It's videos like these that encourage wives all over the world to vehemently protest against their husbands getting a motorcycle license and trying out life on the road with two fewer wheels.
Actually, scrap that, this is to motorcycle crashes what getting stung in the finger is to getting shot. This is nothing. If you're in a bike crash and the first thing you do after you hit the ground is to start and curse the driver, then that luckily wasn't a hardcore accident.
For anyone riding on the road, this is one of the worst scenarios. Whether you're on a bicycle or motorcycle, you're always extra cautious of people turning one way or another fearing they might miss you in their mirrors - that is if they bother to check them at all.
You can do your best to make sure you remain visible, of course, but that's not always an option. Like when dealing with a wild animal, your best bet is to remain as predictable as possible, stay out of the drivers' blind spots and don't do anything illegal.
If you're wondering why the driver in the clip below pulled a left turn (which would be the equivalent of a right turn when driving on the right) from the second lane, it's because the first one was reserved for buses. So that was essentially the first lane as far as she was concerned.
"A-ha, the motorcyclist was riding in the bus lane. It serves him right, then." Well, not only is that never enough to wish somebody physical harm, but it also turns out that motorcycles and bicycles are allowed in that dedicated lane.
Should he have just assumed the driver had seen him despite there usually being much more larger (and easier to spot) vehicles in that lane? Well, the outcome of the encounter points toward a definitive "no," but he still had every right to be there and be allowed to pass first.
The moral of the story here is that even though you're legally allowed to use the bus lane, it's best you don't do it if it isn't necessary - and in this case, it definitely wasn't. However, if you do find yourself there, always assume the drivers won't see you coming. It'll make for a much jerkier ride (brake, gas, brake, gas), but also a safer one.
Before we sign off, let's all take the time to congratulate everyone that came over to help, including the car's driver and passengers. They did a very good job of calming down the understandably irritated biker and preventing the situation from going from bad to worse.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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