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"Mark T. Dame" wrote in :

Jay Honeck wrote:

LA is the only place I've ever ridden where (a) I was actually spat at,
and (b) people actively tried to cut me off.

And I was riding a Gold Wing, with Mary on the back. Not exactly the
"outlaw" biker you might expect would raise people's ire.

A strange bunch, out there in La-la land...

I lived in Long Beach for a couple of years. Although I got my drivers
license in Ohio when I was in High School, I learned how to drive in LA
after I graduated. I didn't ride a motorcycle back then, but it looked
pretty insane. I think the drivers out there get mad at bikers because
they're jealous: CA allows (or at least did back then) bikers to drive
between lanes so they're less confined by traffic. But when the traffic
is bumper to bumper at 80Mph and you see a biker whiz by at 150 between
cars... Well, Darwin will catch up eventually.


-m

Back when I was learning to ride in the late 80's, the law was
unclear about 'white lining'. The state itself didn't prohibit
it but some cities did. It was hard to know where it was legal
so the advise was not to do it. Well, after years of riding I
learned it actually has benefits if done with care.

My goal on surface streets is to be at the front of the traffic
at the red light. When it turns green, take off fast, and catch
up to the next block of traffic stopped at the next red light.
That way the only one moving is me.

My rule on the freeway is if I can hold 40-45 then I'll stay put
in traffic, otherwise I whiteline, and then not real fast. I try
to stay only about 10-15 faster than traffic. If something happens
I only have to loose 10-15 mph to avoid a collision.

But the above for me are general guidelines. The situation is
always fluid and I take the situation as it comes to me. Sometimes
I find myself near a driver or two that I feel unsafe being near,
like they're yacking on the cell phone and weaving back and forth,
and I'll take whatever measures to get away from them. Most
commonly it's to blow by them as fast as reasonably possible.

I've found from experience that speed on a motorcycle is your
friend. It is far easier to speed ahead of potentially dangerous
situations than it is to try stay behind them. I find that going
the speed of or slower than traffic only invites tailgater's and
people cutting you off.

I've also heard from multiple sources that motorcycle officers
are advised to whiteline at traffic lights as it's safer than
getting crushed between the stopped car in front and the car
behind that doesn't stop. It happens. People don't see what they
don't look for, and they don't look for motorcycles. I take active
control of my situation in traffic and if I don't like it, I do
something about it. I'm not a passive driver.

BTW, I don't recommend the above unless you are an experienced
rider. It works for me but may not work for someone else. I was
riding for 10 years before I changed to the above aggressive
tactics, and only because I was getting tired of nearly being hit
multple times a day. Now it's a rarity. In some instances I
actually feel safer on the bike than in a car because I have more
options for taking control of the situation.

But the last I heard was that 'lane sharing' was legal but if there
is an accident, it will likely be considered your fault.

BTW, in case anyone is curious...one accident (infamous opposing
left turn, no injuries) and one ticket (which in hindsight I could
have talked myself out of, I suspected the officer did not radar
me like he claimed, and I didn't ask to see the reading on the gun,
but I didn't know at the time that if they radar you and they can't
show you the reading, they can't give you a ticket)

Anyway...back to airplanes....

Brian
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