VegasJen

But not mine.

I was out on a ride today and I'm on the shoulder of the highway heading into town. Coming at me heading out of town was a semi-tanker. Behind the tanker was a (stupid and impatient) woman in a crappy little car. I say this because the road curves to her right (blinded by the tanker) and is a solid double yellow line. Impatiently and illegally, she crosses the double yellow line in an attempt to overtake the tanker when she cannot see oncoming traffic. I see all this happening and I think she's an idiot.

But what got my attention was the chirp, chirp, chirp of locked up wheels behind me. I check in my mirror to see another semi traveling the same direction as me has pulled onto the shoulder (where I am) to avoid a head on collision with the idiot. He wasn't so close that I lost it or anything, but he was close enough to me that he had to lock up his brakes while on the shoulder where I was riding in order to avoid hitting the idiot driver AND avoid running me over.

I'm probably lucky I really didn't know what was going on until it was mostly over or I might have ridden off the shoulder and dumped my bike to get out of the way. Hopefully the semi driver didn't have to change his shorts and the idiot woman did.

Be careful out there.

jaxgtr

jeez...

rsbob 

Idiot for sure. Glad you came through alright.

jalwlb

Accidents almost happen more than we realize. Realizing we could have been in an accident makes us thankful and keeps us humble. Glad you're ok!

noimagination

I've spoken to truckers occasionally, at roadside stops during longer rides. Tales of the nonsense they have to put up with from other road users blow my mind. There are bad truckers, of course, since they're human beings, but they deal with idiots who demonstrate a complete lack of awareness of (a) the existence of others and (b) the laws of physics, on an hourly basis (at least).

Glad you're still with us.

georges1

Glad that you are ok

shelbyfv

A&S

pdlamb

One sight that'll never leave me was on a supported ride, when a cyclist ahead of me saw his turn coming up and cut from the right shoulder across the road to the left without looking back. I don't know when or if he noticed a flatbed doing the speed limit rolling down the hill behind him, but the trucker managed to lock up all eighteen wheels. I don't know whether I admire the trucker more for smoking all 18 wheels, or for avoiding a jack knife while he did it.

I think truckers bifurcate within a year or so of starting to drive. On the one hand are the "I can double clutch and steer and I am the big, bad truck driver," and on the other hand are those who quickly learn the basic skills they need and then continue to learn and improve over decades of driving. Glad you had the second kind behind you!

miamijim

Jim2527 here from the other forum…

shelbyfv

Awesome.... Welcome Jim!

rosefarts

The sound of locked up wheels behind me is something I hope to never hear again.

I use a flasher and mostly ride gravel and mountain bikes anymore. Maybe that helps.

thumpism 

I was delivering newspapers many decades ago when someone passing on the shoulder nearly punted me into the next dimension.

Eds0123

glad you're ok, Thanks for sharing

KerryIrons

That would not have been an accident. That would have been a highly foreseeable crash. Accident suggests it somehow "just happened." Road traffic experts are working to get away from the word accident because it suggests "no one was wa fault."

Photokid1970

That's a good point! I do all I can to be noticed and to pay attention, but not everyone on the road does the same... but in a case like this one, being diligent on your part helped! Glad you came out ok on this one.

genejockey 

Glad you DIDN'T get killed! I'm always amazed how stupid some drivers are - passing on blind turns, or creeping past slowly when they only have a few seconds that they know they're clear, etc.

rumrunn6

glad you are OK
maybe get a mirror? I use mirrors (2) when I'm not in the forest
been watching dash cam vids from truckers on Instagram. I knew there were dumb drivers out there, but the extent & magnitude of the stupidity is amazing
however, what is also obvious, is that bad things can happen real quickly, & they may not be due to a bad driver

VegasJen

Exactly. Hence the title of my thread. Had anything happened, whether to me or one of the drivers, it would have clearly been the fault of the woman attempting to pass crossing a double yellow line around a blind curve.
I do have a handlebar mounted mirror on this bike. I wasn't really looking at it though because I was pretty far right on a wide shoulder. Not so far right I wouldn't have been clipped by a vehicle fully on the shoulder, but safe from normal traffic.

I live in a rural area outside of Vegas, few bike lanes and few roads with shoulders. I use my mirror regularly on those roads. But I do tend to relax a bit more when I am on a good shoulder or dedicated bike lane.

prj71

Yup. I stay off of busy roads these days. One nice thing I like about small town life (I live in a town of 10k) it's not difficult to find a paved road with little to no traffic.

Bald Paul

Take heart. There is always the possibility that Ms. Impatient will decide she doesn't want to wait in line behind that truck stopped at the downed gate of a RR crossing, just as a Norfolk Southern freight decides to go by at 60 MPH.

rumrunn6

I did something similar when I was in my 20s. something really stupid, but not as dangerous, at least. don't know what I was thinking but the cop was real nice considering my stupidity

on a 25mph, local access road, traffic was stopped, just a cpl cars before an intersection. I could see the intersection but not 1 critical part, the part with the cop standing in the road. I got impatient & drove the wrong way on the other side of the line because I was making a left & it was right there. but what I couldn't see, was the traffic cop, holding up traffic. so when I rolled up to the intersection, he looked at me like I was nutz & put his arms up with a giant shrug. it was 40 years ago & I don't remember if he pulled me over & gave me a reprimand or what. he was busy & don't think I got a ticket

dumb ppl are too impatient & they do dumb stuff. but at highway speeds, on a blind curve? that's really risky

rsbob 

When driving my car or riding a bike, I always look for an ‘out’ or escape route in case a vehicle encroaches on my space. I would rather run myself into a ditch than risk a head-on.

Good to hear you are safe. “ Let’s be careful out there.”

Random11

Today, riding on a two-lane road with double yellow stripes down the center, vehicles were approaching from the other direction, and the one in front slowed to make a right turn. A pickup truck pulled out into my lane to get out from behind the slowing car, straight toward me in my lane. Obviously, the truck driver didn't see me coming when he pulled out. I didn't get hit, but one thing that impressed me was how quickly it all happened. Before I realized what was going on or had time to react, the truck was by me. No time to react. No time to be scared. I thought of this thread when that happened. Vehicles are driving so fast that if a driver pulls a bonehead move, there may be no way for a cyclist to escape.

Korina

OP, glad you got out alive and hope you didn't have to change your shorts.

VegasJen

Indeed. But on the bright side, you would have never known what hit you.
No, mine were fine. I think it's because I didn't realize how serious it could have been until it was over. It might have been much more frightening if I had seen it coming.