My First Scary Moment

[roscosmom]

Hello Everyone,
Here to share my first scary moment with you all. If I bore you or you're just not interested....feel free to move on. LOL. Anyway, I was on my way to work at 7:05 this morning (on the yamaha...like to switch them out) and I came to a stop sign to turn right. A black truck pulled up beside me and I ASSumed he was turning left. Well, I begin to pull out and he turns right...going around me!!! I blew my horn and gave him the international sign...
I caught up to him at the next light and he began to follow me. He kept very close to me which freaked me out! As I came to the famous "s" curve near my work he was right on my ass. I wanted to slow down in the turn like I always do, but he was on my ass! Have I mentioned that already??? Anyway....I took the turn way too fast and headed for the ditch. I didnt want to apply the brakes in the turn so I just released the accelerator and prayed! I left the road and traveled in the grass for about 10 ft. then slowly moved back onto the road at a slower rate of speed. I have no idea how I managed not to hit the ditch just off the grassy area I was on OR catch the tire on the road as I re-entered....BUT, all I do know is I made it out without a scratch! All I can say is thank God, Buddha, Allah, Mary Poopins....whoever kept me from eating dirt and grass and rocks...

[mr. softie]

Thank goodness you are ok! People are morons. What was he trying to prove anyway, how big an ass he was? I get the same thing, usually it is a moron in a huge shiny pickup or suv.

If possible slow a bit as that will slow them down as well... you are controlling them. Refuse to be intimidated. Remain aloof and calm but vigilant and unattached to their actions. It is not personal, they are just ignorant. Note their activity go on. Flipping them off is not recommended. Some of these dimwits view the bird as a challenge to their questionable manhood and lose what little perspective they might still have. We don't want to upset the little pukes, do we?

Ride safe sugar!

[alanmcorcoran]

I understand the appeal of the finger, but just remember, if the truck was huge, lifted and had tires wider than the body, the owner may have been suffering from the heartbreak of micro-penis. This is a condition that makes 'em permanently angry at everyone, expecially women that flip them off.

Or, he might have had tinyballs, which is worse, especially once it reaches the brain.

To reiterate, it's not nice to make fun of the disabled.

[patrick_777]

Alan, I have to remember never to flip you off. :biggrin:

[alanmcorcoran]

I drive a '98 Camry. Silver. The 4 cylinder model. A regular chick magnet.

I had one of these lifted 4x4 Monster Truck Off-Road-But-Not-Reallys on my ass on Saturday cause I wasn't going fast enough (50+) to suit him on a one lane twisty with no shoulder. I think you have to divide by the number halogen fog lights mounted on the roll bars to measure what's missing.

Soon as it was possible, I pulled over and let 'im go by. No matter what size your equipment is, you can't use it if you're paralyzed from the neck down.

[roscosmom]

I know flipping him off was wrong! It just made me so mad I forgot what I was driving to work. I have learned to just ignore them and go about my business....if im driving too slow, they can go around me. If they
re riding my ass...i just need to focus on the road and not them!
Thanks for the comments

[Sarris]

In the past, I've been known to get off the bike at a red light, walk back and tell the cager behind me that if wanted to ride my ass, I'd loan him a saddle. Florida passed a gun law a few years back allowing legal gun owners to use deadly force if they feel threatened anywhere. The old law only allowed the use of deadly force in protection of you or your family within your home (IE, you had to drag the body into your house to make the shooting legal), so I don't walk up to vehicles anymore as the driver could be armed.

Since I finally have no points on my license, I generally don't speed and ride at about 5 mph or less over the speed limit. A lot of cages like to drive considerably faster than that, so I just pull over and wave them by. I don't let them piss me off or ruin my ride. Anything else is normally a lose, lose for the biker.

:)

[Water Warrior 2]

Hello Everyone,
Here to share my first scary moment with you all. If I bore you or you're just not interested....feel free to move on. LOL. Anyway, I was on my way to work at 7:05 this morning (on the yamaha...like to switch them out) and I came to a stop sign to turn right. A black truck pulled up beside me and I ASSumed he was turning left. Well, I begin to pull out and he turns right...going around me!!! I blew my horn and gave him the international sign...
I caught up to him at the next light and he began to follow me. He kept very close to me which freaked me out! As I came to the famous "s" curve near my work he was right on my ass. I wanted to slow down in the turn like I always do, but he was on my ass! Have I mentioned that already??? Anyway....I took the turn way too fast and headed for the ditch. I didnt want to apply the brakes in the turn so I just released the accelerator and prayed! I left the road and traveled in the grass for about 10 ft. then slowly moved back onto the road at a slower rate of speed. I have no idea how I managed not to hit the ditch just off the grassy area I was on OR catch the tire on the road as I re-entered....BUT, all I do know is I made it out without a scratch! All I can say is thank God, Buddha, Allah, Mary Poopins....whoever kept me from eating dirt and grass and rocks...

