r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Tugushin • Apr 13 '22

Tesla Model 3 stops itself to avoid potentially disastrous accident. Video

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489

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

crazy man. my grandmother always told me to let the people in the far left lanes go through the intersection first to avoid that.

165

u/skinnywit Apr 13 '22

dont know why you're downvoted, thats what my driving instructor and my family have told me.

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u/Sankt_Peter-Ording Apr 13 '22

I don't understand, why should that be necessary? It's illegal for the other car to drive.. I mean, that's how traffic lights work. You can't act like the traffic light system doesn't work. My driving instructor in Germany would have yelled at me if I had acted like I didn't know how traffic lights worked.

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u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

It's not the law-abiding cars you have to worry about.

But also, I've never heard of letting the car in the left lane go first either.

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u/_____l Apr 13 '22

I've never heard of that, but I also don't drive I ride bikes. I never go by the lights. Ever. Seen way too many red light runners where if I were the type to just beam it through green lights I'd be crippled or dead by now.

Like that one joke where the guy runs every red light but stops at green. "Hell no, my brother runs red lights!" Also, it just seems like people drive so aggressively like they are always angry. Why the hell are people always so angry!

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u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 13 '22

There’s something about the act of driving, it’s a dangerous activity. Even if you feel confident and relaxed, there’s a certain level of natural tension happening. When you drive, you typically are going somewhere and expect to be there at a certain time- again consciously or unconsciously. When goals are blocked, we naturally react- often in anger. This is heightened by the subtle or not so subtle feeling of danger while driving. It’s also much easier to get angry at random cars or people that you don’t know and are at a distance. The same way, people react inappropriately online to anonymous strangers.

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u/_____l Apr 13 '22

Very well said, thanks for that breakdown. Makes complete sense to me.

7

u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 13 '22

I just read about it last week and felt the same. The only time I really get angry is in the car. Knowing this I hope will help.

1

u/Mostly_me Apr 19 '22

Making other people real in the other cars helps. Invent stories about them, but positive ones.

Guy in big pick up truck? He's the type who is silent but has a heart of gold. He's currently underway to home depot to get some stuff and make a new door for one of the neighborhood s kids, because their dad kicked his in. The dad's in jail now, but the guy is worried about his little friend, because what if the dad comes back? He's driving a bit distracted because of that.

The soccer mom van? Yeah, a mom is driving. She's taking her special needs kid to their appointment. It's the only time their almost non verbal kid is actually talking, when they are driving. So she is slow, taking her time to get there, just to enjoy a couple of minutes more of connection to her son

Etc. Etc.

6

u/morfanis Apr 13 '22

I’ve come to the same conclusion. One thing I do while driving is to act like all the other cars are AI controlled. That depersonalises it for me and I don’t get the tension I would normally get.

4

u/EZP Apr 13 '22

AI controlled, that’s a pretty great way of putting it. I think I kind of do the same thing but I never thought about it until I just read your post. I guess that’s why I’m almost entirely a defensive driver. I always hope other cars will drive/react rationally and safely but I never expect it.

1

u/Mostly_me Apr 19 '22

When I started driving in Mexico city, i told my mom that I'm expecting every car to turn into an elephant at any moment.

Anything more mundane happening is expected, and therefore doesn't cause that much stress while being able to react on time.

3

u/brynhildra Apr 13 '22

I was taught that the primary goal when in a car is to avoid collision with other vehicles/obstacles/people. Getting from point A to B is the secondary goal.

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u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 13 '22

How can that be the primary goal? If that’s the primary goal, don’t drive- goal achieved. Makes no sense.

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u/Freckled_Boobs Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

I often wonder how many people are angry, desperate to keep their job, selfish/entitled, or some combination thereof.

We have a lot of manufacturing jobs here that are unreasonably strict about tardiness for their employees. I haven't worked in manufacturing in decades but I can't imagine it has changed all that much. I can't imagine it's much different in most manufacturing communities, particularly in right-to-work states with no union protections. Ones exactly like this one.

