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Split Indecision
There was no time to stop when a black Chrysler 300 took an illegal left in front of me so I swerved the motorcycle in the hopes of avoiding hitting the car at 45 mph. When I regained consciousness I tried to stand the broken and bleeding motorcycle up, but my fractured hand kept dropping the bike. Through the fog of a concussion the scene kept replaying itself but each time I could reach no other conclusion. While the driver was deemed at fault for the collision, the damage to her Chrysler 300 were minimal. Yet the longer-term injuries complicate my life to this day. What could I have done to avoid this type of accident next time around?
Accidents where a driver takes a left in front of a motorcyclist are hard to avoid, which is why the hazard must be spotted early to initiate an appropriate response. When nearing an intersection glance at the wheels of potentially threatening cars at the intersection and look for movement. While a driver will not always be looking in the direction they are turning, spinning wheels will confirm whether or not their vehicle is moving forward.
Are the wheels pointed forward or turned in a direction?
Where is the driver looking?
If the driver is looking left and the wheels are spinning forward this might be a good time to flash your brights and honk your horn to try and get yourself noticed. If the driver still refuses to take notice you can either brake or swerve. Braking is good if you have enough room and enough traction. In the worst case scenario if you do hit the vehicle you will be hitting it at a slower speed, reducing the severity of your injuries. If you choose to swerve you are forced to choose between swerving in front of or behind the vehicle.
Swerving in front the vehicle allows you to maintain visibility in the hopes the driver will eventually see you. There is no harm in continuing to beep your horn and flashing your brights to make yourself more conspicuous. Positioning yourself in the farthest part of your lane gives you a better chance of being seen and puts more distance between you and the driver. Acceleration will minimize the amount of time you are in the danger of coming in contact with the car. But when drivers are trying to thread their car through traffic they accelerate rapidly and refuse to get off the throttle until they are through the intersection.
This brings us to the other swerve approach; aiming for the back of the car. If the car is too close to avoiding hitting and traveling too fast to swerve in front of, aim for the back bumper. With any luck by the time you get there the car will already be somewhere else. This assumes the driver will not notice you and is going to maintain their trajectory but when people get frightened they continue going forward not backwards. The most important thing is to identify the problem and execute your decision. Even if your decision proves wrong in hindsight, making any decision is better then letting some stranger you’ve never met decide your fate for you.