Modern Vespa

Was going to the Post Office and some kids walking in the bike lane with skateboards up a hill lost there boards and rolled in the street right in front of me Then as i was swerving out of the way they were flipping me off yelling at me to watch out

I almost pulled over and whipped out my taser on there asses

I had some lady pull out in front of me today then stop. It was enough for me to slam on the brakes at 45 and call her a nasty name as I passed her.

I was doin 50 mph when it happened

had the same exact thing happen to me today..I bet i used worse language! She had to of been 70 driving a Tahoe!. She looked at me like i was the foolish one! grrrrrr. Another day at the beach

My only close call in 3 years was with a teenage pedestrian cutting through four lanes of traffic coz he was late for school. Missed him by mm
Glad you came out unscathed.

1) I had a teenage girl make an abrupt left into my lane (45MPH) and almost into me; luckily, I already didn't trust her and was prepared for the sudden stop. She sped off REALLY fast and never even aknowledged the close call, or my existence.

2) On my way home from work today, on the freeway (65MPH); A middle-aged man in a minivan just all of a sudden started to change lanes (again left into my lane). This one I really don't get either...he came up from behind me and everything...not like I snuck up on HIM. Had had to have seen me as he advanced up to my side and then still decided to come on over. Jeees. I honked the HELL out of my horn and he jumped and looked all suprised to see me there. Then, gave me a jackass grin that said "Oh...a scooter. Well, yeah; Of course I nearly killed YOU. I thought I was about to hit someone who actually deserved to exist...please don't waste your time scaring the piss out me with your horn next time and just die quietly, as to not inconvenience me".

Mine was a woman in an SUV, and yes, of course she was on a cell phone, stopped at the exit from a shopping center. She looked out the window, then down on the floor of her truck, then her body disappeared from behind the wheel and the SUV lurched out into my lane - straight at me. The tailgater in the cage behind me didn't want her to hit his car so he honked the horn, she slammed on the brakes with less than 5 feet between me & the hood of her machine. I had to turn around, go home and make a change of clothing.

A 50 MPH speed limit with a bicycle lane? That's an invitation for trouble.

Al

I got the idea reading the OP was not drving in the bike lane, that the kids were walking in the bike lane.

I was just surprised that a road with a 50 mph speed limit would also have a bike lane, no less one that is occupied by pedestrians. That's what I meant by "an invitation for trouble", unless the bike lane is somehow protected from high speed vehicular traffic.

Al

I was turning right yesterday, just as the light was turning yellow. A jogger saw the yellow light and no cars coming down the street on her left and stepped out into the street just as I rounded the corner. She made a hilarious noise and I could see her friend making fun of her in the rearview. Glad we could both laugh it off, and hopefully she'll check more carefully from now on.

I had 3 close calls in one 5 minute ride last night by the house coming home from the local eatery.

1 car hit his breaks and squealed some rubber nearly missing the stop sign he was to stop at, fortunately I saw him coming so if he did run it, I wouldn't have been in his path. Then on the same street with parking on only one side of the street and a skinny road - 2 cars kept coming towards me (I was on the right and had the right away) but I was on a scooter and had to stop 2 times against the curb for them to squeeze by - they should have pulled over into an open spot and waited.

It was strange after taking that same route 100X without a problem...

This one was on madison ave near the orangevale/folsom city limit just before pershing ave I am not even sure this is a bike lane due to the width but bikes use it all the time

Here is where it happened

I regularly ride my bicycle on roads where the 55 MPH speed limit is treated as merely a suggestion. Very few of the roads here have bike lanes, so the majority of my riding is done on the shoulder.

Oh. I understand what you mean now. thanks. no worries.

Why do drivers of SUVs think it is OK to swerve out of their lane to avoid a manhole cover or pothole? I thought the whole point of driving something marketed as an offroad vehicle was that it could weather the bumps more?

My ride into work is 3.5 miles. I had close calls with 5 SUVs swerving into my lane (3 of them into the opposite side of the road) this morning, and following other SUVs counted no fewer than an additional 17 swerving all over the road to avoid bumps.

Andrea

We have many high-speed roads with bike lanes here in Ft Collins, CO, the main arterial by my house is 55mph w/ bike lane on the side. Needless to say, though, no kids are riding skateboards on them, usually serious road-bike types.

Anyways, I would have definitely tased those bastard kids.

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/abl/

This is what we're currently working on in the Air Force, an airplane mounted laser to destroy missiles in mid-flight. I'm trying to find where I can get one that will mount into my scooter's headlight just for situations like this.