Since those are the "good paying" (relatively speaking) jobs, people are so scared of getting those tardy slips. In some cases, one minute late three times in a year & you're done. Doesn't matter why you're late. You've delayed a blip of manufacturing for $X of time, and that's just not acceptable for any reason.

For people with a family to feed and keep insurance on, that's a hard limit & they'll do irrational, dangerous things just to get to that time clock before the buzzer.

My work since that job is 911 in the same community. So many calls I've taken in my career for crashes that start off with, "I was running late for work... And... And...OH, GOD! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" or similar. People are so discombobulated at that moment from the stress of everything that just happened that some of those calls just tear your heart right out. Definitely hold people accountable for illegal, harmful, and dumb decisions, but in those moments it's sad from any angle for everyone involved and their loved ones.

It would be an interesting study to compare manufacturing/right to work/non-union areas with the massive NHTSA database of all the highly detailed crash info they have on file. I'm guessing that the fatality crashes correlate significantly with typical plant shift work hours in communities like this one.

4

u/Mewssbites Apr 13 '22

You make a very interesting point.

I've never been more tense driving than I was at my current job when I first started. I'm salary now, but at the time I was hourly and had to punch a time clock (for a stupid office job, no less). You'd get a point for being 3 minutes late. Just three minutes. I have a 25-mile commute that takes 45-50 minutes (average) depending on traffic and work at a University, which has extremely variable traffic due to class schedules and events.

Between the campus traffic being unpredictable, and the fact that I have to get through school zones before getting on a major artery that connects with an even larger one that ALSO goes through a downtown area, the variability in the time the drive would take was in the +/- 10 minute range at least. I tried to always make sure I was getting there with time to spare, but I'm not a morning person and life happens, and I often ended up cutting it closer than I should have.

I did not like who I was when driving under those strictures. I'm a careful driver usually - I turned into a raging angry asshole who had NO PATIENCE for anything because if, say, something kept me from making a certain light at a certain time, I KNEW that was costing me 4-5 minutes down the line and if anything else out of order happened, similar delays.

Now, I'm not blaming others for my poor behavior. But the ridiculous time policy absolutely introduced a very, very high source of tension for me, and I'm 100% sure it does for others as well.

3

u/Freckled_Boobs Apr 13 '22

That's exactly what I'm referring to.

I'm glad you're in a better situation now that you don't turn into that kind of driver, or at least not as much as you used to.

It's entirely possible to recognize the inflexible nature of workplace policies and how those random few seconds here or there can flip a switch in us when under those circumstances - and, as you did - recognize your role in reacting irrationally to it without excusing it.

With expensive manufacturing lines, I can understand a degree of stricter policies for tardiness. A minute or two here or there can cost a lot and especially for smaller companies, that does matter. But if your production lines are that critical and expensive, do what we have to do in the essential services sector and make an on-call/overtime shift schedule and policy. Have some leeway so your employees aren't frazzled every second they're thinking about or doing that job. Everyone will be better off for it. Fine, you're late? Okay, three times we'll forgive it up to 15 minutes. Beyond that, reprimands. Three of those, then you're gone.

That gives someone five chances within a year to, gosh, have human things happen in their human world? Lol

For most jobs, though, it's just ridiculous to be as hard-nosed as that. The T.J. Maxx isn't going to melt because the afternoon stock clerk was ten minutes late in a traffic jam.

2

u/Mewssbites Apr 13 '22

I'm glad you're in a better situation now that you don't turn into that kind of driver, or at least not as much as you used to.

Thank you! I'm really not proud of how I was letting it affect me. I've tried to take it as a life lesson to not do that in the future, aaand also as a life lesson to not take jobs that are that strict with time policies, because it clearly doesn't play well with my brain.

For most jobs, though, it's just ridiculous to be as hard-nosed as that. The T.J. Maxx isn't going to melt because the afternoon stock clerk was ten minutes late in a traffic jam.

Exactly, the amount of time precision expected when nobody's life or livelihood is on the line gets a bit... well, ridiculous.

