Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Nearly Taken Out by a Suburban Last Night

  1. #1

    Nearly Taken Out by a Suburban Last Night

    I nearly got hit yesterday. I was playing around with my new Contour action video camera, rearward facing (sorry for the shakiness- still trying to figure out how to mount it best). The woman driver of the silver GMC Suburban decided her life was more entitled and important than mine I guess and couldn't spare the 5 seconds to slow down before making her right hand turn. Consequently, she turned within a matter of a couple of feet in front of me. You can see her pass, then how quickly the turn lane and the intersection come up. Fortunately, I caught a glimpse of her starting to turn and moving into me. I grabbed the brakes and, instead of going straight through the intersection, I was able to do a controlled turn with her. Seriously people! What's 5 seconds? It's not like I can't be seen. I wear bright colored cycling clothing, have a front white blinker light and a big red blinker light on the rear that can be seen for a mile and a half in bright daylight. You can see she never gets in the turn lane which makes me conclude that she was intent on beating me to the intersection. Drivers just don't realize how quickly a road bike can cover distance at 20 mph.

    <span style="color: rgb(20, 24, 35); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">




    Are we there yet?

  2. # ADS
    Circuit advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Posts
    Many
     

  3. #2
    On another note, has anyone figured out how to mount a Contour camera, on their bike, facing rearward? I tried a few different ways last night and couldn't get any bike frame mounting option to work so, I just strapped it to the underside of the saddle tool bag, hence the shakiness.
    Are we there yet?

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by tallsteve View Post
    I was playing around with my new Contour action video camera,
    Get the headboard mount for your new video camera, don't tell the wife. If she asks just tell her it's a new reading lamp you're testing out. You can thank me later.



    That video is why I don't ride a road bike. I had enough excitement with clueless drivers back when I owned motorcycles.


  5. #4
    Nice! Yeah, that would go over real well!
    I try to stay away from traffic as much as possible. 90% of last nights ride was on paved pathways. If I would have had my GoPro running on the front, the video would have been cringe-worthy to watch.
    Are we there yet?

  6. #5
    Yikes!

    Man when I used to commute to work on bike a few times, these Right turn lanes were always a little sketchy. I wouldn't know if it were best to pull up to a traffic light intersection and just ride that solid white line that separated the straight lanes with the right turns. And then when the light is red, you can sense the mass confusion and glares coming from the drivers, asking themselves "Hey, can he ride a bike on the road???"

    When coming up to the intersection, I stay on this line marked in Red below. This way the Right turning vehicles can drive around me to the Right of me, and the cars going straight still go straight, to the left of me.

    Name:  right turn.png
Views: 122
Size:  180.3 KB


    Hey Steve, you should keep the Contour filming, whichever direction is easier to mount it, and then buy a SJCAM GoPro imitation camera for 1/3 of the price, and just film the opposite side. Granted most of the footage will be boring (we hope!) but you can set it in a loop so it just starts writing over the oldest footage when the card gets full so you don't have to manually delete footage when it's filled up.

  7. #6
    If I'm at in intersection with a traffic light, I do ride right where you have the red line. I've found that spot to be the safest. The intersection in Cedar Hills where I nearly got hit doesn't have a light but, it gets quite busy and it was the high traffic time of day. This photo (from google Earth) shows the intersection pretty well. The road is narrow and the speed limit is 45 so, cars are whizzing by at 50. With a narrow road and high traffic speed I don't feel safe riding that white line so I cheat into the turn lane just a bit. Heading this direction is downhill so I can keep up some pretty good speed myself. There was a lot of traffic that night so, fortunately, I slowed down a bit.
    I have a GoPro mounted on my handlebar which I normally have recording if I know I'm going to be in a higher traffic area. When I went to get it before the ride I realized I hadn't charged up the battery after taking it to Moab last week so I left it home.

    Name:  Intersection.jpg
Views: 136
Size:  43.4 KB
    Are we there yet?

  8. #7
    Yeah it's a tough call at some of those intersections. We all know the law, that's not the problem. It's worrying if the drivers know the law! Glad it turned out ok for you.

Similar Threads

  1. Suburban for sale
    By moab mark in forum Offroad 4x4, Side by Side and ATV
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 03-26-2013, 05:55 AM
  2. Great White Icicle night descent last night??
    By Brian in SLC in forum Canyoneering
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-12-2009, 10:51 PM
  3. We Went Snowshoeing Last Night
    By Heather in forum Skiing, Snowboard, XC and Snowshoeing
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 12-13-2008, 08:26 PM
  4. one night....
    By ilove2hunt in forum Jokes
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-15-2007, 02:33 PM
  5. Red sky at night....
    By DickHead in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 11-02-2005, 08:48 PM

Visitors found this page by searching for:

Outdoor Forum

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •