Watch out for Civics!

[abacall]

I was reading this post... (Why we need skills.) a few days ago.
God, something eerily similar just happened to me today...
I was in the right lane of a two lane road, shopping mall on the left, 35 mph road. I was cruising along on my way home, a blue Civic in the left lane going slower than normal. That was my first clue. I'm coming up on the car doing 35'ish, she was going about 30. Out of nowhere, she jams the brakes (no car in front of her) and swerved VERY hard right. So hard that her car was at a 65* or greater angle to the road. She saw a parking spot that she HAD to have. I was a car length behind her when it happened.
Luckily my panic stopping practice kicked in and I got on the brakes in time. I was already covering the brakes because I just didn't like how she was driving....
I nearly clipped her rear bumper. I was stopped in the middle of the road, cars coming. Pulled over in front of her, and was steaming mad.. Took a couple of breaths, and approached her..
"What the Hell was that?" I asked.
She responds with a very confused look.
"You nearly took me out!"
"I did? When? I'm sorry."
"When you swerved across my lane!"
"Oh! I didn't see you."
At that point I just walked away, to the sidewalk. What's the point? She clearly didn’t see anything wrong with swerving across a lane for a good parking spot.
A family was right there on the side of the road when it happened, the Dad came up to me and we talked for a minute. He told me he was sure I was done for. Lucky day.

Lessons to be learned:
1) Watch out for Civics.
2) Practice your emergency stops!
3) Be very cautious of passing on the right.

[wrightme43]

Good job on keeping it upright and keeping your cool. Good job.

[fz6nick]

Way to keep your cool. Imagine that, a woman driver....lol jp

[jsteinb95]

Whew...glad you didn't hit her....her car that is! You gotta watch out for those women drivers (I'm an exception )

Way to go!!!

[Avalon786]

Watch out not only for civics but for any car/suv/pick-up/vehicule...
I was riding today minding my own on the freeway, all the way on the left lane, in the middle of the lane, cars in front of me, cars behind me, just going with the flow, all of a sudden the car on the right of me just swerves right into my space, no blinker, no mirror check just went for it, i slowed down/honked, i had enough space to where i slowed down and was safe (did come about 3 feet to me going at 75mph) the person just waved sorry, i followed for about 20mins contemplating breaking her mirror since its obviously usless to her, but just kept my calm. Whats the point in voilence, i did honk for a good 20secs and scared her so hopefully now she'll check or put her blinker on...

[abacall]

It was really hard to be calm, it was one of those days. I had someone bust a left in front of me at a light, had to swing left to avoid them. Someone opened a door into my lane just earlier, another lady blew straight through a stop sign just a few miles before that.
There are some days I swear my bike feels like a fool magnet. I went straight home after that. I was already pushing my luck.

[lonesoldier84]

im gonna make a point of practicing emerg stops 2morrow.

thanks for posting!! glad ur ok!

[VEGASRIDER]

I would have probably executed the situation differently. I think this is a classic example why you should be prepared to use your horn. You sensed that there was something strange about the behavior of that vehicle, so covering the horn would have been a better option. As soon as she started to swerve into your lane, a blaring horn probably would have put her back into her lane. Just my opinion based on your scenario that you just described.

The bottom line is that you were able to execute a good emergency stop. You can practice all you want, but it's not until you experience it in a real situation that you can reevaluate yourself on how well you were able to stop. Pat yourself on the back not only on your stop, but to spot the potential hazard ahead of time. Classic example of "SEE" Search, Evaluate, Execute.

Get use to using the horn, it's your best friend. Most riders forget to use their horn in many situations that could have prevented them from crashing. The horn is the easiest, and one of the best defensive tools available to a rider, it's a shame that most riders are not trained to use it instinctivley like braking. Practice using the horn and get a louder horn than the stock too.

[reiobard]

very good job keeping it together!

[grommit]

Well spotted I say.