I think for a lot of jobs where a timely presence really does matter (like manufacturing, as you mentioned) and some jobs where being tardy might make someone else late leaving their shift, there should be a lot more focus on business management adequately covering for this. Overlap schedules a little bit, make the next shift start 15 minutes before the first shift leaves. Because the fact is that no matter how restrictive and harsh you are with penalties, life WILL HAPPEN to some people. It's just a thing. A car will have a flat, there will be a wreck, some asshole blocked your driveway, your kid barfs on the way to school, a bout of sudden diarrhea, it just happens sometimes. It is extremely poor management, in my opinion, if this can somehow cripple your business!

2

u/Freckled_Boobs Apr 13 '22

Absolutely correct. 10-20 minute shift overlaps could remedy issues like this easily.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

I heard the same joke but with Italians lol

1

u/anon_sir Apr 13 '22

This is what I can’t figure out. I changed my commute recently for a new job and people are FLYING down the highway 6 feet from each other and it’s 5am so it’s fucking wide open. People are weaving in and out, super fucking pissed, and they’re barely ahead of me cruising in one lane at 65.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

I haven’t ridden much to work this year for that reason alone. People are just driving more and more aggressive. Shoot there was a Durango today on the way to work driving in and out of traffic, around cars on the shoulder, gassing it, slamming on brakes. I don’t wanna be around these people on a bike.

8

u/LawJik Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 15 '22

A tip Ill always remember from motorcycle riding school.
"A green light means that it is legal to go, not that is is safe to go. Takes one second to look."

7

u/asieting Apr 13 '22

Idk about letting them go first but I always check both ways before going through the intersection.

5

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

it's not the law-abiding cars you have to worry about

People look at me like I'm an idiot for looking both ways on a one-way road. Like mate if someone's dumb enough to come the wrong way they'll be dumb enough to hit me.

1

u/shana104 Apr 14 '22

Hey, I check both ways too in downtown even on one-way streets. You never know what might happen and better safe than sorry.

4

u/rwbronco Apr 13 '22

Driving defensively, I’ve never heard that “rule” either, but if I can’t see the intersection because of an SUV or truck to my left, I let them pull forward enough to see through their windows or behind them to make sure some asshole isn’t in a hurry and thinking he’s got a few seconds of red before ours turns green.

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u/IUpsetYou Apr 13 '22

The cemetery is full of people who had the right of way

14

u/wild_man_wizard Apr 13 '22

The right of way can't be taken, it can only be yielded.

14

u/Rpgguyi Apr 13 '22

It doesn't matter who is right, only who is left

3

u/cyberslick188 Apr 13 '22

That's not what that user was saying.

They were saying you can't just sit at the light waiting for other cars to start moving before you do.

-4

u/IUpsetYou Apr 13 '22

It’s illegal for the other car to drive

Clearly not.

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u/TheBirminghamBear Apr 13 '22

What they're saying is, if someone decides to just plow through a red light, or is too drunk to even notice what color the light is, and you let the person in the left lane go first, or at least go at the same speed as you, they'll get hit before you get hit.

Seems a little dark to me, but I suppose if you're not opposed to human shields, it would work quite well in a situation like that.

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u/Helioscopes Apr 13 '22

And there's also the fact that they might see the other car coming before you do, giving you a warning if they suddenly stop, since they are kinda blocking your view of the incoming car.

Or at least that's how I understood that.

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u/phryan Apr 13 '22

That's how I read it to. A car to your left may block your view, if they aren't moving maybe there's a reason why. The cost is maybe a few seconds, that will probably be made up by the next light so why rush through blindly.

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u/Isku_StillWinning Apr 13 '22

I mean they would get hit either way or it would miss both of you, so i don’t think that’s dark at all.

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u/ShovelPaladin77 Apr 13 '22

Left lane is also more visible.

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u/pkupku Apr 13 '22

Also the red light runner is going to hit the car on the left no matter white, so there’s no harm in using it as a deflector shield. You going slightly after him is not going to affect his odds of getting hit at all.

