Watch out for Civics!

I was reading this post... a few days ago.
God, something eerily similar just happened to me today...
I was in the right lane of a two lane road, shopping mall on the left, 35 mph road. I was cruising along on my way home, a blue Civic in the left lane going slower than normal. That was my first clue. I'm coming up on the car doing 35'ish, she was going about 30. Out of nowhere, she jams the brakes (no car in front of her) and swerved VERY hard right. So hard that her car was at a 65* or greater angle to the road. She saw a parking spot that she HAD to have. I was a car length behind her when it happened.
Luckily my panic stopping practice kicked in and I got on the brakes in time. I was already covering the brakes because I just didn't like how she was driving....
I nearly clipped her rear bumper. I was stopped in the middle of the road, cars coming. Pulled over in front of her, and was steaming mad.. Took a couple of breaths, and approached her..
"What the Hell was that?" I asked.
She responds with a very confused look.
"You nearly took me out!"
"I did? When? I'm sorry."
"When you swerved across my lane!"
"Oh! I didn't see you."
At that point I just walked away, to the sidewalk. What's the point? She clearly didn’t see anything wrong with swerving across a lane for a good parking spot.
A family was right there on the side of the road when it happened, the Dad came up to me and we talked for a minute. He told me he was sure I was done for. Lucky day.

Lessons to be learned:
1) Watch out for Civics.
2) Practice your emergency stops!
3) Be very cautious of passing on the right.

Good job on keeping it upright and keeping your cool. Good job.

Way to keep your cool. Imagine that, a woman driver....lol jp

Whew...glad you didn't hit her....her car that is! You gotta watch out for those women drivers (I'm an exception )

Way to go!!! :steve:

Watch out not only for civics but for any car/suv/pick-up/vehicule...
I was riding today minding my own on the freeway, all the way on the left lane, in the middle of the lane, cars in front of me, cars behind me, just going with the flow, all of a sudden the car on the right of me just swerves right into my space, no blinker, no mirror check just went for it, i slowed down/honked, i had enough space to where i slowed down and was safe (did come about 3 feet to me going at 75mph) the person just waved sorry, i followed for about 20mins contemplating breaking her mirror since its obviously usless to her, but just kept my calm. Whats the point in voilence, i did honk for a good 20secs and scared her so hopefully now she'll check or put her blinker on...:disapprove:

It was really hard to be calm, it was one of those days. I had someone bust a left in front of me at a light, had to swing left to avoid them. Someone opened a door into my lane just earlier, another lady blew straight through a stop sign just a few miles before that.
There are some days I swear my bike feels like a fool magnet. I went straight home after that. I was already pushing my luck.

im gonna make a point of practicing emerg stops 2morrow.

thanks for posting!! glad ur ok!

I would have probably executed the situation differently. I think this is a classic example why you should be prepared to use your horn. You sensed that there was something strange about the behavior of that vehicle, so covering the horn would have been a better option. As soon as she started to swerve into your lane, a blaring horn probably would have put her back into her lane. Just my opinion based on your scenario that you just described.

The bottom line is that you were able to execute a good emergency stop. You can practice all you want, but it's not until you experience it in a real situation that you can reevaluate yourself on how well you were able to stop. Pat yourself on the back not only on your stop, but to spot the potential hazard ahead of time. Classic example of "SEE" Search, Evaluate, Execute.

Get use to using the horn, it's your best friend. Most riders forget to use their horn in many situations that could have prevented them from crashing. The horn is the easiest, and one of the best defensive tools available to a rider, it's a shame that most riders are not trained to use it instinctivley like braking. Practice using the horn and get a louder horn than the stock too.

very good job keeping it together! :thumbup:

Well spotted I say.:thumbup:

Yikes! I'm glad you're okay.

Isn't it amazing how different riding a motorcycle is compared with driving a car. I was trying to explain this to a new rider wannabe the other day and I don't think they really got it. Anticipation of what the other driver is gonna do is paramount to your survival and this post highlights how important it is to be identifying potential risks every second. Glad you're OK, but I seriously doubt your close call will change this driver's poor abilities and habits. Look for the posts on airhorns, stebel, wolo, etc. and mount one on your bike soon. I never hesitate to give someone an early warning blast if I even have the slightest notion they are up to no good.

abacall said:

I was already covering the brakes because I just didn't like how she was driving....

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Among fighter pilots, that's known as "Situational Awareness"... knowing what's happening around you. Way to go man... you saw a potential hazard before it happened and tried to be prepared. I am very glad that didn't happen a little later when you might have been right next to her.

Again, fantastic job being aware of a bad situation. Glad you're okay! :thumbup:

VEGASRIDER said:

I would have probably executed the situation differently. I think this is a classic example why you should be prepared to use your horn. .

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I wish I had the time. I probably could have given her a warning I was there before she moved, but she just looked like she was driving slow and looking for something. If I honked at all the space cadets out here in SLC I would drain my battery in one ride.
Her maneuver was VERY sudden, very much like the video except she never lost traction and she got all the way across my lane and into the parking spot. Brakes and turn in a split second. I was honestly surprised she didn't skid.

I love the the horn Vegas lol,

I gave a guy in a beamer the horn tonight, he thought that it would be ok to just pull out in front of me.

"fool magnet" that was funny. glad you made it out of that ok

i was riding in the right lane, a good distance behind a car in front of me. The vehicle in front him suddenly and without warning makes a right turn, catching the guy in front of me off guard and he brakes really hard. I was looking into infinity as I always try to do when i'm riding because I dont look for clues from the car in front of me, I look 2 or 3 cars ahead for changes. Well, the guy turned, and the guy in front of me blared his horn and gave the finger, and because I had to stop suddenly too, I blared my horn in turn and also gave him the one finger salute. Your absolutely right about the horn. I had a guy semi weaving in his lane and mine while he was chatting on the cell phone, I gave him a hard finger on the horn and it was like I splashed cold water on him, he got back in his lane and actually looked to be paying more attention. I Love my horn and I use it often.

Nelly said:

I love the the horn Vegas lol,

I gave a guy in a beamer the horn tonight, he thought that it would be ok to just pull out in front of me.

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hunterfz6 said:

Your absolutely right about the horn. I had a guy semi weaving in his lane and mine while he was chatting on the cell phone, I gave him a hard finger on the horn and it was like I splashed cold water on him, he got back in his lane and actually looked to be paying more attention. I Love my horn and I use it often.

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Like I said time after time, the horn is the easiest defensive tool available for a rider. It's a shame that more riders are not accustomed to using it. I understand that there will be times that you will not have time to use it, but if you as a rider are aware or anticipate that there could be trouble ahead, get ready to use it. And if you use it, there usually is no need for further corrective measures to be taken as the above two quotes by Nelly and HunterFZ6 described.

I agree with the horn idea. It has saved me where if I swerved it would have been into oncoming traffic and if I braked it wouldn't have saved me (guy was right next to me how he didn't see me is beyond me) practicing using the horn with brakes is something we should all do. Try it it isn't as easy as you think and most of the time you need to emergency brake a horn wouldn't hurt the situation. Good save tho!

Speaking of horns, why is it that the smaller the vehicle, the less threatening the horn? The FZ6 horn sounds like: little guy walks up and taps on shoulder "Uh, ex-ex-excuse me s-s-s-sir?"

Where do I get a horn that says "GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!"?