Re: Pain and Suffering continued

[Matt Knowles <matt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>I had an 8:00am phone call from the police officer who is writing up the
>accident report.  He asked me why I was riding in the right side of the lane
>(because the left side was too close to the shoulder, and I wanted to be
>able to split if traffic got slow).
>
>Matt, to answer your questions -
>
>1. Within your lane were you positioned in the left, middle, or right
>portions of the lane?
>---Right part of the lane.

Life should come with a rewind or an undo button. I know I could have used
one many times in my life. Even a 10 second rewind would be great, wouldn't
it?

Certainly the other driver is to blame for this accident, but I'm sure that
doesn't make you feel any better as you and your bike are tumbling down the
tarmac. Knowing how cars disappear in my Del Sol's blind spot, and how it
in turn disappears in others because it is so small, the lady who ran you
over may not have been able to see you even if she did turn her head. One
of my biggest fears driving a cage is hitting a motorcycle, but I've been
guilty of almost doing that because motorcycles fit so nicely into a blind
spot. So staying out of blind spots and providing yourself a buffer between
you and the idiots is your best bet. Being in the left or even middle
portion of the lane might give you that extra second that allows you to
accelerate, brake, or swerve out of harms way.

Even if there isn't any shoulder and the concrete barrier is right next to
the lane (during construction say) I'd still take my chances with the
concrete barrier, since they are smarter than your average "talkin' on the
cell phone SUV driver." The barriers don't signal, but at least they stay
put.

I usually try to stay over on the left side until such point as I actually
start lane splitting, and I wait until both lanes are dense enough that
only a really stupid driver would try to make a lane change. I feel much
better lane splitting when it is solid cars on both sides. Once the speed
of the traffic goes up and spaces develop, I'm back over on the left.

Again my hope is for a speedy recovery for you, and a happy resolution on
your bike.

Matt Knowles - mattknowles@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://home.earthlink.net/~mattknowles
Aesthetic Design & Photography - (408) 977-1804
http://www.aestheticdesign.com



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