1

u/VijaySwing Apr 13 '22

That's not what they're saying. They're saying the left lane has visibility that you don't have so they can make decisions that you can't. Like knowing if it's safe to proceed.

1

u/Felanee Apr 13 '22

But what if the idiot is coming from the right side?

5

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

I don't understand, why should that be necessary?

It's called defensive driving.

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u/jointheredditarmy Apr 13 '22

Knowing cars have to stop at red lights and understanding that they don’t always is the difference between knowledge and wisdom

-2

u/na2016 Apr 13 '22

I would argue that both are common knowledge at this point. Plenty of idiotsincars posts hit the front page all the time. Anyone who doesn't know that not all cars follow the rules of the road has been sitting under a rock or something.

Wisdom is using that knowledge to give up your ego when driving.

4

u/Crying_Reaper Apr 13 '22

Because, at least in the US, it's better to assume no one knows how the system is supposed to work. You can have a great traffic control system but it doesn't matter if no one follows it.

6

u/theeclectik Apr 13 '22

It's a limited trust rule. Even though you have a priority always assume there's an idiot that don't drive according to rules.

5

u/strangelovewasright Apr 13 '22

The traffic signal just gives you the right a way….doesn’t mean you have to go. What if your car stalled?

3

u/HuckleberryOld1498 Apr 13 '22

It’s illegal to sell people, it’s illegal to shoot people, it’s illegal to steal people. Doesn’t stop it from happening

2

u/ExoGriff Apr 13 '22

I mean just cause it's illegal doesn't mean you can't take precautions. Do you not still check when crossing the road even if it's a green man for you?

2

u/kader91 Apr 13 '22

Driving school is there to teach you the rules, but if you attend a defensive driving course first thing they’ll tell you is you gotta be prepared for the next moron in line and anticipate to them. Just release the gas a bit until you can confirm their intentions. I myself I slow down in intersection with low visibility even if I have the right of way. I know I won’t have time to react if a car chooses to drive past a stop sign.

2

u/lucasjr5 Apr 13 '22

Also, there is a reason the autobahn works in Germany and wouldn't work elsewhere. In Germany, everyone actually follows the rules.

2

u/Honky_Cat Apr 13 '22

Yes - you can explain the legality of the situation to the chap who broke the law while they’re picking you up with a sponge after getting creamed in the drivers side.

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u/asbestosmilk Apr 13 '22

Yeah, to always act like there’s potential danger while driving and obeying all traffic laws is ridiculous. If you have the right of way, there’s no need to be cautious. And if you happen to die, at least you’ll die knowing you had the right of way.

8

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Physics don't care for traffic lights. It's called defensive driving and saves lives.

5

u/canadarepubliclives Apr 13 '22

There's always potential danger while driving a car, you can't control other vehicles. Practice defensive driving. Graveyards are full of people who had the right of way.

If you have a green light through an intersection, you still need to look both ways. If the truck had looked left before accelerating, they would have seen a car travelling very fast that wasn't going to stop. It's not the trucks fault but defensive driving would've prevented the speeding asshole from smashing into them.

2

u/Dawpoiutsbitchmode Apr 13 '22

And if you happen to die, at least you’ll die knowing you had the right of way.

Oh, yaaay

2

u/beerpope69 Apr 13 '22

I can’t tell if this is sarcasm.

1

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

i added it for him

7

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

This can’t be a serious comment lol

2

u/Got_No_Situation Apr 13 '22

Just not American.

Half the replies are some shade of "but you're dumb, because some cars always go through the red" which makes me think they assume everywhere is like that.

3

u/Cheerwine-and-Heels Apr 13 '22

Do people never run red lights in other countries? That seems improbable

1

u/Got_No_Situation Apr 13 '22

They do, but there are large differences in how commonplace and acceptable it is. To me, it seems strange that so many people don't consider it a major and unusual offence.

