Hit by a truck today!

[road_motor]

wow it's not illegal huh? fetor56 is right, it's a big fine and demerit point loss here. You even have to be careful with hands free, if it's on speaker thats not allowed here (in south aus). They are so strict in SA, someone got a fine for drinking out a coke bottle while driving! it was on the news. think they got out of it though.

Yeah it sucks getting run over. I was hit while riding (push bike) last year, the guy pulled out of a side road and hit me straight on! I was in the bike lane, apparently he didn't even check to look. wrote my poor bike off too! stupid Adelaide drivers must be some of the worst in the world too! ha ha

glad you came out of it ok mate! good luck with the wheel.

 

[Alaskavan]

They should throw you in jail for driving while talking on your cell phone... And then beat you senseless... And then take away your cell phone rights forever.

Obviously the lady had no sense to begin with. Glad you're okay. Up here, cellphones don't work more than about a mile out of town, so it's not too big of a problem.

 

[Capitol Motorbikes]

Glad you weren't hurt. The truck driver should buy you any wheel you want, plus upgraded rear brakes. It's illegal to talk without the hands free kit here in Washington, DC....so only the police drive around on their cells

You might be a little sore tomorrow.

 

[enerarevir]

Years ago I was hit by a car (while stopped) at an intersection. The SOB overshot the turn and rammed into my beautiful Italian Road Bike. He ruined the frame!!!

I took him to court and the judged said that we should agree that he repair the bike. He expalined that he had offered me (true) a Schwinn varsity ten speed frame. the judge said" That should be it! But when I proved that my bike was worth $3,000.00 things changed. He had to sell his car and take out a loan to replace my frame and other sundries.

My point is: that MB'ers spend time and a fair amount of money on their machines. Maye "some amount or area of law should provide for that if the number of MB'ers )or bicyclists) increases over the next couple of years

 

[jvirginillo]

Glad you are OK. Here is my take on driving with cell phones.

Holding a cell phone while driving - Should be illegal.
Using a cell phone with hands free device (Bluetooth headset or other HF) is OK. Reason I think so is to me it is no less distracting than having someone in the passenger seat you are having a conversation with. The real problem is some people can't walk and chew gum if you know what I mean. Have them do anything else while driving makes them impaired. When I drive I know the person in my ear is not as important as the piece of machinery I am operating that can easily kill someone else who isn't paying attention driving walking playing. I don't want to kill a little toddler who happens to chase a ball into the street because I am too busy on the phone. I've learned to say Uh huh, ya, uh huh, sure sure.

Too many drivers don't think of a motor vehicle as a piece of machinery. I compare it to running a band or table saw while watching TV. A lot of people think driving is some sort of entertainment but it is serious business which should have 100% of you attention as close to 100% of the time as possible. I love driving most of the time and I like to give it 100% attention at all times. We all get distracted but why add things to increase the chances.

Finally the thing that gets me the most crazy is watching an 18 wheeler operator with a cell phone in his hand. Next time you are out on your trusty bicycle try operating your cell phone and tell me how safe it is. These clowns driving rigs needs handsfree kits PERIOD. Every time I see a truck driver with a bluetooth set on his ear I know he probably "gets it". I would be all for legislation requiring ALL drivers to use BT headsets while operating a motor vehicle. The price of a BT headset would quickly drop plus automobile manufacturers and car audio makers would add the technology into their designs.

Lastly be careful out there, I think a lot of drivers have very poor judgement and depth perception, they see bike and they think SLOW. I experienced this kind of driver far too often in my hopped up VW. VW Beetle slow right? NOT!! Constantly being cut off, left turns in front of me causing me to have to brake hard very often. Face it they just don't expect a bike to be traveling 30 MPH or faster. Of course this doesn't excuse passing you and then cutting you off. Was she Blonde by any chance? Was she chewing gum?

End of Sermon! OUT!

Love this forum and enjoy all the commentary so I had to add my 2 cents. Glad you were able to write about your experience and share it with us.

