A cager apologizing for cutting me off?

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BeefSupreme
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A cager apologizing for cutting me off?

Post by BeefSupreme »

So this has never happened to me before. I ran to the store for some eliquid during work today and got cut off on the way back. 4 lane road with a turn lane in the middle, as I was approaching my left turn there was a car in the right lane just ahead of me. There was no need to pass so I just hung back about a car length. Then said car indicates and immediately pulls into my lane, I think he was planning on making the same left as I was. He immediately whipped back over into the right lane and we both stopped at the red light where I was turning he ACTUALLY rolled down his window and apologized, something to the effect of "sorry, I didn't see you, i'm so sorry". I flipped up my visor, and being as he actually looked sincere and apologized, told him it's cool, I had room. Then I thanked him for actually apologizing, no one has ever done that to me that before. I gave him a thumbs up and pulled away.

So my question to you guys, ever had a cager apologize for cutting you off before? Normally when i get cut off, and when the driver notices that they did, they just end up waving their phone at me and shrugging their shoulders as if to say "the phone made me do it".
luckyscroller788
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Post by luckyscroller788 »

That is cool. No, I have never had that happen to me yet, but I did do that same thing to a guy on a motorcycle a number of years ago, and I apologized much like in your incident, and the rider was genuinely appreciative of my apology. I am glad to hear there are a few others yet that can admit their mistakes and aren't afraid to apologize.
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Syd
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Post by Syd »

That hasn't happened to me, but the guy I T-boned after he pulled in front of me called a couple days later to see if I was OK.
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Drum Pro
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Post by Drum Pro »

Yeah it's happen to me before by an old man. More often than not I get people trying to cut me off and was brake checked when I was riding my Stella. I guess for kicks. I was less than pleased as the Stella brakes are only slightly better than a PX so I almost went down...
Last edited by Drum Pro on Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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skully93
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Post by skully93 »

I have had people apologize. I know we're hard to see and ride accordingly.

But even on my much larger, visible motorcycle, it's really rare that people don't cut you off on purpose, and even more rare that they apologize. I would give that person a medal :P.
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jd
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Post by jd »

I've had four-wheelers apologize to me, either verbally or with a hand signal, a couple of times when I've been cut off accidentally. As a general rule, I find them to be courteous.

On the other hand, I've NEVER had a motorcyclist apologize to me in my car when he cuts me off.
Some people are like slinkies. They're not very interesting, but they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
dedcat
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Post by dedcat »

This has happened to me twice, both times by SoA lookin' guys in jacked up 4x4 pickups. The gray hair and beard must remind 'em of their gramps :D
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k1dude
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Post by k1dude »

I was going downhill on my road bike doing 40 and hand signaling for a left turn from the left turn lane. There was a woman at a T- stop sign that pulled out directly in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, fishtailed, and went into a sideways slide and missed slamming broadside into her car by probably 1 foot. I would've hit her doing about 25 mph. I looked over as she sped away and she was flipping me off!!!

I had the right of way with no sign and she had a stop sign, yet pulled out directly in my path anyway - and she had the nerve to flip ME off?

It's cool that a cager admitted they were wrong and apologized. The woman that almost took me out could learn a lesson from him.
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viney266
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Post by viney266 »

I have had it happen once or twice in 30+ years of riding. It is rare. I also "returned" the favor once when I didn't see someone, luckily I stopped in time. Karma?
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sunshinen
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Post by sunshinen »

I think it depends on where you live/ride, both the culture of courtesy of the driving and general attitudes and stress levels. I've had a few apology waves and a few people who were mad at me for their error. Most just get wide-eyed, correct their error, and then avoid eye contact out of either embarrassment or fear of confrontation.

Sometimes, I think people get angry because they're scared... scared they would have hit you without meaning to, because they didn't see you, didn't notice it was a 2-way not a 4-way stop, that you're going to road rage on them for an honest mistake, etc. It's a gut reaction; you never know what they resolve in there head in terms of where the blame should be after they calm down. I suspect many people know they're in the wrong and regret their knee-jerk response later. I suspect it's only a few that are truly malignant in their anger.
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Snap
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Post by Snap »

Been on both sides of that many times through a lifetime of riding motorbikes.

It's easy to not see a bike in cars' blindspots, even when looking.

That's why riders need to always pay attention and ride imagining that every vehicle that you see could screw up and end up in your space. It makes the ride more interesting keeping your mind active always having an escape route in mind for all situations. Hopefully you don't get forced into make a movie scene.

Also, wear very bright clothing. Forget that black Harley jacket.

I had a woman back out in front of me once. I had room to handle it but after making eye contact when she was safely placed in the opposite lane she panicked and went back into her driveway so she cut into my path again. That's when it got dicey so I ended up doing a dirt track maneuver sliding sideways across her lawn with sod flying ahead of me but never went down. I recall envisioning the evasive maneuver beforehand. We never spoke (I did provide a gesture of my sentiments though) and I later laughed thinking "explain that mess in the lawn to your husband tonight".

So back to the original question, I've usually experienced a gesture from one driver or the other more or less admitting that he or she admits being a "dumbass" in the moment. It happens to everyone so be prepared and expect it.
Last edited by Snap on Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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sunshinen
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Post by sunshinen »

Last week was my first week back to commuting by scooter after several months off due to a pinched nerve. I hit the roads mentally ready for Frogger on wheels, but...

First morning ride in to work, I had two cars that started to pull into my lane, jerk back into theirs, and put on their blinker. I made room for them. They pulled safely over and waved a thank you. And everyone was happy.

Similar events happened all week. :D :D :D
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