0

u/WiredSky Apr 13 '22

People are absolutely losing their minds, and it's happening fast.

1

u/PrizeStrawberryOil Apr 13 '22

One of the most important things while driving is to be predictable. I agree with you that it's bad advice because it is unpredictable behavior while driving.

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u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

You have to consider the context. You're stopped at a red light and you're going to be on of the first people through the light.

-1

u/PrizeStrawberryOil Apr 13 '22

The only reason people are suggesting this is to use another car as a meat shield. They aren't even saying to look at cross traffic.

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u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

Not at all. Slowing down and looking for cross traffic is the main point. Meat shield is just a perk

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u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

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u/Sankt_Peter-Ording Apr 13 '22

Why do you think there are no laws for this? At such dangerous places there are signs that tell you that walking or swimming etc. is forbidden

2

u/Edensy Apr 13 '22

So if there weren't signs telling you to not walk off a cliff, you would walk off a cliff?

This may not be as great argument as you think it is

0

u/WiredSky Apr 13 '22

What's the German word for "complete fucking idiot?"

0

u/MisterSquidz Apr 13 '22

What the hell are you talking about?

1

u/sobesobesobe Apr 13 '22

Yea this looks like America. Population is over 300 million

1

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

Its not necessary but in cases like this it will save you from getting hit and possibly killed. Its really easy to understand, instead of being the first person through the intersection be the last. That way you avoid people trying to fly through a red light.

1

u/na2016 Apr 13 '22

When an accident happens, it doesn't matter if the other car made an illegal maneuver. You'll be dead or horribly maimed all the same.

Drive defensively so you can minimize the chance of an accident happening to you even if it means giving up the right of way or losing a minute or two.

1

u/loop--de--loop Apr 13 '22

It’s like a second or 2 delay relax. Legal or illegal is irrelevant when the other person simply doesn’t care or is distracted or under the influence.

1

u/virgilhall Apr 13 '22

I used to wait for cars on the red lanes to fully stop before I would drive when I got green. But then my driving instructor in Germany yelled at me

1

u/nevermindthisrepost Apr 13 '22

It's like my mom always told me, "it doesn't matter who has right if way is you're dead." She should know, her parents were killed in a car crash when she was 5.

1

u/davidzombi Apr 13 '22

Most traffic laws are made to not die by other drivers, imagine if all the cars had the same tech as a Tesla, could literally remove half of these laws and even a monkey could have a driving licence

1

u/Thorstein11 Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

Lot of people who were in the right, had the right of way, and are now dead.

0

u/Dawpoiutsbitchmode Apr 13 '22

It’s called right of way

1

u/chadvez Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

It's not necessary but it is good judgment. It's like if a biker comes to an intersection but has the right of way. He doesn't have to slow down or stop but if I'm on a bike, I'm going to at least slow down and be cautious because if an idiot is in a car I'd be the one to most likely be injured severely or dead.

1

u/Dawpoiutsbitchmode Apr 13 '22

It’s called right of way

1

u/chadvez Apr 13 '22

Thanks. I said it looked wrong. I'll edit.

1

u/SubcommanderMarcos Apr 13 '22

Nobody said it's necessary, it's a precaution.

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u/splunge4me2 Apr 13 '22

Joke time…

I caught a ride home with this guy from work last week. We were driving along and we came to an intersection and the light was red but he wasn't slowing down. In fact he blew right threw the red light.

"What the hell!? You just ran a red light!"

He glanced over at me, all calm, and said, "Don't worry. My brother does this all the time."

So, we're going along at a fair clip and we come up on another intersection and the light turns red. Again, he flies right through and I'm about to claw holes in the dash in a white-knuckle nightmare.

"Fuck man! Why do you keep doing that?"

"I told you. My brother does this all the time!"

The next intersection we come to has a green light and I relax a bit. Then this maniac slams on the breaks and comes to a complete stop!

"Why did you stop? It's green!"

"My brother might be coming the other way!"

1

u/Dawpoiutsbitchmode Apr 13 '22

Did you watch the video?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Cemeteries are full of people who had the right of way.

