Complacency and motorcycles

[ironmark]

Here in Michigan deer are thick as fleas on a dog , they are all over the place & you have to be on the look out all the time . I live out in the country & you have to worry more about deer than the cagers & when it starts to get dark you really have to be careful . It is not good to be complacent here .

 

[threesteps]

Here in Michigan deer are thick as fleas on a dog , they are all over the place & you have to be on the look out all the time . I live out in the country & you have to worry more about deer than the cagers & when it starts to get dark you really have to be careful . It is not good to be complacent here .

Couldn’t agree with you more. I just rode with a group up the east side and then down the west side of the peninsula. Was a great ride but the deer were everywhere. Fortunately, we didn’t have any close calls.

I believe you’ve got to “stay in the game” while riding. It can be a car backing out of a driveway in your neighborhood, someone opening a car door as you ride down a narrow street, or a deer running across the road. If we don’t focus on the ride and lookout for ourselves we are setting ourselves up for a problem.

 

[paulmack]

I was riding home from work one day on my regular route when I saw what appeared to be a large dog coming toward me in th other lane. As I got closer I realized it was a fawn without its mother. You never know what you'll encounter so always be looking.

 

[maysflyboy]

Man, a close call indeed! Glad you are ok. That is a good wake up call for me. I will be on the watch for those pesky animals!

 

[T wrecks]

I was towards the end of a nice long ride this morning. Jamming to the Doobie Brothers and approaching a 90 degree left turn I've ridden dozens of times. The last third or so of the turn is blind due to trees on the inside of the curve. Outside of the curve is wide open - an embankment covered with kudzu.

I was just about at the point where I'd start getting back on the throttle when - HELLO!!! - there's a deer standing in the middle of my lane. Since I wasn't gassing it yet it was a fairly uneventful stop but for a second or two, I'm not sure which of us was more startled.

Folks, I thought about it the rest of the ride home. Even if you're on the same road you've ridden hundreds of times, there's no margin of error for complacency when riding a motorcycle. Easy to say but hard to put into practice on a daily basis.

Everyone ride safe out there and expect the unexpected!

..............your deer, are our kangaroos!!!.......

 

[hippie13]

i know two people that hit a deer . i was right behind one of them when a small deer appeard on a winedy road, noone got hurt but the deer.
the other hit a big deer goin too fast, got 6 metal plates in his face and lucky to be alive.
makes you think.

 

[LEOG]

deer runs in road, hit by cage, being follwed by cycliist, deer flies up and knocks rider off of bike and subsequently he is run over and killed by cager in another car. TRUE STORY. Grafton Ohio.

 

[hdrocks]

yeah i allmost eat it turning onto a road i'd been down 1000 times its a turn that kinda bares to the left normaly i'd take it around 25mph with no problem this morning my mind was off in lala land i guess and i didn't slow down enough (prob took it at around 40mph)drug my foot pegs pretty bad but i made it scared me pretty bad and it was nobodys fault but mine.

How do people tend to make a 90-deg turn, especially when going 40-50 miles and slowing down to make a turn, in addition to looking at the mirrors for anyone behind?. I brake, get down to 3rd or 2nd gear, and brake again to a point where I feel like stopping but speed up as I turn. I am always afraid someone will hit from behind as I am slowing down to make a turn.

 

[wagsrk08]

Complacency is a riders worst nightmare. Day dreaming or thinking about something on your mind other than what your currently doing (riding). Were all guilty of it, me included. Falling into the same groove of life everyday is very easy, and it will get the best of you when you least expect it. Ride safe.

 

[gasbag]

That's one reason I don't listen to music when I ride. I don't need any distractions. As much fun as I am having and as pleasant a ride it is I still need to put my full attention on the road. Cagers can listen to music, drink their coffee, smoke their cigarette, eat their hamburger. Not me. I am enjoying myself but still watching out for idiots. Of which there are many by the way.

My music is my exhaust note.