Liability for Tires

[Mark Evans]

I guess what I meant by that was that when they throw an arm out and then instantly turn without looking.
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'63 Ragtop

[TDCTDI]

By the law of the land, still, yes. By the laws of physics, not so much.
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Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[djkeev]

[E1]

First, I want to say how sorry I am to read of BlueBus' history with getting hit, and especially losing a loved one on a bicycle.

However... When I was a kid in the '70s, there was a time I was going to race bikes but raced karts instead.

One summer when age 13 into 14, I had a girlfriend 29.4 miles away. I rode 2,700 miles in just over 80 days, mostly on country roads with some suburbia mixed in. I clearly liked her.

My attitude for self-preservation was that I was on roads designed for cars and not me -- so I never swayed more than a foot from the roadside gravel, though my focus was keeping within inches. Right-of-way theory meant nothing, all I cared about was not getting hit and law never entered into it -- as the only one to lose big was me.

That was 43 years ago and ever since I am utterly shocked at the sheer arrogance -- dare I say stupidity -- of what in my opinion is the majority of bikes I run across... and I'll be damned if I'm going to risk a head-on crash because of it.

I do find this thread relevant -- especially if it prevents even one issue between bike and car -- but mostly because we're driving one of the worst vehicles ever built for making rash maneuvers should anything cross our path.

Cyclists by and large need to wake the hell up for their own good. Period.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[WLD*WSTY]

My mother taught me to never play in the street...
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'82 SyncroWesty, the first ever conversion.'06 Subaru 2.5L

[enjoyther1de]

So when I take out Tk on his cycleta I'll just say I didn't see him.
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HBB took me to BBV.

[sb001]

Link


Why were these guys passing on double yellow?
Why did the motorbike driver not have a valid motorcycle license? (Followup story.)

It's riders doing this shit all the time that cause car drivers to eventually go into a fit of road rage.
Note I did not comment on which act was more heinous. That's a story for another thread.

[sb001]

Link


And this one was clearly the truck driver's fault, BUT...

The full version of tihs video (apparently now removed from youtube, I can't find it) shows the motorcyclists running at least 3 red lights before that intersection. Makes me laugh when I hear the other cyclist tell the driver "you ran a red light."

[Jon Schmid]

This whole dialog reminds me of why I only intermittently rode my bicycle around my neighborhood and never out on any main road and also why I gave up street motorcycling some 35 years ago. Too many inattentive or just plain addled (booze, drugs, or basically stupid) drivers. And this was long before cell phones made things that much worse. Blame can be thrown all around but unfortunately I have to side with the tonnage guys. That you had the right of way and the driver was dead wrong doesn't make you any less dead in the end. OK, off of my soapbox.

[ALLWAGONS]

Though I admit, thee are so many clueless drivers, motorcycle riders are d*cks, the fact that they are smaller than ANY car, should be reason enough to ride safely, most don't use their signals, ride between cars and expect you to move for them. I live in So Cal, where freeways are jammed pack, this is where you think it may be a good idea to ride a motorcycle, but rider beware! people don't respect other cars, what makes you think they will respect you. Especially those ahole riders that hit your car as they force themselves between cars and cowardly flip you off as they ride away. Even the CHP has a dumb slogan "does it matter who was at fault if someone got hurt?" Of course it does!, I may face criminal and civil charges because an idiot rider decided to cut between cars and ride unsafely!
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I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

NON INFLUENCER APPROVED

[KTPhil]

Anyone know what the truckers call the motorcyclists who shoot between them on the lines?

[my59]

[Mark Evans]

[E1]

With apologies for dredging up an argumentative thread, and for being the bearer of bad news, Nicky Hayden has died :

Be careful around cyclists, no matter what, brothers and sisters.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/may/22/nicky-hayden-dies-bike-crash-motogp-superbikes
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[KTPhil]

Back to the original topic (almost), another peeve of mine is the use of smoke tinted rear lights that lack reflectors.

As we all know, the assumption in a rear-end accident is that the rear car is at fault unless there are overriding circumstances. At night a car with no reflectors and tinted taillights is invisible. If he gets rear-ended, a quick pic of the taillights provides the rear driver with courtroom proof that the illegal (non-DOT) lenses contributed and thus the front car can be held liable. Same for daytime if the brake lights are dimmed.

I have used illegal headlamps (E-code H4 conversion) for decades, but at least my "non-DOT" lights provide MORE safety, not less, as long as I aim them correctly, which I do religiously.

Blackout window tint is an invitation for a routine traffic stop to morph into a guns-drawn situation. Legal or not, this choice by a driver may have deadly consequences.

All in the name of looking cool.

[ALLWAGONS]

[KTPhil]

[KTPhil]

California is about to legalize red light running by cyclists.

Despite the claims by cycle advocates that safety is improved, I just don't buy it. A driver stopping for a right-on-red turn will be looking leftward for oncoming traffic, and when it's clear, maybe will make a last-second check of the sidewalk for pedestrians. Otherwise he will pull away and start his right turn. No way he will be looking behind him for a cyclist! This is a deadly accident waiting to happen.

The law would let the cyclist proceed "if he believes it is safe" according to news reports. I don't give a damn what he "believes." Who owns the liability when this happens? The driver can't possibly vet the cyclists "belief" at the time and so there can be no clear-cut answer.

This is as stupid as the dedicated bike lanes that cross the right turn lane at many boulevard intersections. Jeez, do they want to kill cyclists? Making them cross moving traffic twice every intersection is asking for tragedy.

The laws of physics trump the law of the vehicle code. We all know that and think/drive/ride accordingly. But these new laws are just insane.

The stupid things politicians do to placate a vocal and all-too-often scofflaw constituency....

[end of rant]

[Wildthings]

Don't know if his tires were good or not

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/...river_home

[KTPhil]