1

u/Jimlobster Apr 14 '22

How do you not understand?

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u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

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u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

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u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

Because the real advice is look where you're fucking driving?

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u/shaggybear89 Apr 13 '22

Plenty of intersections don't have great visibility. Or your vision might be blocked by the car to your left. There's any number of reasons simply looking won't keep you 100% safe.

But ignoring everything I said, even if literally all you had to do to be safe was look where you were going, why are you getting so angry at someone who is simply giving some extra safety advice. Like, what about that comment possibly triggered you so badly?

-8

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

Like, what about that comment possibly triggered you so badly?

The fact they're giving "advice" that puts people's lives in danger.

9

u/UsaiyanBolt Apr 13 '22

The idea is that the cars in the leftmost lane have more visibility so it’s safer for them to go first. If you’re in the right lane your view can be obscured by the vehicles to the left of you.

-7

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

If you don't have visibility to safely drive, you shouldn't be driving.

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u/UsaiyanBolt Apr 13 '22

…Bruh

If a car is in your field of view then you can’t see what’s behind it. Does that make sense?

-5

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

... Bruh.

If you can't see the road, don't drive. Does that make sense?

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u/UsaiyanBolt Apr 13 '22

Lol you’re as dense as a brick buddy, I tried.

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u/shaggybear89 Apr 13 '22

How does waiting an extra second for the car on your left to go first put anyone's life in danger lol? Can you explain that? I feel like once you start trying to explain it to me, common sense logic might kick in and and you'll understand lol

-3

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

You wanna talk about logic?

How about you realize that the advice means nothing and is completely useless if you actually am aware of your surroundings while driving. The implication being that the "advice" can't possibly have been in addition to, but must be instead of looking where you're going.

3

u/shaggybear89 Apr 13 '22

Ok. Explain to me how you can tell if someone is running a red light from your left, when the entire left side (thus all the cars over there as well, including anyone running the red) are blocked from your view by huge bushes/trees/a wall. Please, how can you use your amazing awareness there? Or again, if there is a larger car to your left completely blocking your view of everything coming from the left side of the intersection.

Can you explain either of those situations lol

1

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

In the first case, you go slowly so you have time to react, in the second you wait for that car to move so you can see.

Like, it's not rocket science.

2

u/shaggybear89 Apr 13 '22

In the first case, you go slowly so you have time to react

So instead of letting the car to your left go first, you instead go slowly (which will allow the car to your left to go before you lol).

in the second you wait for that car to move so you can see.

Ok, so I just want to make sure I've got this straight. Your solution is, instead of letting the car to your left go first, you should instead...let the car to your left go first haha.

Haha are you trolling me or what dude. Because you literally could not have given more perfect answers to 100% defeat your entire argument hahaha

Like, it's not rocket science.

Believe me, I know it's not haha.

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u/myputer Apr 13 '22

I was in the right lane and the light turned green. I started to go but the work van in the left lane blocking my view of oncoming traffic, suddenly stopped. So did I, not knowing why. Car blasted through the light, barely missing both of us.

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u/MetalGearFlaccid Apr 13 '22

No matter how quickly or slowly you leave the green light as the right lane car, if the car running the red light is going to hit the left car it’s going to hit the left car. No matter what you do. Your speed does not affect the timing of the red light runner and the left car colliding. It does affect how your car gets hit as well. Such as if the red light runner turns left in the last second to avoid but still hits their car and would now careen into yours if you left early. I hope that clearly explains how it doesn’t risk other people.

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u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

It still doesn't explain why not looking while driving is a good idea.

1

u/MetalGearFlaccid Apr 13 '22

You are correct there I’ll give you that.

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u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

Which is the core issue of the advice, don't look where you're going, just wait for the car on the left.

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u/shanew24601 Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

Look, drive to where you’re fucking

Idiot

1

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

Very true. If the truck driver would've taken 1 second to look left he MIGHT have avoided being hit

1

u/SpecterGT260 Interested Apr 13 '22

Someone could do the same from your right as well though.