 

[Mountainman]

yes - cell phone use while driving -- now illegal in Calif

this new law just went into effect a couple of months back

and yes - after it was in effect - a guy cut me off - turned right in front of me

he was on his cell phone -- I got a little whissed as he pointed to his cell phone

and smiled -- as if it was the phones fault -- ride that thing

 

[Sasquatch]

Glad you're ok Tom. Sorry to hear about your encounter with such a bad driver. I have to chime in on this cell phone talk though. Hitting pedestrians is illegal Already. Swerving, causing crashes, running lights... All illegal already. If you cant drive safely while doing something else, whatever it may be, then you probably shouldn't do it, but you shouldn't restrict everybody who can. Just because some dumb lady cant talk and drive at the same time doesnt mean I cant. If she cant walk and chew bubble gum safely at the same time, should it be illegal for me? If I can drive drunk better than you can drive sober, who should lose their license?

(I dont drive drunk. I'm just saying...)

 

[bluegoatwoods]

I can't prove this, but I'll ask you to take my word for it; I'm one of the best drivers you've ever come across. I have an awful lot of miles under my belt on anything from a small motorcycle up to a straight truck. And my record is very good; more than twenty years since a moving violation or even a parking ticket. I've been pulled over twice in that time. Neither time involved my driving.

The reasons for this boil down to, I "get along" with motor vehicles rather well. I like them and they like me. And I've been blessed with a certain amount of smarts. And, most importantly I take my responsibility behind the wheel very seriously.

And I am NOT to be trusted behind the wheel with a cell phone. They distract me from the road. Maybe not every time, because I do take driving very seriously. But even then, there are times when I forget the road when on a cell phone.

Does this mean that I am qualified to say that no one is capable of safely operating a cell and a car at the same time? No. Of course not.

But I have a strong suspicion.....

 

[SimpleSimon]

Fact: Every study ever done demonstrates that cell phone usage whilst driving degrades performance. Hands free or not, it simply does.

Fact: The average motorist is not competent to safely push a baby pram on a park path, let alone drive a car, Reaction times, focus, attention to relevant information, etc are all almost uniformly far less than adequate to street speeds, let alone highway speeds. Being a safe and adequate driver requires training - much more extensive training than high school drvers ed classes provide. Every objective study demonstrates this fact, as do insurance company statistics.

Conclusion: Any usage of a cell phone whilst driving - by anyone - is unacceptable. Period. I don't care if you are Mario Andretti, or Paul Coughlin (drove an 18 wheeler nearly 7,000,000 miles over a 35 year period with not one accident, or ticket of any kind, in 49 of the 50 states and every Canadian province). So no, sparky, you aren't a safe driver while using a cell phone. You might be safer than most, but most shouldn't have a license to walk.

Personally, I'd pay a bounty on cell phone using drivers. Pull up alongside, get video of their actions, pop a cap in their ear, use your vehicle to push their off the road. Local gov't ought to pay you for removing a road hazard.

Hyperbole? - well, yeah, except in my daydreams.

 

[RLK]

Wow. I'm glad you arte ok Tom. I hope you get the bike back in shape soon and without any out of pocket expenses to you.

Here's my take on traffic laws in general. Talking on a phone should not be a crime. Lord knows i'd be out of a job if my boss couldn't talk to our clients on the phone while driving but he can do it safely. He was an Army helicopter pilot for 20 years. He could fly a helicopter into a Mogadisu firefight, talk on the phone, pick up the good guys, kill some bad guys and spin a plate on top of his helmet at the same time.

Now he drives around town picking up the things we sell while talking to the people who want to buy them. I'm totally ok with him talking on the phone while driving. He's an expert at multi-tasking like no other.

Where the crime happens is when a crash happens. If you drive a car into someone you go to jail. I don't want to see a bunch of laws all over the country criminalizing things like talking or eating cheeseburgers or chewing gum. But if you hurt someone while chewing gum you go to jail. Not for chewing gum but for hurting someone.

Our problem is that everyone tries to do too much at once but not every one can handle all the things they try to do while driving safely. Some people can chew gum and drive and talk at the same time and the government has no business punishing them.

So the crime should be not being a good driver. It should not be a crime to drive and talk at the same time.

Keep your head on a swivel and ride like you are invisible. You are invisible to half of the idiots in suvs talking on phones.