Traffic Tactics: Left-Turning Vehicles

[Monkey0744]

Well... I wrecked into a left turner on May 15th of this year. I'm a courier so I'm out there everyday all day sometimes over 300 miles per day... still got GOT! It can happen to all of us. Me n the Chevy Tahoe were both heading in the same direction on California between Larkin n Polk (towards Polk)... both goin' the speed limit. I was in the center lane (between the trolly tracks), other dude was in the right lane about 20 feet or so in front of me. He slowed his pace, so I scanned his path for anything or anyone who might be about to pull out in front of him... there was no one, so I continued on keeping an eye on his front tires. At literally 8 feet or so in front of me MF cranked it over and shot out in front of me. I had no time, and nowhere to go. I didn't even have time to lay her down. I began sliding the ass end out instinctively but slammed into the side of the SUV. I held her up as I wobbled across oncoming traffic, which was fortunately lead by someone who saw what this jackass was about to do & stopped. I slammed into a parked car across the street, then went down.

Lesson #1 If they can, they will.

 

[packnrat]

i do agree with slowing down in a traffic area or even a country area with lots of side roads and drive ways
but as a class A driver i do not like to be in a pack of others, your life is in the hands of the lowest fool.
and you can be seen easer if you are not doing the same speed ( not implying to speed) as the cages next to you...... this applies to even a 18 wheel 65 foot long rig
cage drivers do not see you (or me) not cause the did not see us. but cause they are not even looking

 

[SFSV650]

As I approach a potential or likely left turning scenario, after I've done all I can to be visible and create a cushion, I have in mind a point after which I will get on the throttle rather than the brakes, if someone make a move.

It's not particularly scientific and of course it varies depending on speed, lane width, and road condition, but I think it saves me a split second of hesitation if I've already decided "30' out I'll brake hard, but if he moves when I'm 15' out, I'm getting on the gas"..

 

[afm199]

My basic tactic for survival on the street is to consider all others homicidal maniacs waiting for a moment of weakness on my part. Trust no one and assume every driver will make an effort to hurt you.

 

[DataDan]

As I approach a potential or likely left turning scenario, after I've done all I can to be visible and create a cushion, I have in mind a point after which I will get on the throttle rather than the brakes, if someone make a move.

It's not particularly scientific and of course it varies depending on speed, lane width, and road condition, but I think it saves me a split second of hesitation if I've already decided "30' out I'll brake hard, but if he moves when I'm 15' out, I'm getting on the gas"..

Recognizing the escape route in front of a threatening vehicle and planning how to use it gives you an option that some riders won't accept. :thumbup

Sometimes that path is the only way out.

 

[CBurgess]

verry good points here. I always slow down and try to make eye contact if possibe from afar, watching the tire of the car and hoping like crap that they dont turn.. I had a 90 yr old merge onto me while looking directly in my eyes one day, so apperantly that doenst always work.

 

[DataDan]

verry good points here. I always slow down and try to make eye contact if possibe from afar, watching the tire of the car and hoping like crap that they dont turn.. I had a 90 yr old merge onto me while looking directly in my eyes one day, so apperantly that doenst always work.

And I've had people in their 20s turn in front of me while apparently looking at me. So, no, it doesn't always work.

"Eye contact" is a misnomer, of course. If you're 100ft from a driver threatening to cross your path, you can't make eye contact the way you can with a person at the next table at Starbucks. What you see is a glance that seems to be in your direction. It's important to appreciate what information you can and can't get from it.

A glance as a POSITIVE indication isn't reliable. Just because a driver looks toward you doesn't mean he sees you and will yield right of way. A normal level of caution is required.

But ABSENCE of a glance as a NEGATIVE indication is much more reliable, IMHO. If he has NOT looked in your direction, it is very likely that he has NOT seen you and will NOT yield right of way. I use a high level of caution. At times, I have come to a complete stop until the putz looked at me, and I then proceeded with normal caution.

 

[Outta Control]

And I've had people in their 20s turn in front of me while apparently looking at me. So, no, it doesn't always work.

"Eye contact" is a misnomer, of course. If you're 100ft from a driver threatening to cross your path, you can't make eye contact the way you can with a person at the next table at Starbucks. What you see is a glance that seems to be in your direction. It's important to appreciate what information you can and can't get from it.

A glance as a POSITIVE indication isn't reliable. Just because a driver looks toward you doesn't mean he sees you and will yield right of way. A normal level of caution is required.

But ABSENCE of a glance as a NEGATIVE indication is much more reliable, IMHO. If he has NOT looked in your direction, it is very likely that he has NOT seen you and will NOT yield right of way. I use a high level of caution. At times, I have come to a complete stop until the putz looked at me, and I then proceeded with normal caution.

Nicely put DD. Based on my approach speed I try to initiate an eye/face contact as soon as I possibly can but even before I do I try to read as much as I can on the vehicles position and speed plus my margin of safety if hell breaks loose. This is not foolproof but I ride with the mindset of a constant goal to minimizing my risk as much as possible even if it means committing a moving violation.

 

[GAJ]

Eye contact does nothing.

Watch the top of the front tire.

 

[DataDan]

You're coming up to an intersection on a red light. But you ride here every day, so you can tell from the cycle of changing lights that it's just about to turn green. You time your approach perfectly: Barely slowing, you hit the limit line at the very millisecond you get the green.

And then you notice an oncoming left-turner who entered the intersection a millisecond before his light turned red.

Wham.

[video that used to be here was removed from YouTube]

 

[latindane]

You're coming up to an intersection on a red light. But you ride here every day, so you can tell from the cycle of changing lights that it's just about to turn green. You time your approach perfectly: Barely slowing, you hit the limit line at the very millisecond you get the green.