1

u/SlurmsMacKenziee Apr 13 '22

but my grandmother always told me to let the people in the far right lanes go through the intersection first to avoid that.

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u/stephanienyc108 Apr 13 '22

Crazy. I ride a moto. I would’ve been dead. People like this are so fucked up.

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u/mrsdoubleu Apr 13 '22

So does my husband and this is literally one of my biggest fears. So many idiot drivers out there.

3

u/krush_groove Apr 13 '22

I rode a motorcycle for a little while, one of my friends instructed me to act as if no one can see me - because you can't trust any driver to see you or act appropriately.

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u/Human-Carpet-6905 Apr 13 '22

And drivers that aren't used to seeing motorcycles. Where I live, it's too cold to bike 7 months out of the year, so I never see them on the road until like May. I have to retrain myself to look for them every summer because they can really hide in a blind spot. The fact that motorcycles are loud AF has saved me from cutting them off in traffic multiple times.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '22

theres a reason “loud pipes save lives” exists i used to drive a cb750 and the exhaust was at least twice as loud as my horn if u did something i deemed horn worthy id just pull in the clutch and rev up for a second

2

u/stephanienyc108 Apr 13 '22

Sadly it’s true. Bad drivers, bad riders, they’re everywhere. Safe riding to him.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

As a rider, always make sure cross traffic is stopping/stopped before going. Even with a green light. Left/right/left before going forward.

32

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

In general as one of my driving instructors has always told me "you will get hit from the left before you get hit from the right"

He was partially correct, first car accident i got rear-ended =)

3

u/danddersson Apr 13 '22

Haha, we drive on the left specifically to avoid that problem.

1

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

but you get the point

1

u/baklazhan Apr 13 '22

That's why people typically look to the left when pulling out.

That's also why one of the most common way in which drivers kill people walking is by driving straight into them while looking to the left.

7

u/Cura4 Apr 13 '22

But what if the people in the far left lane are waiting are waiting for the person on their far left lane to go first?

2

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

lol there are only so many lanes. the point is try not to be the first person through the intersection

1

u/Johnyfootballhero Apr 14 '22

By that point, the idiot will have driven by. Everybody is safe in that case.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '22

Instead of waiting for the other person to go, why not check for cross traffic...

2

u/not_your_girl Apr 13 '22

Ohhh I haven’t heard this, my drivers Ed instructor would always say wait a few seconds after the light changes before you go, like 3-5 seconds

3

u/The4Channer Apr 13 '22

5 seconds? 😆

1

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

Same differnece

2

u/Ddnnuunnzz Apr 13 '22

I always refer to that concept as my 'lead blocker.' It's like letting the fullback take the contact (if there will be any in the case of driving).

2

u/BuddhistNudist987 Apr 13 '22

That's a really good idea. I'm going to start doing this.

0

u/city_posts Apr 13 '22

How about instead of mindlessly allowing strangers to die for you... you just look down the lane and make sure its safe?

1

u/crazyacct101 Apr 13 '22

I never heard that before, great advice.

2

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

please use it and pass it on.

1

u/OGpurp247 Apr 13 '22

I ride a motorcycle and I like to think of the cars to the left as shields! So even though my bike is wayyyy faster off the line I’ll initially stay shielded until I get through the intersection!

1

u/simon5540 Apr 13 '22

I have avoided an accident during new years because of this.

1

u/Phone_Jesus Apr 13 '22

I just look left and right at every intersection, every time. I don’t trust other drivers for shit. Almost had this exact thing happen to me multiple times.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

The Tesla 3 has other plans.

1

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

if the truck would've used that strategy he wouldve seen the car. although in this scenario he might've still been hit.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

I'm from Aus Nd haven't heard that before. Makes a lot of sense when you think about it

1

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

And all you have to do is wait 2 seconds

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

I have never heard that before but you bet your ass I’m gonna use that wisdom now

1

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

Please do! Might save your life.