I had a close call yesterday and feel I am really lucky to be writing this. Classic case where a driver turned in front of me. I live in a fairly small town in Alaska called Eagle River. I commute to Anchorage when the weather permits and was on the way home going thru Eagle River. I have been going thru the same intersection for many years and know the traffic lights so well I could tell you when they will turn blind folded. Coming to the intersection I saw that I had the Green light and there shouldn’t be any issues with crossing traffic. As I started thru a driver in a SUV turned from the opposite turning lane into my path and evidently never saw me. I was very lucky to miss him but I also want to attribute my being here to many years of training myself for such possibilities. I have been riding on the street since I was 12 years old and am now almost 59. From the beginning I have been an aggressive driver but also keenly aware of the vulnerability of a motorcyclist in an accident. I read and took to heart articles about how to handle a motorcycle and what to do to avoid accidents as well as what to do if something big and bulky is coming at you or in your way. I learned to watch traffic around me, watch to see what drivers are doing in their cars, ride with two fingers on my front brake when in traffic, and plan an escape route of least harm for each scenario as it unfolds. I learned how to push on my handle bars in the opposite direction I wanted to go as the quickest way to change course. I learned to look where I want to go and not at the threat when reacting to a situation and how to handle my motorcycle to get there. I learned these things by practicing pretty much every time I rode. And by practice I don’t just mean thinking about them but doing them.
These things I have learned and practiced paid off once again yesterday. When that SUV turned in front of me I would have hit it if I had applied my brakes in panic. I would have hit it if I had done pretty much anything other than what I did which was to lightly apply the throttle, swerve hard to the right (yes in the same direction as the SUV was headed), and then swung back to the left as I passed in front of him avoiding the sidewalk. There were several pedestrians screaming nearby because I’m sure they thought I was toast. The Connie responded pretty well. It rolled right quickly with the initial steering input but coming back up seemed sluggish. So those years of practice paid off but when I looked back at it I learned several things.
As I was coming up to the intersection I was behind a pickup which moved left into the turning lane. This likely screened me from the SUV. The pickup also screened me from being able to see all of the intersection until I was almost close. The sun was at an angle where I couldn’t see the driver of the SUV. So the learning continues. One thing that puzzles me about the incident though is that there was no adrenaline rush or particular euphoria at avoiding a serious close call. Maybe the effects are less when you start getting my age.