Wow that is scary. Some cagers just take whatever space they want. Good for you being able to keep upright in the grass and recovering without falling. But may I make a suggestion to you and everyone else. Next time don't get back in front of the idiot. He/she was in a hurry and you are getting in their way. Once they are ahead of you they are some one else's problem and no longer endanger you.

[rusty rider]

Street tires and grass don't mix! Glad you were able to ride throught that mess.

I too have had the occasion to fly the "you are number one" to stupid people. Being small of stature that has caused me grief on more than one occasion, but I can't help it.

I don't know what it is, but I find people feel the need to antagonize (sic?) motorcycle riders. Especially those that are dressed normally, and wearing helmets.

[baxman]

I also live in FL and have a CCW. I suggest all riders get one and get nice little carry piece for just such occasions. The LCP 380 fits nicely in my breast pocket of my jacket.

The law you are speeking about Sarris is named the "castle law" which yes now extends to vehicles.

[alantf]

I also live in FL and have a CCW. I suggest all riders get one and get nice little carry piece for just such occasions. The LCP 380 fits nicely in my breast pocket of my jacket.


Sorry if I sound stupid, but (again), I'm not American. To me (a foreigner!) the above is gibberish. I'm not trying to be awkward - I just don't understand it. Can someone put it in different terms please?

[caroledee1]

I also live in FL and have a CCW. I suggest all riders get one and get nice little carry piece for just such occasions. The LCP 380 fits nicely in my breast pocket of my jacket.


Sorry if I sound stupid, but (again), I'm not American. To me (a foreigner!) the above is gibberish. I'm not trying to be awkward - I just don't understand it. Can someone put it in different terms please?


CCW= Carry Concealed Weapon. We aren't allowed by law in Illinois to carry concealed weapons. Some states allow it with license and permits.

[JWR]

baxman lives in Florida.....Fl

CCW..........................carrying a concealed weapon (CCW, also known as concealed carry)

LCP 380....................Name of pistol..Ruger Lightweight Compact Pistol
Caliber of 380.

HTH

[mr. softie]

I used to carry a S&W 9mm (15 shot mag, 2 spare clips) all the time. I felt safer, but also more belligerent. Like Rambo sort of. Mess with me!! I'll blow your f'n head off mf! :poke2:

I no longer carry. I am more at peace with the world now. Live and let live you know. Mellow. :cool:

Saw this and thought it pertained:

http://www.postimage.org/aV2vaSIA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV2vaSIA)

[baxman]

Do not get a CCW if you have a hot-head or have a latent "Rambo" lean, But also remember that many die upon a sword who had no sword to carry.
I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
baxman

[alantf]

In England there is a TOTAL ban on handguns. Even people who belonged to gun clubs with private ranges are no longer allowed to have them. A few years ago, when this law came in, the legal gun owners had to hand them in, & they were melted down.
In actual fact, all this means is that people who posed no threat to anyone no longer have them. All the guns are in the hands of the criminals! Surely, only an English government would think that the criminals would hand them in! World gone crazy, or what?
Just in passing - In England, you're not allowed to put barbed wire on your property any more, in case a burglar hurts himself. Also the traffic police are not allowed to use the PIT maneouvre on dangerous drivers, in case the villain gets hurt!
No wonder I left.
It must be great to be in a country where you can defend yourself, but (I'm not joking) in England, if you fight off a mugger, you will be charged with assault, & the mugger will go free because you "assaulted" him.

[mr. softie]

In Nazi Germany, and in any Nazi controlled area during their sad reign, any civilian caught with any firearm was executed. The first step of any government leaning towards tyranny is to restrict gun ownership. This is why we must defend our right to arm ourselves if we don't want to wind up with a foot on our throats.

