Don't Be Complacent!

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Don't Be Complacent!

Post by PCX150Rider »

When it comes to riding with the "Bulls" I'm never complacent. . .or at least try not to be.

Steve Irwin had his Top 10 Rules for Success. I think we could all learn from him. . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTcOiR0uFds

Whether it's riding motorcycles or scooters or dealing with wild animals it all encompasses a level of focus and attention to keep safe.
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by gn2 »

I doubt there's much to learn from Steve Irwin, isn't he the dead guy who deliberately swam too close to a big stingray in shallow water?
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by Jge64 »

LOL.....RIP......
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by PCX150Rider »

I doubt there's much to learn from Steve Irwin, isn't he the dead guy who deliberately swam too close to a big stingray in shallow water?
It was a loss to us all when he passed on. . .IMHO

He moved forward in a big way to try and educate the world about wildlife in a way that others felt would "rock the boat". I commend him for his contribution to our world and his enthusiasm for his work. Nobody knows for sure what happened when that stingray nailed him. There are theories the critter could have been spooked by something. I doubt Steve was complacent. As he said, he just did what he did and they captured it on film. It wasn't an act and the show producers created nothing. . .they just used technology to pass his message down the line.

What does it have to do with a PCX? Dealing with the challenges of going about your daily rides running with the "Bulls" and surviving to ride another day. ;)
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by you you »

gn2 wrote:I doubt there's much to learn from Steve Irwin, isn't he the dead guy who deliberately swam too close to a big stingray in shallow water?
That wasn't on his list of rules for success then?
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by Mel46 »

Unfortunately the unforseen can get you just as much as the anticipated. As I understand it, Steve Irwin accidentally stepped on a stingray that had covered itself in sand at the bottom of the bay area, in shallow water. You can't avoid what you can't see.
Traffic on the roads can be that way as well. Who anticipates the car that blows a tire and goes out of control, suddenly heading directly toward you and your bike? Or how about the wreckless driver who tires of slow traffic, jumps onto the shoulder of the road, and floors it...only to come up on you and your bike, sitting on the shoulder just waiting for traffic to thin out, at a high speed? All we can do is be as aware as we can, and hope for the best.
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by DanFromVegas »

A useful tool for all riders is the mental game of "what's the worst that could happen?" I used to ride with a guy who would take blind curves on the wrong side of the road. He was sure no one was coming the other way. Another guy did what I call the 10 minute pass. When passing another vehicle I spend as little time as possible in the danger zone. Not really an issue on a 150. Seriously, how many vehicles are you going to pass? You get the idea. What if that truck throws a tread? What if a cow is standing in my lane on the other side of this curve? If I do go down, am I protected? What if some hot chick wants a ride? Do I have a spare helmet? OK, that last one has only happened once in my 50 years of riding. :D
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by gn2 »

The Irwin -v- stingray was filmed, he knew it was there and was deliberately approaching it to try to get footage of it swimming away. Didn't quite go to plan.
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by PCX150Rider »

A useful tool for all riders is the mental game of "what's the worst that could happen?" I used to ride with a guy who would take blind curves on the wrong side of the road. He was sure no one was coming the other way. Another guy did what I call the 10 minute pass. When passing another vehicle I spend as little time as possible in the danger zone. Not really an issue on a 150. Seriously, how many vehicles are you going to pass? You get the idea. What if that truck throws a tread? What if a cow is standing in my lane on the other side of this curve? If I do go down, am I protected? What if some hot chick wants a ride? Do I have a spare helmet? OK, that last one has only happened once in my 50 years of riding. :D
I don't ride on Interstates at night anymore with my motorcycles for two reasons. One: is the traffic seems to be constantly congested and moving rapidly so you don't have the ample space to brake hard or react appropriately to navigate around road debris (tire retreads, mufflers, contractor pails) and Two: the general condition of the roads is in decline to the point of being hazardous in some areas. You may be able to see what's going on in daylight but at night you are at the mercy of your headlight. . .not to mention the glare of oncoming traffic interfering with your view. I think I heard a couple of months ago on the news that the infrastructure in the United States rates about a D+. That's poor. They've let stuff slide for too long. I-95 is at 300% of it's original design capacity. They need more lanes. . . :roll:

Oh. . .and one of those self driving cars got into and accident the other day in Arizona of all places crossing an intersection on Yellow. Somebody plowed into it. It put the car right on it's side. . .here's the story.
http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-sel ... ort-2017-3

It's a Brave New World!!! o_O
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by Mel46 »

