The 3 second rule saved me this morning

[jsw4178]

Glad you are okay!

[Hollow]

Glad eveything worked out man and you were okay. Later and take care.

[FZ1inNH]

I can't speak for other states but here in NH and in MA, when you are that safe driver and leave a 3 second gap, it is a GUARANTEE that someone will slide into that gap and remove your safety zone. It happens every single trip out there on the bike or in the cage. I get so damned frustrated with it and it is very hard to remain the sane driver, yet I do.

Glad the rule worked for you John and extra glad there was no idiot there to fill the gap or 1 second behind you! Way to go!

[Doorag]

+100

As FZ6inNH said - the only problem I have with the 2 second rule is that as soon as you leave that much space between you and the car in front, someone pulls into it and then you have to slow down to get the gap back and then someone pulls into it, repeat ad nauseam...

[lonesoldier84]

read a stat somewhere that said something to the effect of:

-most every moto-crash gives you 2-3 seconds to start and finish ALL evasive maneuvres/braking


look at picture:


the more accidents happen with point of impact being closer to the front of the bike. so what that means is MOST of the accidents happen because of something happening 2-3 seconds of travel distance IN FRONT of you (i.e. cars turning right from parking lots, changing lanes, left turn etc). So what that means is if you are EXTREMELY vigilant in keeping track of EVERYTHING that could possibly happen in a 2-3 second distance in FRONT of you...then you are doing very wel for yourself.

[lonesoldier84]

yes my bike is a peanut. what you gonna do about it? walk away? thought so punk.

I hate tailgaters, that and people on their phones are the 2 things that annoy me most about other drivers. People in Belgium have no concept of 'remafstand' (braking distance).

In the car I always keep well over the recommended braking distance (25 meters @ 70 km/h on a dry surface) and I have a sign in the back of the car reminding the driver behind me about 'remafstand' and it works, people do back off when they read it.

On the bike I'm not so generous, I keep a thinking distance and would never antagonise the person in front of me, but I would normally not come to a stop in a mass slowdown on a motorway, as I have been rear-ended on the bike doing this before, I will always weave passed the issue.

[Tailgate]

You probably don't have to worry that the idiots (more concerned about somebody "cutting into" their gap) are airliner pilots because pilots have formal training about avoiding stupid mistakes. Who hasn't experienced the idiot driver behind who behaves highly disturbed that you have 2-3 seconds in front. You know---the driver will tailgate you in an apparent effort to get you to move over and if you don't, then the idiot makes a big effort to change lanes, pass you and then move back into your lane but in front. All this effort to arrive at a destination maybe 1/10 second earlier (if he/she doesn't get into a chain reaction tailgater's wreck first). And, of course, you then watch the same idiot's brake lights come on, go off 1,000,000 times with repetitive accelerate/brake action. I expect to encounter these and other sophomoric type of drivers on the road everyday. They probably constitute a good percentage of today's motorists.

[CooperFZ6]

The 3 second rule saved my bacon this weekend too! I was following a Honda Accord on an on-ramp at about 60km/hr. As we approached the highway, I did a shoulder check to see what I was merging with. There were 2 cars, almost adjacent to me, moving at a pretty good clip. When I turned my focus back to the front of the bike and started to accelerate, what do I see, but, THE HONDA HAD STOPPED ON THE RAMP! I guess she figured she couldn't get in front of the traffic, so, she stopped to wait for a gap! So, into an emergency stop I go. Curbs on either side of the ramp limited my options. I thought for sure I was going to end up in the back seat of her car - I just got the bike and I'm still getting familiar with it's performance limits. Luckily, I stopped with about 12" to spare and didn't drop the bike. The back end fishtailed a little, that was the worst.
I likely was following more like 2 seconds behind, and, I don't think her tail lights were working, so, my reaction time was cut down. I honestly don't remember seeing any brake lights on her car, and, who expects anyone to stop on an on-ramp? I'm going to space it out a little more in the future.

[Nelly]

Originally Posted by lonesoldier84

yes my bike is a peanut. what you gonna do about it? walk away? thought so punk.

I thought the peanut was the rider........my mistake lol.

Nelly