I still have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and consider carrying if I am going into a bad area, say Philadelphia, but I can't carry across state lines. A lot of my favorite rides take me into New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland where I would be illegal with a weapon. I have saved myself from a bad a** kicking or worse several times by showing my piece BTW. Lucky for everyone concerned the aggressors backed off instead of pulling theirs (if they had them). If you do carry you have to be willing and able to shoot someone before they shoot you.

[alanmcorcoran]

If you do carry you have to be willing and able to shoot someone before they shoot you.

And:

Be prepared to be sued by them or their survivors.
Be prepared to be investigated.
Be prepared to be ostracized as a violent "crazy."
Be prepared to move and possibly go into hiding. With the rest of your immediate family.
Be prepared for likely retaliation or revenge, legal and otherwise.

In short, better be worth it. (I'm pro-gun BTW, but, like softie, do not trust myself to carry one.)

In England there is a TOTAL ban on handguns.

Okay, against my better judgment, I'll pipe in on this thread. I live right near Canada, which also has a virtual ban on handguns. Windsor, Ontario is right across the river from Detroit. The homocide rates are not even comparable, not in the same sphere, even. I am a historian/social science guy by trade, and that doesn't make what I am saying anything but my opinion, but I will tell you the numbers just don't lie. The U.S. leads the world in handgun murders every year with about 15,000. Russia is second with about half that. Both are countries with wide availability of handguns and a "wild west" mentality. England, Canada, Japan, coutries with strict gun laws are not anywhere near US/Russia. Toronto has about 50 gun homocides a year; NY about 600.

Most people who are shot are shot by someone they know well, the majority of those relatives. That's not my opinion - that's based on police reports. Of course it's crazy we treat criminals with kid gloves, but if a lot of guns are around, people will use them, and mostly in situations where alcohol, drugs, temper, emotion, etc. supersede good judgment. Two guys who get in an argument will shoot each other if they both have guns when they otherwise might have just kicked each others' ass? The scenario where you shoot someone breaking into your house is not likely, is a long-shot. A very long shot.

I'm not looking to take away any of your guns, BTW. Just offering a different perspective.

kk

[JWR]

mr. softie wrote:
If you do carry you have to be willing and able to shoot someone before they shoot you.


Thanks to the United States Military (10-65 to 10-71) for letting me be trained in the Infantry.
Free bullets!!!!

Why do you think we were trained to hit a target from twenty-five yards to a quarter mile away?

[mrlmd1]

I may be wrong, but I didn't think there was any ban on handguns in Canada, and I read that there are more guns in Canada/population than there are in the US. It's not the guns or their availability, it's the mentality of the population or society who owns them. See Michael Moore's movie, Bowling for Columbine, for example. When the whole society is brought up in fear (of whatever) and bad news is the only thing you see on TV, there are more gun crimes and murders.
How many locks do you have on the door of your house, garage, car, etc.? They don't bother to lock them all up in Canada like here because there's a different mentality of the society, and much less violent crime and murders. Don't blame the gun. If the gun wasn't there, those same people would use a knife or a bat.

. . . I read that there are more guns in Canada/population than there are in the US.

Handguns, concealed weapons, etc. are a totally different thing than hunting rifles, etc. in my book - but I'll say no more. It's our passion for bikes that unites this forum, some newer to that passion than others, but still. . . I like that, however we may feel about whatever, we all have that in common.

[mr. softie]

'Tis a thorny problem, kk my old son. You have another scenario in places like Darfur, where the only way to have any hope at all of survival is to be very well armed indeed. I agree with your assessment of our mentality BTW. The good old USA contains a large number of under educated and angry people, drunk a lot of the time, without hope or scruples, like the driver of the black truck in roscosmom's original post in this thread! He used his truck to intimidate her. We have 50,000 or so people die on our highways every year... how many in Canada? 3000 or so? We also live in a culture where we are taught to see mortal violence as the answer to our problems. Look at the typical TV cop show, the movies, or our own government. Hey, we don't like what they are doing lets bomb them and shoot them! I don't see Canada invading anybody. We even use our cars as weapons here. He cut me off! I'll show him! The whole culture is different in Canada, they don't lock their doors for example, even in the cities. Every Canadian could be armed and the murder rate would probably go down.

