When the car in front of you swerves, it's a good idea to follow

[ilikefood]

I was riding to work yesterday morning on 101N. Rain spray everywhere, so pretty limited visibility. I was coming up on a semi that suddenly swerved left (as suddenly as a semi can). I wondered what the driver was doing, but the lane to the right (of where the semi originally was) was clear, so I moved there. And a few seconds later I saw why the semi was swerving - in the lane left of me there was a huge aluminum ladder. It looked pretty beaten up, so someone already ran over it (and there was a cop car pulling onto the shoulder, presumably getting ready to retrieve it).

In this case I was in a different lane so there was no drama (though there could have been if another car pushed the ladder into my lane or swerved away from it into me). But I was reminded that if you see a vehicle in front of you doing something weird, there usually is a reason. If a car in front of you swerves or moves to one side of the lane, it might just be avoiding debris in the road. It's good to remember that, and either slow down or shift your lane position, following where the car is going, until you see what's happening.

I could imagine an impatient rider going around the swerving truck and running right into the ladder.

 

[TTTom]

:laughing On my commute yesterday it was a little SUV running over a big rock that had fallen onto the road and taking out their gas tank.

What a mess.

 

[dravnx]

Maintain proper following distance.

 

[NB0tt]

Wheelie for safety?

 

[ilikefood]

Wheelie for safety?

Getting over that ladder would have required not just a wheelie but a full bunny hop.

 

[SlideSF]

I have finally mastered the answer to the question "Why the fuck is everyone going so slow all of a sudden?"

Oh yeah, radar patrol car...:mm4l


oops...

 

[HeatXfer]

This eve has to be mentioned?

 

[Cincinnatus]

Maintain proper following distance.

And slow the F&CK down. :thumbup

Blindly following a semi is :loco

 

[ilikefood]

This eve has to be mentioned?

Having seen how some people ride, yeah, absolutely. Tell me you never felt the urge to go around a car that was slowing down and moving out of its lane ahead of you.

 

[ilikefood]

And slow the F&CK down. :thumbup

Blindly following a semi is :loco

I wasn't following it - it was quite a distance in front of me and I was switching lanes right to pass it anyway.

 

[HeatXfer]

Having seen how some people ride, yeah, absolutely. Tell me you never felt the urge to go around a car that was slowing down and moving out of its lane ahead of you.

Urges and actions are two different things. But I feel 'ya.

 

[Cincinnatus]

I wasn't following it - it was quite a distance in front of me and I was switching lanes right to pass it anyway.

Yeah, but the fact that a semi changes lanes is a hint that something's odd up ahead and more reaction time may be required, is all I'm saying. :thumbup

 

[bruceflinch]

I could imagine an impatient rider going around the swerving truck and running right into the ladder.

Cue Music...
And she's climbing the Stairway to Heaven....

 

[Desmo_Pazzo]

Maintain proper following distance.

+1

This is both the alpha and the omega of the problem.

 

[planegray]

And slow the F&CK down. :thumbup

Blindly following a semi is :loco

and eat your vegetables :thumbup




Nice work op, and thanks for the "common sense" ( HA! ) reminder :hail

 

[Marcoose]

A long, long time ago, there was this story of a rider following a big rig on the motorway, and something flew from under the rig, hit and killed the rider. The moral of the story was to increase following distances.

True, if the vehicle in front swerves, it's a good reason to raise the DEFCON level. But there are many reasons for a swerve, including mechanical failure and driver error. The latter is bound to happen as often as an intentional swerve around an obstacle. Matching the swerve, not knowing the reason, it's putting way too much faith on odds. Perhaps a better lesson here is to maintain safe following distance behind big rigs.

My 2 cents. Rub'em together.

 

[EastBayDave]

any pro-driver will tell ya, sees this kind of thing all the time. People die every day from this crap. Anyone here realize that most of the semi's are carrying a bunch of 4x4's for tightening down loads w/straps? Those things fly off the rigs all the time; & a 4x4 isn't so easy to cross at speed & angle...

Ladders are likely the second-most I've seen, along w/4'x8' plywood sheets & matresses & chairs. Tools & nuts bolts & nails too. Coming up on a lawn-mowing pickup? Watch out...

If you ride, you should already be aware of such things. If your about to pass a lumberyard drop to Defcon-1 !!! Coming up on those pickups w/tool-boxes on the back, tow trucks, cement-mixers, etc. You all get it....WATCH OUT everyone...for anything that could fly your way.

Spend more time in the twisties, it's safer. :x

 

[10PercentExtra]

I hit an aluminum ladder on 580 some years ago. Other than some brief wobble and ruined underwear, nothing else happened - didn't crash and the wheels seemed ok afterwards. Maybe lucky because I was on a KLR. In my case at least, I think it was better that I froze up and didn't try to swerve when I saw it.

 

[Aruna]

One time, while maintaining proper following distance on the freeway, I wanted to change lanes. I checked my blind spot, then as I turned back, promptly ran over a massive 2x4 that I was right on top of. I would have seen it if I hadn't checked my blind spot and I would have been able to avoid it. I pulled over immediately to check over the bike, thankfully all was well and I continued on my way.

Point is, sometimes the very moment you need to be able to see something, something happens and for that one exact moment you can't see it. I could definitely see some people - including me - when a bunch of factors add together to create this kind of scenario (impatience, rain, wanting to pass an erratic vehicle), being left in a situation where options were few. Posts like this are a great reminder for safe riding without having to find yourself in that situation for real.

Glad you missed the ladder, OP!