Rider down on my commute

[Gone in 60]

I'm back to the grind today after being on vacation for a week. Half-way to the office, the car pool lane backed up, and I could see red and blue lights up ahead. Figured it was the CHP nailing single drivers in the car pool, which they occasionally crack down upon.

Unfortunately, as I got closer, I could see that it was a sport bike laying on its side, about to be yanked up onto a flatbed tow truck. No rider standing around and no ambulance, so I surmised that he or she must have been transported already, and this was the final cleanup.

I've been back to this job since January, and this has been the first rider down that I've seen on my route. The bike didn't look too demolished, so hope the rider will be ok. Not something you like to see.

 

[the Ferret]

How could that be? I thought lane splitting was safe lol

 

[Gone in 60]

It is, but lane splitting doesn't put a magic car-repelling shield around you... or fix unsafe riding.

 

[Randy B]

How could that be? I thought lane splitting was safe lol

If he was in the carpool lane he shouldn't have been splitting anyway. In So Cal the CP lanes are set up a bit differently than around me in the bay area. My guess would be that someone probably went to jump into the CP lane and didn't see the biker and smacked into him. Unfortunately it happens much more than it should.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

How could that be? I thought lane splitting was safe lol

If he was in the carpool lane he shouldn't have been splitting anyway. In So Cal the CP lanes are set up a bit differently than around me in the bay area. My guess would be that someone probably went to jump into the CP lane and didn't see the biker and smacked into him. Unfortunately it happens much more than it should.

If he was in the carpool lane he shouldn't have been splitting anyway. In So Cal the CP lanes are set up a bit differently than around me in the bay area. My guess would be that someone probably went to jump into the CP lane and didn't see the biker and smacked into him. Unfortunately it happens much more than it should.
I see that between cages and it is carnage.

 

[Gone in 60]

On this freeway during rush hour, the carpool lane is barely moving, while the normal lanes are just about stopped, so he would have been splitting.

Too hard to tell what happened without seeing it happen, but hope the rider is ok. Would have been a relatively low-speed incident if he was riding with reasonable speed for the condition.

 

[Randy B]

On this freeway during rush hour, the carpool lane is barely moving, while the normal lanes are just about stopped, so he would have been splitting.

Too hard to tell what happened without seeing it happen, but hope the rider is ok. Would have been a relatively low-speed incident if he was riding with reasonable speed for the condition.

That would be about what happened to me. Traffic was moving about 25 mph and I was at about 30 mph when the guy slammed into me and took off.

 

[Gone in 60]

Ugh.. another one. Leaving the garage this morning, listening to the news and traffic in my earbud, "there's a motorcycle down on the 55 south at Chapman in the carpool lane". That's where I get on the freeway, and I said a thank you inside my helmet that my wife doesn't listen to news stations on her way to work.

It was a big Victory bagger, laying on its side. Front and rear lights were still on, didn't look damaged, and no plastic debris on the ground, so must not have been a front or rear hit. That's a very tight, slow part of the split, so maybe he bumped someone, or maybe it was a panic stop and he fell over. Wasn't a bike I'd ever seen on my commute.

 

[the Ferret]

Buddy of mine over on the ST forum got it day before yesterday while lane splitting in CA

accident at 1:11

 

[Gone in 60]

Is he ok??

 

[KiowaEagle_imp]

Hope he's ok ferrett.

But that's why I wouldn't lane split even if it were legal here. Too easy for something like that to happen and no maneuvering room. If you can't stop in time you're screwed.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Buddy of mine over on the ST forum got it day before yesterday while lane splitting in CA

accident at 1:11

Huh. Really a solid capture (INNOVV Motorcycle Safety Systems: Dash Cams, CarPlay & BSD). Interesting how life unfolds from the cages after the event.

... foggy.

 

[the Ferret]

Mostly. Right wrist, right hip need some attention. He was geared up and doing under 30 upon impact.

If you notice it records his speed. Seems to me traffic was running between 30 & 40 for the most part and he was running near 60 at times. To me, and this is just me and my paranoia, traffic was moving fast enough to stay in line with traffic, and the differential between traffic and his lane splitting speed was too great, but what do I know? I have never lane split in my life. Watching vids of other people doing it scares the beejeebus out of me and is enough to convince me not to do it. Maybe if traffic was dead stopped, but not while it's moving.

 

[Houtman_imp]

To me lane splitting is not the smartest thing to do , you NEVER know if/when a car changes lanes. Only when the traffic is at a standstill would I perhaps do it when it is legal .

 

[Gone in 60]

Splitting is a constant study of reading traffic and making judgement calls. When is traffic going fast enough that you duck back between cars? Do you split in spots where the gaps between cars would be inviting to drivers in the next lane? It's easy to watch the video and make judgments. I'm not going to.

On my commute, the traffic is a constant stop-and-go accordion. There are daily rear end collisions. Harsh reality, but if I had to choose between his side-glance accident and being rearended, I'd take his accident. I'd have taken every precaution - fully geared, hi-viz, white helmet, multiple lights on my bike, and using my best judgement.

I left the video running for a minute, and the next one that came up showed an accident on I-15 at Rainbow Road in northern San Diego county. That's the exit I take to get to my in-laws' house. Can happen anywhere.

 

[Gone in 60]

Speaking of lane splitting, last night on the way home, I encountered what is about my least favorite type of California rider. What I term the "militant splitter."

For a few miles on my home-bound ride, the car pool lane is up against the concrete barrier on the left. So, it's natural that the cars in that lane will ride either in the middle of the lane or slightly to the right to avoid being close to the wall. I'm patient with drivers in this section, not expecting many of them to move over and make room for me. The lane is also narrower here as there is no shoulder. Car pool traffic in this area ranges from 0-5 mph.

Last night, I was behind an R1200GS with the big metal "adventure boxes" on both sides, making him very wide. He was determined to let everyone in that section know that it was his unassailable right to get past them. Waddling up next to cars a bit too far to the right for his taste, revving to get their attention, then wagging a finger at them. And, apparently so absorbed in his fury that he didn't notice that he was holding up me, and a very impatient sport bike rider behind me. As soon as I could make a hole, I let the sporty around, and let him rev, flash brights, and just about plow the GS out of his way.

Since the GS was wider than me, I used him to my advantage, and let him widen the gap, giving me a very comfortable view of his antics.

 

[KiowaEagle_imp]

Speaking of lane splitting, last night on the way home, I encountered what is about my least favorite type of California rider. What I term the "militant splitter."

For a few miles on my home-bound ride, the car pool lane is up against the concrete barrier on the left. So, it's natural that the cars in that lane will ride either in the middle of the lane or slightly to the right to avoid being close to the wall. I'm patient with drivers in this section, not expecting many of them to move over and make room for me. The lane is also narrower here as there is no shoulder. Car pool traffic in this area ranges from 0-5 mph.

Last night, I was behind an R1200GS with the big metal "adventure boxes" on both sides, making him very wide. He was determined to let everyone in that section know that it was his unassailable right to get past them. Waddling up next to cars a bit too far to the right for his taste, revving to get their attention, then wagging a finger at them. And, apparently so absorbed in his fury that he didn't notice that he was holding up me, and a very impatient sport bike rider behind me. As soon as I could make a hole, I let the sporty around, and let him rev, flash brights, and just about plow the GS out of his way.

Since the GS was wider than me, I used him to my advantage, and let him widen the gap, giving me a very comfortable view of his antics.

LOL....like a fullback...

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Useful strategies.

 

[Gone in 60]

Precisely. I love being behind a wide bike, as long as he isn't riding like a jerk.