After reading that report I see several things of importance. The first thing is that the Uber car was not at fault. However, the second thing that I noticed was that this accident happened because someone was trying get to turn across three lanes of traffic during busy traffic time. They made it through two of the three lanes but became 'invisible' to the Uber vehicle because they were between cars. The Uber car was doing 38 mph and maintained that speed through the intersection as the light turned yellow. That would make the Uber 'in the right' in all circumstances. The question in the report was whether a human would have been more cautious. I see accidents at the entrance to our subdivision every single day because of the same situation, and there are no Uber self-driving cars locally. In fact, the same thing happened to me, so I fully understand the problem. The only real solution would be to NOT allow left turns across three lanes of traffic at any time. We tried to get our entrance changed to not allow left turns in or out of our subdivision and there was a lot of 'flack'. People complained that they would have to go a block down the street to get in or out of our subdivision. Interestingly enough, NONE of those complaining lives in our subdivision. So why did they complain?? A simple study of the area has the answer. Drivers are using our entrance turn in to make illegal U-turns and to 'beat the light' by coming out of the shopping center entrance across from our subdivision...all of which are illegal, and yet they won in the committee meetings. Why? Because they or their partner are wealthy, influential members of the county. How do self-driving cars handle that??
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by PCX150Rider »

Drivers are using our entrance turn in to make illegal U-turns and to 'beat the light' by coming out of the shopping center entrance across from our subdivision...all of which are illegal, and yet they won in the committee meetings. Why? Because they or their partner are wealthy, influential members of the county. How do self-driving cars handle that??
Wow. . .a prime example of "Money Talks". Your situation makes me think of those people that cut through business parking lots to avoid waiting for a red light at a 4-way intersection. Scoundrels that they are. . .!!! :x

You brought up a good point before that even when you try to be aware of what's happening there's always that thing that comes out of left field you just can't see or predict. At the end of the day I guess the best we can do is reduce our risks by controlling what we can and using good horse sense about things we can't. Those poor old people in Texas who were riding on a church bus (with their seat belts on) the other day were hit by a 20 year old foolish idiot that admitted he was texting. His driving was so bad that others had contacted authorities while he was still driving along before the crash. The police just couldn't react quickly enough to pull him over. . . :roll:

I saw a driver like that two days ago on my motorcycle on a major highway. Drifting left. . .then drifting right. . . going slow. . .speeding up. . .drifting again. . .. I only had about another mile before my exit came up so I just got behind the other 4 cars in line who were hesitant to pass him(or maybe her) until I could get off. I wish they could find a way to make the phones useless to drivers. Passengers OK. . .but not drivers. Anyhow I'm rambling, but short of an airplane using me for an extra set of wheels when it lands I do what I can to avoid contact. 8)
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by you you »

Mel46 wrote:Unfortunately the unforseen can get you just as much as the anticipated. As I understand it, Steve Irwin accidentally stepped on a stingray that had covered itself in sand at the bottom of the bay area, in shallow water. You can't avoid what you can't see.
Traffic on the roads can be that way as well. Who anticipates the car that blows a tire and goes out of control, suddenly heading directly toward you and your bike? Or how about the wreckless driver who tires of slow traffic, jumps onto the shoulder of the road, and floors it...only to come up on you and your bike, sitting on the shoulder just waiting for traffic to thin out, at a high speed? All we can do is be as aware as we can, and hope for the best.
And not pontificate, when you are open to doing the clearly dumb
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by PCX150Rider »

And not pontificate, when you are open to doing the clearly dumb
Or playing a guitar while you are riding at 150 MPH? o_O

And I don't want a pickle. . .just wanna ride my motorcycle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvLtNBm1yyA 8)
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

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PCX150Rider wrote:
And not pontificate, when you are open to doing the clearly dumb
Or playing a guitar while you are riding at 150 MPH? o_O

And I don't want a pickle. . .just wanna ride my motorcycle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvLtNBm1yyA 8)


Ukulele, it's the only way to be happy.

That and a dancing chihuahua
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by Mel46 »

Unfortunately a good 25% of the drivers in my area text while driving. That is what our accident was about in September of 2015. The driver in front of us was texting while driving his big truck, he crossed the double yellow line and hit a Xfinity van head on. Both vehicles were doing 45 mph. The van driver lost that contest and $500,000 later he is still not back at his job yet. You would think people would learn, but drivers are not always smart, and most don't think it will be them that causes someone else to die or be injuried. Hasn't anyone heard of 'Hands Free'!??... and 'No Texting while driving' means just that!
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by PCX150Rider »

Unfortunately a good 25% of the drivers in my area text while driving. That is what our accident was about in September of 2015. The driver in front of us was texting while driving his big truck, he crossed the double yellow line and hit a Xfinity van head on. Both vehicles were doing 45 mph. The van driver lost that contest and $500,000 later he is still not back at his job yet. You would think people would learn, but drivers are not always smart, and most don't think it will be them that causes someone else to die or be injuried. Hasn't anyone heard of 'Hands Free'!??... and 'No Texting while driving' means just that!
Years ago when I was first getting my drivers license, CB Radio was a big deal. Movies like "Convoy" etc. . . emerged and it seemed like everyone was buying them. Another new toy was the FM Radio Converter. The traffic seemed like it was about 2/3rds less than what it is now and you could grab the mic and chatter back and forth or just ask for the time or a "Smokey" report. It was normal to check your mirrors now and then to see if there was another vehicle in sight. Of course it was a distraction but I don't remember news flashes depicting traffic accidents due to distracted drivers on CB Radios (though there may have been). . .just the usual drunk driver or speeding collisions.

Fast forward to today and the world's population has increased in the last 50 years significantly and roads that were once manageable during rush hour traffic are now like a series of blood clots. Also, instead of 1 car per household now it's up to sometimes 3 or more. One for him, one for her, and at least one for the kids. . .(well not everywhere but you get the idea). So traffic density now collides with technology and it's technology that the human race looks to that will bail us out of the "Distracted Driver" problems.

That being said it seems we just don't have the will to put a stop to the use of cell phones while driving period. Laws are passed that will penalize people who are caught doing it but they aren't stiff enough to get the point across seriously. I'll bet there's a way to make it so cell phones can't be used by a driver but it's just not going to happen. There's more money in getting everyone to give up their independence and ride along in a vehicle that does everything for them. When cell phones are on they have to give a signal right? That's how they know where you are. . .and that's how they signal to the satellites. My idea would be that there would be detection devices built into the cars/trucks for each seating position that would pick up on an active cell phone for that area. There would be a port that you must plug your cell phone into or the vehicle can't be started (if it's off then it doesn't make any difference). The passenger ports would be "green" to use since they are just along for the ride. The driver port would be "red" and denied use. If the driver decides to pull the phone from the port to use it then the vehicle announces a warning that it will send a signal to the service provider that they may be in violation of the law and the service provider can shut off their service immediately. To restore service will cost a hefty fee. Other details could be worked out etc. . ..but until something like this happens I think there will just be more unfortunate fatalities due to human ignorance and self serving life styles.
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by Mel46 »

I agree. That would be a good idea. However, I think hands free would work fine too, as long as the driver does not text while driving, and they keep their phone 'holstered'. When I drive I have a hands free unit on my sun visor. I also have a magnet that I can attach my phone to on my vent, but I reserve that for my passenger for when they are reading Google Maps on their phone and want to keep it open. If I place my phone on the magnet it is only for comfort. I usually keep it on my belt and sometimes the seatbelt hangs up on the case when the phone is in it. If my phone lets me know that I have a text, I wait until I am stopped at a red light to look at it. If I have to reply, I pull over as soon as I can. I see too many cases where drivers feel that they just have to answer the text right away, and the next, and the next. Soon they have forgotten about the rest of the traffic and are just sitting there as the light goes through changes from red to green to yellow, or they try to drive while carrying on a text conversation. Neither of these works well. Pull into a business parking lot if you MUST carry on the text conversation.
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

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Mel46 wrote:I agree. That would be a good idea. However, I think hands free would work fine too, as long as the driver does not text while driving, and they keep their phone 'holstered'. When I drive I have a hands free unit on my sun visor. I also have a magnet that I can attach my phone to on my vent, but I reserve that for my passenger for when they are reading Google Maps on their phone and want to keep it open. If I place my phone on the magnet it is only for comfort. I usually keep it on my belt and sometimes the seatbelt hangs up on the case when the phone is in it. If my phone lets me know that I have a text, I wait until I am stopped at a red light to look at it. If I have to reply, I pull over as soon as I can. I see too many cases where drivers feel that they just have to answer the text right away, and the next, and the next. Soon they have forgotten about the rest of the traffic and are just sitting there as the light goes through changes from red to green to yellow, or they try to drive while carrying on a text conversation. Neither of these works well. Pull into a business parking lot if you MUST carry on the text conversation.
Does anybody still text now?
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Re: Don't Be Complacent!

Post by easyrider »

I rarely if ever answer the phone when driving. I figure if its important enough they will leave a message.. When I get to a convenient pull out /parking lot or my destination I will check the voice message system. I generally can tell by the number if its urgent or not. Texting is done verbally if at all.
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