r/motorcycles • u/LowDirection4104 • 8h ago

Speed and control.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but I write this as a rider who understands that sometimes you just need to open up your street bike and let her stretch her legs a little. And what better time than a Monday evening, when the highways are mostly empty?

But just a PSA: when you're blasting by cars at triple-digit speeds, just be aware that those cars don't see you coming. Even if they're doing everything right checking their mirrors, checking their blind spots, being good citizens if you're passing them at 150 mph, you are effectively invisible until it's too late.

I was driving home last night, probably doing 65, in the middle lane, with a car just behind me in the left lane. Suddenly, like a bullet, a bike came through right between us. I don't know if he actually lane-split or if it was more of a tight pass, but whatever it was, I heard the sound, which did startle me. Then I saw his taillight, and he was gone.

If I had been switching lanes for some reason, or even just drifted in my lane I would have never seen him coming. He didn't pause behind me long enough to assess whether I was about to make a lane change. He just went straight for it like it was a video game.

There is no judgment in this post. I get it. It's a choice you make. In that split second, the risk is part of the adrenaline just as much as the speed. I'm not going to get on a high horse and lecture someone about speeding or riding aggressively. I'd be a hypocrite if I did.

But as his taillight disappeared into the night, I wondered: was he aware of the risk he was taking in that one moment? Or did he feel in control of a situation that he actually maybe wasn't in control of?

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u/Responsible_Read_542 7h ago

That’s a lot of words to say you’re inattentive and don’t check your mirrors often enough. Highways are straight enough to spot speed demons if you’re paying attention 

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u/FourRandomLetters 6h ago

Dude if you're out there doing triple digits on a public highway, you've pretty much voided your right to complain about other people not being safe drivers or how often they look in their mirror. It's not their job to "spot" you doing dumb unexpected shit, it's yours not to do it.

You clearly don't care about your own life, why should I more than you?

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u/Responsible_Read_542 6h ago edited 6h ago

Because you can’t control what everyone does around you and spotting inbound traffic is safe behavior regardless of your delusional belief of it being unnecessary. It’s a bike this time but next time it could be a stolen hellcat doing 200 to kill you and your family 

Driver awareness is not and should never be exclusive to what’s in front of you. You willing to bury your kids for something that wasn’t your job?