Got To Keep Your Distance

A few days ago we were on the way to dinner on our Trike (Florida). We were stopped at a large busy intersection, two lanes going straight and two lanes for left turns. A couple on a Harley were third in line for a left turn, we were three lanes over to go straight.

When the light turned green the left turn lanes began moving before my lanes so I was glancing over toward the other Harley. As he took off he was looking to his left. The car in front of him stopped unexpectedly. When he turned back he reacted by grabbing the front brake first, or at least it appeared that way because the front of the bike dipped dramatically. He was able to stop about a foot before crashing into the back of the stopped car but it caused the heavy bagger to lean too much and over they went.

Being a very busy congested area I would have had to go about 1/2 of a mile to make a U-turn and then come back and still be in the opposite lanes with curbs and no place to pull off, so helping them was not a safe option for us. I suspect one of both of them could have been injured because from what I could see neither was able to clear the bike as it went over.

This should be a reminder to all of us that we have to always expect the unexpected. Other drivers do stupid stuff all the time and you have to be prepared to react, especially in Florida this time of year!

When driving just a instant of inattention can spell disaster.

It's greatly magnified when on a bike.

Hope everyone is ok.

Hay Joe , is this the stupid time of the year / season in Florida ?

hope the folks are ok….

Thanks for the reminder Joe, every other license plate you see this time of the year is from out of state.

[QUOTE=1dn5up;962856]Hay Joe , is this the stupid time of the year / season in Florida ?

hope the folks are ok….[/QUOTE]

It is definitely a lot more congested than it will be in June. The vehicle in front of the unfortunate Harley had drifted across two lanes a stop light earlier. He/she was a couple cars ahead of me but it got my attention as someone to keep an eye on. Still not sure why when he/she started to go on the green arrow they suddenly stopped in front of the Harley.

Nothing on the local news that I could find so I assume both rider and passenger walked away.

We cannot be too careful out on the road with all the cagers and all that is going on inside of them.

Thank you for the reminder!

Kevin

We see this too often, Spring is here and everyone is out and about

Keep your head on a swivel, I pulled over the other day on the shoulder to take off my hoodie, I set my parking brake and stepped off the trike on the high side, waited for traffic to clear before getting back on, Never take any one for granted, Be aware and stay safe;)