And then you notice an oncoming left-turner who entered the intersection a millisecond before his light turned red.

Wham.

youtu.be/CDjSImfVCEw​

The car and the motorcycle get the red at the same time. The left turner was waiting for the yellow (red) to turn without crossing when traffic running the opposite direction has a green, the motorcycle was hauling ass and blew the red. Bam. The car expected the rider to stop instead of blowing the red. His expectation proved wrong.

 

[NorCalNav]

You're coming up to an intersection on a red light. But you ride here every day, so you can tell from the cycle of changing lights that it's just about to turn green. You time your approach perfectly: Barely slowing, you hit the limit line at the very millisecond you get the green.

And then you notice an oncoming left-turner who entered the intersection a millisecond before his light turned red.

Wham.

youtu.be/CDjSImfVCEw​

Wowowowowow!!! Anybody see that pillion?!?

 

[DataDan]

And then there's the opposite of the situation in my last post: gassing it hard on the yellow to cross the limit line before the light turns red. Which also has consequences:

Witnesses said the 18-year-old male rider was heading west on Union Hills Drive, approaching 19th Avenue where a vehicle facing east was waiting to turn left.

As the light turned yellow, the motorcycle rider sped up as the driver of the vehicle turned into his path.
​

A motorcycle's acceleration dramatically shortens the time it takes to reach the intersection. And, it dramatically increases the distance from which it is possible to make a changing light. But an oncoming left-turner may not be scanning for threats at that distance as he completes his turn on the changing light. And worse, you become nearly impossible to see if cars in the lane on your left are slowing, because they block the view between you and the oncoming driver.

This was the rider's point of view:

​

 

[DataDan]

This crash occurred Friday in Excelsior Springs, MO. Fortunately, the rider's injuries aren't serious.

youtu.be/Wa-dO6Emzuw​

This was the rider's point of view approaching the intersection:

​

Though the crash was clearly the driver's fault, as left-turner crashes usually are, that's something we have to learn to deal with. What observations would you make and actions would you take that might have prevented the crash?

 

[IAmA M0t0r Ridεr]

Rider doesn't seem like speeding AT ALL. He also didn't seem to react in any way to the car actions, like slowing further or trying to aim to the space behind the car - it seems it should still possible to occupy the median in between lanes, risky, but doable?

 

[IAmA M0t0r Ridεr]

Oh yeah, and in that situation, use the horn. That's what's there for, right? Warn drivers ahead you're coming.

 

[DataDan]

Rider doesn't seem like speeding AT ALL. He also didn't seem to react in any way to the car actions, like slowing further or trying to aim to the space behind the car - it seems it should still possible to occupy the median in between lanes, risky, but doable?

I noticed that too. The thing seemed to play out in slo-mo. The SUV was traveling considerably slower than other traffic, but it didn't slow any more approaching the intersection. It just gradually began to turn. And it was signaling. To me there seemed to be plenty of warning that it was going to turn without yielding.

If there wasn't enough space to brake (it's hard for me to tell), swerving might be a good option. But you never know. What if the driver suddenly notices you and stops?

 

[IAmA M0t0r Ridεr]

Yes, it's very tough situation. I froze once, slowed down so much, cars behind me got so close, made the situation even more tense and last longer. It seems that the slower it gets, more chances there's going to be a crash of some kind, less severe, but everyone's timing will be off and there will be less room to correct.

 

[Tydive]

I had another almost left turner yesterday. I was on a surface street close to home, the minivan was just initiating a left turn across my path into his driveway. I slowed and swerved a bit to the right to create room and he noticed me. The driver then stopped and waved me on. It was obvious that he had not noticed me prior to the swerve movement.

Thanks again for the tip. :thumbup

 

[greggargubby]

Here are my tactics regarding left-turners, be they right or wrong.

First, be visible at all times. What's the most visible vehicle on the road? A marked squad car. Sure, it's visible in part because of its role and the fear it creates. In other words, everyone is looking for them. But also because it's painted in large blocks of contrasting colors. Little stripes of florescent colors, to me, just aren't very visible. There just isn't much there to see. A vest simply isn't as much color as a jacket. Or a bike. My bike: all-yellow VFR. Helmet: matching yellow. Leathers: as much black as possible. Large blocks of contrasting colors.

What color? Yellow. Why? The best option is road-worker florescent green, of course. But good luck finding that without paying for lots of custom paint. What about florescent orange? Colorblind people don't see orange. I think they see it as gray, but I'm not sure about that. I read somewhere that's 5% of the population. 1 in 20. Even if it's 1 in 100, relying on mil-spec orange is not very comforting, at least to me, anyway. The next most visible color is yellow, so that's where I wound up. I read somewhere that after yellow is baby blue...? Anyway, it has really worked well. I could go on about it, but I'll shut up.

You all have covered everything but two of my other tactics. DISCLAIMER: yes, I realize there are some risks involved with both of these. Yes, I realize these may not be for everybody, especially new riders. Yes, I realize I will probably be vilified for posting them. Flame away.

I ride right at them... meaning in their lane... whenever possible. Yes, the wobble or weave certainly works. But a set of brights in their lane moving at a trajectory of collision is even more insistent. Obviously, this doesn't work when there is curbing between my lane and theirs. Then I weave.

When possible, I aggressively tailgate the vehicle in front of me. In short, I hide behind and to the right of it. It should be pointed out that sometimes cars left-turn into other cars, at which point this tactic is not exactly smart. However, the odds of that are slim compared to risking the same circumstance by myself.

Feel free to fry me now.