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M60W nr Stretford this morning, were you riding at my rear door pillar?


Beans
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I took the car to work today as I was expecting strong winds and heavy rain. On the way in, on the M60, perhaps near Stretford about 07:45. I was in the third lane in the car, moving past slower moving traffic to my left. I noticed a single bright light in my rear view mirror. It was a bike. Bright white light suggests a newish bike. The single bright light got closer and closer until the rider was sat I believe within 5 foot maximum of the rear offside of the car. By this I mean he could have been holding on to the rear roof pillar and was to the right. Pretty much touching the rear tyre of my car. I could have opened the boot and he would have been able to climb in.


We were doing 60 MPH at this point, I couldn't go any faster as there was traffic ahead, couldn't move to the left as there wasn't a gap and then traffic joining from a junction on the left took all available gaps. So we are chugging along at 60 and this guy has put himself at the right-most point of a motorway, he must have been riding on the very edge of the third lane, just away from the central reservation, right at the back of a car moving at 60MPH in the dark.


If it was you:

 

  • If you were trying to intimidate me into going faster: I couldn't, if you had looked up a bit you would have seen there was nowhere to go. I'm not sure of the wisdom of intimidation by riding real close, that seems like it could backfire so easily and you would always come off worse.

  • If you were trying to get past: you aren't getting past anyone safely by sitting in the back seat of their car. You need room to observe and move. Have you heard of the 2 second rule? Best rule there is. If you move up and cant get past, then drop back -you are on a bike so you just need to wait for the next safe opportunity, not sit there.

  • If you were moving into the overtake position (???), what part of the carriageway were you going to use, given I was in the third lane of the 3 lane motorway and we overtake to the right?

  • If you wanted me to go faster: by moving up as close as you did you took lots of my attention away from what was in front (Read Keith Code and others: we all have a fixed amount of attention, mine is best spent on other things, not on you)

  • If you wanted to get a better view (???): by moving to the position you did, you took away all your view as you couldn't see anything that was to the left of you or immediately ahead of you (or me). So you couldn't see anything to my left or ahead of me either that may have made me need to put on the brakes. You couldn't see any debris in the carriageway that you would have hit, as I was immediately in front. You cut off all your view.

  • If you wanted me to change lane: if you hadn't been so close and lost your visibility you would have seen that I had nowhere to go. Drop back two seconds -you are on a bike so you just need to wait for the next safe opportunity, not sit there.

 

To quote some research https://www.lyonsdavidson.co.uk/braking-distance-motorbikes-complex-useful/ on motorcycles "Tests carried out by Reading University show total reaction times of between 1.4 and 1.9 seconds, dependent on age. With these timings, a vehicle travelling at 60mph will be covering between 123.2 and 167.2 feet before any braking force comes into the equation." So from the time of you seeing my brake lights go on until the time that your brakes actually start to slow you down you would have needed 123+ feet. And you were, what, 5 foot away?


Yes I did flash you with the headlights when you undertook me, (as I was signalling left to move into the first available gap, so you could clear off). Shake your head all you want, you rode like a plonker. I can only assume that you thought I was a third lane hog but you should have left yourself a view to see that I had nowhere to go for a while, its a busy motorway and its rush hour.


Seriously, I am no great rider or driver and doubtless you have been riding for 20 years without incident, but you put yourself in real danger today and you put other road users in danger too.


Can I recommend you take a post-test or advanced riding course for 2020, the feedback may be useful?

Edited by Beans
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Slow day at work ? 😁

Had to get it out my system, seriously. Needed to get over it somehow it proper threw me out of balance.

 

Glad to be of service , I read every word .😁

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He will learn maybe after having accident and spending week or two in the hospital. Unfortunately he can take someone with him as company.

 

Riding like that and in heavy traffic hospital is probably his best hope. Given the traffic density his more likely destination is a mortuary slab.

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If you're a fan of youtube, you can see many clips of people riding like this, and doing the head-shaking thing.

Why any motorcyclist thinks it's a good idea to hassle a car (or van or truck) driver, I don't know - if the driver get's annoyed, a simple "brake check" could see the motorcyclist on his way to A&E.

My sympathy is with Beans.

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Guest Richzx6r

Riders like that are just an accident waiting to happen.....but it will never be the riders fault, I dont see any point riding within 2 or 3 seconds of the vehicle in front because as soon as theres a gap in the traffic the bike will easily get by and on its merry way so riding so close is just a death wish waiting to happen

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A good application of windscreen washer fluid tends to convey the message.

Now that is the one that gets my goat !

Never ride as close or aggressively as the prat described by the op ! but people that wash their windscreens when I am following are twats and a horn blast and a swift overtake with middle finger salute is the most restrained reaction I can ever muster !

I will confess that back in the 80`s when despatching in London if it happened I used to contribute to the wing mirror industry !

Cheers

Ian

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Guest Richzx6r

A good application of windscreen washer fluid tends to convey the message.

Now that is the one that gets my goat !

Never ride as close or aggressively as the prat described by the op ! but people that wash their windscreens when I am following are twats and a horn blast and a swift overtake with middle finger salute is the most restrained reaction I can ever muster !

I will confess that back in the 80`s when despatching in London if it happened I used to contribute to the wing mirror industry !

Cheers

Ian

 

It too is my biggest bugbear when riding, its been that bad that I once had one guy pretty much try and empty the cars washer bottle I think but I saw red and with him having his window open I stopped next to him when he stopped in traffic and grabbed his keys and threw them in to the central reservation and rode off, not my most nicest of moments but he deserved it, and he was doing it on purpose as when I'd slow down so would he and I couldn't filter through the traffic at that point but yes he got his comeuppance.


I too while being a dispatch rider in and around London have also contributed to the car wing mirror industry some on purpose some not but hey that's the way the cookie crumbles

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