It happens from time to time…a near death experience… normally because of some chopper in a car who is not interested in bikers… so, someone pulls out in front of you, then spots you as you take evasive action… you both hit the brakes and fortunately avoid a collision… you’ve both stopped and you can feel the adrenaline…then you make eye contact… now what?
Over to you!
I think it’s best to just ride off. Nothing you can do will really change the situation or impact on the motorist’s driving moving forwards.
You can do the comedy shake of the head thing (always looks good with a big helmet on).
Someone drove into the back of me once, it was only a small impact, not enough to knock me back in the saddle. I just inspected the damage and rode off. I didn’t even acknowledge the driver who was dancing around all apologetic.
First of all, an honest look at if you’re at fault probably helps. For instance, to take a common one as an example, you’re filtering on the offside of a queue of traffic and somebody pulls out from between two cars trying to turn right.
Is it their fault that you’re riding along, hugging a queue of cars/vans at low revs on a black bike with all black gear on? Could you have perhaps spotted the sign for the side road or the inexplicable gap in the queue of cars and had more information to act on, then perhaps slowed down/beeped/revved the engine/moved out more? If so, (in this particular situation) I would put my hand up to apologise then wave them out and carry on my journey. If not, and I’d done everything I could to maximise my chances, I’d probably take whatever evasive action I could then do the old pointing at the eyes hand gesture (or the waving the fist in an up and down motion, if particularly merited)
Course, if you’re in central london you just have to get on with it, as by the time you’ve finished your hand gesture you’re probably in another danger situation due to the time you’ve spent not concentrating…
Hehe! Nice thread!
The worst one of these I’ve had was on the way to Brighton on a blind downhill B road corner.
Damn! It was a proper ring-tightener as the 3 door cage and I nearly collided.
Looking back, I could have been better prepared for something like that and it would have been avoided, but I was too caught up in the mad road.
For a split second I thought about apologising for frightening the driver, but thought that we were both at fault so I just rode off after a couple of seconds after checking the black line on the tarmac and then had a bit of a sit down further along the road :rolleyes:
Most recent one was coming home late at night last month - I was nearly home, it was cold and I just wanted to get into the warm - so I was tanking it - the relative lack of traffic at that time of night meant I was going much faster on this 40 mph junction rich blind bendy stretch of road than I would have been otherwise (but that’s no excuse if it goes tits up).
Came round a bend, car at junction on the left getting ready to turn right - he lurched forward but saw me in the last second and stopped - my fingers instantly started pulling on the front brake - but as progressively as possible in the time and distance available to me as I didn’t want to lock up the front and crash (which has happened before so my reflexes are more conditioned for progressive braking rather than panic braking and grabbing a handful these days).
Even so - if he had not spotted me and aborted his manouver I would have been either over his bonnet or would have slammed into his side.
As I carried on down the road reflecting on my near miss I didn’t feel nerves, fear or adrenaline - but I did feel a sense of shame and gratitude - shame that I had been so clearly in the wrong (I shouldn’t have been going that fast on that bit of road) and gratitude that the guy was on the ball and his reflexes were in order.
I’m convinced that MOST other drivers wouldn’t have registered me or reacted in time and would have just pulled out on me.
If I could meet the guy I would like to say sorry and thank you.
These kind of scenarios are always going to happen if you ride a bike and you like to go fast - however they only happen every now and again to me these days, and personally I think that if they happen to you regularly (like a few times a month) then I reckon you need to look at your riding.
Yeah - getting angry with people in London on a bike is pointless as you are often experiencing close calls/having to take evasive action every 30 to 45 seconds - anyone who regularly speeds out of Mayfair, around Hyde Park corner, down through Knightsbridge and across South Ken to get to the Hogarth roundabout, having negotiated countless homicidal u-turning cabs, lemming like tourists, coked up teenage arab millionares in Lamborghinis and swarms of scoots will know what I mean. 
Indeed!
i think people are slowly becoming more aware of bikes and how we ride.
the last moment i had ,just warmed the bike up,early morning -2 or 3 and pulled away.i get 200 wards down the road and a car pulls out straight infront of me on my side of the road facing me with no lights on.:w00t:
both wheels lock up 
but being a ninja i come straight off the brakes and swerve round him/her
then just carry on my merry way 
if they apologise and look ashamed i don’t do anything. i know that if i was in a car i’ll probably be just as **** at spotting some bikers as they are, mistakes happen unfortunately these one’s are deadly.
now if someone is being ignorant or agressive then that’s a whole lotta different ball game
The way I see it, if you ride fast in London, evasive action is a way of life. I feel that I am constantly anticipating and reacting to other road-users’ stupidity.When I have a “near-miss” , I have fvcked up … failed to anticipate another road-user’s movements. It is that simple, because if another road-user can get in the way, they will (sooner or later).
The mistake often made, is to take it for granted that road-users will abide by the law, the highway code, or by common sense … taking this sort of thing for granted can be very costly … but hey, I am sure I am preaching to the choir here.
indeed indeed - thats my daily route but i tend to cut through the park as I find Knighsbridge the worst bit - apart from when the traffic is backed up down to Hogarth round about - that is a very testing journey indeed.
I’m slowly learning to just move on - maybe with a bit of engine rev’s and a shake of the head! Sometimes though, I am guilty of a few shouting matches if its a really bad one.
Its funny though, no matter how stupid the maneuver, if they say sorry - I have total calm and respect, its when they do something dumb, then call you a **** that I tend to loose my cool a bit.
Can be like playing xbox sometimes! 
especially tanking it down the dual carriage way bit of the A4 and filtering through fast moving cars at . . . mph with each car literally an inch either side of your bars! ;)
No ones prefect. Just shake it off and keep going.
Healthy attitude.
I gave up with the road rage when I valued my life and not being in prison so it’s just not worth it. Getting all heated then driving off is a bad idea as your more likely to crash if your livid.
Yeah totally, just try and be as detached as possible - makes you a better rider.
… for sure! Nice Signature by the way! 
Thanks SP, tribute to my hero the great Hunter S. Thompson ;)
Or you can get on with it and let me tell em off:DAfter all I am the local teller-off-er
I’m one for showing aggression.
Swearing, finger gestures & even getting off my bike when they have signalled me to pull over. They always drive on.
No, you cannot change the situation that took place. However, you can make a driver think twice about making the same mistake again.
If you don’t acknowledge their mistake to them then you leave him driving with a clear conscious to do it again. Perhaps the next cyclist of biker wont be so lucky.