ramblings of a {sys,net}admin…

Do you drive? If so, would ya do me a favor?

WATCH OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES!

Last night, I was heading west (home) on Third Street, right before the intersection at Curry Pike. Some dipshit in an SUV pulls out of the Speedway station directly in front of me. I quickly checked my right mirror, seen the right hand lane was clear, and swerved into the right hand lane to avoid hitting him in the ass. Apparently I made quite a scene when we were stopped at the light (yelling and cursing at him), because a number of people all around were looking at me.

Then, today… yesterday and today is some big annual neighborhood association yard sale thing in my neighborhood. I got the bike out and was pretty much idling around the neighborhood. I didn’t really care to go “yard saleing”, I was just cruising around the ‘hood checking out people. I was going south on Park Square Drive, turned left (east) onto Gifford Road and was about 3/4 of the way down when some dipshit woman pulled out (also eastbound) onto Gifford Road right in front of me. I laid on the horn and grabbed the brake to try to get slowed down enough to avoid running into her (just like the guy last night). When it was obvious I was going to hit her in the ass, I ran off the right hand side of the road and dropped the bike into a ditch.

I got scraped up a bit (nothing major, declined an ambulance and didn’t go to the hospital). The bike got more damage than I did (just added a photo album of pics, by the way), but the whole little incident gave me flashbacks to last September when the dumbshit teenager turned left in my path and sent me smashing into the front end of his car.

Fortunately, the cop who responded today also rides a motorcycle, sometimes even riding one of BPD’s Harley’s. He was a really awesome older guy (thanks Deputy Baugh) and he made it a point to include “Vehicle #1 made evasive swerve right off roadway and went down off its longitudinal axis, slide, rolling…down south shoulder”. That should help out when it comes to the insurance thing, and the woman also admitted that she pulled out in front of me. Also, there was a witness (behind me) who seen the whole thing go down.

I called my insurance company (Progressive) already, and they are fuckin’ awesome, by the way. I have never had a single problem with them and this will be the third time I’ve had to deal with a claim with them. Anyways, Monday sometime the local adjuster will be calling me to check out the bike, I’m sure.

Anyways, please be careful and watch out for motorcycles. This is not my first “wreck” (the last one was a head-on collision with a car) and I can tell you, they are NOT fun.

Peace.