ISP-FL
600+ Posts
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 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!