I guess bikers are second class citizens

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

I drive big trucks every day for my job, and I've had a few close calls.  People HATE trucks, and will take any risk to get out from behind one.  The worst is on side streets early in the morning.  It never fails that I'll be doing 25 in a 25 zone, two blocks from a school, and some broad will fly around me in her SUV, smoking, drinking coffee, talking on her cell phone, and turning in her seat to flip me off as she goes by.  Meanwhile, cars are backing out of every driveway and kids are waiting for the bus on every corner or are walking to school.  It's always a broad in an SUV, too.  They are the worst, followed closely by teenaged boys in whatever they can afford to call a racecar.
I've seen people push aside the barricades with their bumpers and drive right up to the job site, then drive over someone's lawn to get by.  This when all they have to do is go around the block to get by.
Another problem with people cutting off trucks is that I don't think most people realise how long it takes a truck to stop.  I don't know how many times I've been locked up and smoking, sideways as hell because someone whipped into my braking area from out of nowhere and then just stopped!  If you leave 5 or 6 carlengths following distance so you can stop, some bunghole will always dive in and make it 2 carlengths.  There go the smoking dualies again...
My wife once followed me home from a party in a blinding rainstorm.  I was on a Goldwing with tons of extra lightson the back.  She was in a pickup.  She told me that there were times that I just disappeared into the spray.
Of course i could also talk about all the times I nearly got run over in broad daylight on a bright red motorcycle, but I've learned that people can't even be expected to see a huge dump truck with a 10-foot plow blade and mulitple strobe lights, so how are thy going to see a little black motorcycle at night in the rain?
Let's face it.  Most drivers just suck.  As racers, we are more offended by this lack of skill than the average Joe.  And the traffic laws are written for the least common denominator.  The better driver on the more capable machine has to suffer for the senior in the K-car who can't handle the 35mph pace.  As a racer AND a truck driver, I consider myself to be way above average, and I just can't believe the morons who I drive with every day!

[OmniGLH]

I drive big trucks every day for my job, and I've had a few close calls.  People HATE trucks, and will take any risk to get out from behind one.  The worst is on side streets early in the morning.  It never fails that I'll be doing 25 in a 25 zone, two blocks from a school, and some broad will fly around me in her SUV, smoking, drinking coffee, talking on her cell phone, and turning in her seat to flip me off as she goes by.  Meanwhile, cars are backing out of every driveway and kids are waiting for the bus on every corner or are walking to school.  It's always a broad in an SUV, too.  They are the worst, followed closely by teenaged boys in whatever they can afford to call a racecar.
I've seen people push aside the barricades with their bumpers and drive right up to the job site, then drive over someone's lawn to get by.  This when all they have to do is go around the block to get by.
Another problem with people cutting off trucks is that I don't think most people realise how long it takes a truck to stop.  I don't know how many times I've been locked up and smoking, sideways as hell because someone whipped into my braking area from out of nowhere and then just stopped!  If you leave 5 or 6 carlengths following distance so you can stop, some bunghole will always dive in and make it 2 carlengths.  There go the smoking dualies again...
My wife once followed me home from a party in a blinding rainstorm.  I was on a Goldwing with tons of extra lightson the back.  She was in a pickup.  She told me that there were times that I just disappeared into the spray.
Of course i could also talk about all the times I nearly got run over in broad daylight on a bright red motorcycle, but I've learned that people can't even be expected to see a huge dump truck with a 10-foot plow blade and mulitple strobe lights, so how are thy going to see a little black motorcycle at night in the rain?
Let's face it.  Most drivers just suck.  As racers, we are more offended by this lack of skill than the average Joe.  And the traffic laws are written for the least common denominator.  The better driver on the more capable machine has to suffer for the senior in the K-car who can't handle the 35mph pace.  As a racer AND a truck driver, I consider myself to be way above average, and I just can't believe the morons who I drive with every day!

Lemme tell ya K3 - I gained SO much more respect for truckers the VERY first time I had to pull a trailer in traffic.  Holy cow.  NOBODY wants to be behind you, no matter how fast you're going - and NOBODY wants to let you change lanes.  I've had people cut me off, panic stop in front of me, flip ME off... AFTER they passed me (so they KNOW I've got a large trailer behind me.)  And if I've got it rough, pulling a 24' trailer with my pickup truck... I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is for some of these over-the-road guys with the 50'+ rigs...

I still ride on the street... though nowhere NEAR as much as I used to.  After realizing that a lot people don't see me in my 3/4 ton, 4-door, 4-wheel-drive pickup truck (well, don't see or simply don't care) it makes it harder and harder to enjoy riding a motorcycle (which is teeny-tiny by comparison) on the street.  Which is kind of a bummer because there are very few things in my life that are as therapeutic to me as going for a nice long relaxing street ride.