, "Be prepared for everyone you encounter to do the worst thing. Most of the time it won't happen, but you'll be prepared for it when it does."
That single sentence has saved my butt more times than I care to think about.
Same here. Ol' Mr. Sabatini's sage wisdom has saved my butt many times, both in a cage and on my scoot. When I am driving I try to imagine that every person on the road is a drunk teenager on a cellphone with 4 yammering friends in the car, then I expect them to do the opposite of what they should and quickly formulate a plan to get out of it if it actually does happen. This keeps me on my toes. :D
"...faster and faster until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death!"
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Post by bunny »

Someone posted about how the MSF made him realize how his cage driving habits had gotten lazy. I was thinking that same thing this morning. I got mad at myself for not signalling until I had already merged onto the highway. And wondered how many times have I just merged and not signalled at all? It makes me wonder about my driving patterns before and I am so thankful I haven't hurt anyone in all my years of driving.

Another cool thing TX is doing is a new motorcycle promotion about how cagers see motorcycles but they don't really 'see' them. So its a bright yellow bumper sticker that says "LOOK AGAIN" with a graphic of a MC reflected in a pair of sunglasses.
Yes, it's fast. No, you can't ride it.

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MikieTaps
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Post by MikieTaps »

The only time I have almost been taken out have been by Cab drivers that were talking on their cell phones… And it IS ILLEGAL in seattle to talk on your cell phone and drive…
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