I used to own over 20 long guns and over 10 handguns. Assault rifles, tactical shotguns, high powered rifles, target rifles and pistols, semi-autos, revolvers, even a scoped pistol in 30-30 caliber. All fun as hell to shoot, and fun to own. I have never shot anybody, even though I get drunk and I get angry and emotional. But then I grew up shooting guns and am well grounded in gun safety. I shot at the Y and in Scouts and in High School. Today in America we marginalize guns with our sensationalizing. NEWS FLASH! Man found with arsenal! (3 bb guns and a 22). We romanticize their use in our TV and movies. Other than the gunshot victim falling down we see no consequences of the shooting. Not the lifetimes of pain, not the loved ones grief and loss. So when our moronic law abiding citizen with no background in the proper use and handling of guns goes to the gun show and buys one, it's like a time bomb. They leave it loaded in their house just in case a "perp" tries to "invade". Then their kid finds it and shoots his little sister, or the guy gets pissed at his wife and blows her away, or he has an argument over a parking spot and retrieves his weapon and...well you catch my drift I'm sure.

The answer is not in the banning of firearms but in the eventual correction of the basic flaws in our society. Lets educate people past the point where they think the Jerry Springer Show "is really a good show", create good paying jobs and some hope so they don't have to live like parasites. Have a course in school on proper gun handling and safety, maybe a rifle team even! Show the real consequences of gun violence. Make some service in the military a requirement for every citizen instead of having only a few of the poor and uneducated serve. Switzerland has more guns per person than we do, but every Swiss citizen has been taught in his two years of service how to respect and use weapons, and that guns are to be used on the enemy, not each other!

I could go on....

[patrick_777]

:plus1:

Let's try to stay on topic though. Or start a thread in the open forum.

[Water Warrior 2]

Okay, go to Off Topic Chit Chat.

[alantf]

If the gun wasn't there, those same people would use a knife or a bat.

O.k. one last, quick point, then I'll quit............ Must agree with you. In England, knife crime's gone through the ceiling.

[Easy Rider]

I'm not looking to take away any of your guns, BTW. Just offering a different perspective.


How DARE you quote facts.......when the emotional arguements are so convincing.......for those who don't know the facts. :biggrin:

And one doesn't need a permit (or any kind of license in a lot of places) to have a gun in your house to shoot that guy who kicks in your door.

[music man]

And one doesn't need a permit (or any kind of license in a lot of places) to have a gun in your house to shoot that guy who kicks in your door.



No but you better have a damn good lawyer, because he will sue you for traumatizing him during his robbery of your house. :facepalm:

[dan_]

Pig farm. They'll get rid of everything but the hair in like 12 hours.

[Water Warrior 2]

Pig farm. They'll get rid of everything but the hair in like 12 hours.

Forensic evidence can and will be found. We had/have a good case of pig farmer vs the law and the law won. Lots or remains from far too many bodies.

[Water Warrior 2]

[quote="Easy Rider":1um4pslz]
And one doesn't need a permit (or any kind of license in a lot of places) to have a gun in your house to shoot that guy who kicks in your door.



No but you better have a damn good lawyer, because he will sue you for traumatizing him during his robbery of your house. :facepalm:[/quote:1um4pslz]

Here in the GWN you can threaten to shoot the SOB for breaking in and you get charged for uttering threats which is a criminal offense. Our bleeding heart society says we should pity people who do us wrong. I will never agree with that. We will just teach them to do it again b/c they can get away with it. The law makers in North America seem to have forgotten who the real victims are. We have slack laws, sugar coated penalties and overworked cops trying to uphold these slack laws against great odds of success. I believe the death penalty is a great deterrant against crime. In Canada when I was a youngster the law makers abolished the "LASH". Sounds painful and probably 5 or 10 across the back would remind a bad guy not to be bad again and suffer the same or worse.
Penalties do not fit the crime anymore. If you kill some one with violence you should be executed with violence. The old line of coming from a dysfunctional family is pure BS. We are not all products of our environment...........Oh boy , on a rant. Will go away for a while.

[adrianinflorida]

I understand the appeal of the finger, but just remember, if the truck was huge, lifted and had tires wider than the body, the owner may have been suffering from the heartbreak of micro-penis. This is a condition that makes 'em permanently angry at everyone, expecially women that flip them off.

Or, he might have had tinyballs, which is worse, especially once it reaches the brain.

To reiterate, it's not nice to make fun of the disabled.It's a proven fact, the Size/Height of the truck is directly inverse to the size of the penis attached to the driver.

If it's a Hummer, don't even ask, we're talking possible hermaphrodite. :D