Logistics Management

Dave Schneider

Could you drive better with that phone…
April 30, 2008

Could you drive better with that phone…

I ride a motorcycle. I own several, but ride only one at a time. And I ride a lot. A “slow” year is one that I don’t ride more than 10,000 miles.

I ride both short distances and long distances. I have been riding for a long time, over 25 years. I have had a few accidents in that time. I raced for a while, and you will have more than one “close encounter with the asphalt” if you race. I have also had two on the roads accidents where I lost traction and had the rear of the bike “step out” from under me.

I have had a few close calls with other vehicles. Most of the encounters in recent years has been because of either aggressive drivers, inattentive drivers, or the combination of inattentive AND aggressive drivers. I am a careful rider; always wear my helmet, gloves, and a heavy motorcycle jacket. One of my favorite jackets is made of very bright, high visibility yellow ballistic nylon cloth, the same color as you will see emergency workers like firemen wearing. The jacket is bright enough that I sometimes get ribbed about “turning the jacket down”.  I expect not to be seen and drive my bikes that way.  It is a caution that has kept me safe for a long time.

I have a specific peeve about drivers who are on the cell phone while driving. We have all seen the articles about how cell phone drivers are like drunk drivers.   If you have been out on the roads watching your fellow drivers you can tell the ones on the phone. The car that was going fast that is now going 15 below the speed limit is now on the phone. The car weaving in its lane is a car where the driver dialing the phone.    Car that makes a last minute sharp turn without a signal; oh yea, they are on the phone.

I have to admit, I am sometime guilty of “driving while on the phone”. I use a hands free device, but still have noticed where my driving skills have “wondered” while I was on the phone. Even with the hands free, your mind is on the conversation, not on the driving. And the person on the other end of the line doesn’t know what you are looking at like they would sitting next to you, so they are unaware of what they could be distracting you from.

I have gone to the extent of making sure that my phone is in a pocket when driving, I work hard not to touch when it rings. Need to make a call? I pull over.

This “driving while on phone” issue has at times worked me up so much as I watch the stupidly in action that I can sometime be heard by drivers to “HANG UP AND DRIVE” or “DRIVE NOW PHONE LATER” as I observe the most heinous maneuvers being perpetrated on street. Sometimes they hear, sometimes they don’t. The ones that do more often than not will display a smug “It’s my right,” expression on their face or display how they are “number 1” with the extension of their middle digit.

On the left side of the trunk of my touring bike is a sticker that sums up my attitude to the folks that insist that they have a “right” to “drive while on phone” that reads; “Could you drive better with that phone shoved up your ***!?!” (I will let you fill in the blank.)

Well, it was my touring bike. You see, I was in Cleveland last week, and this guy that was on the cell phone decided to make an accelerating left turn from the center lane of a busy street, at an intersection that was clearly marked “No Left Turns”, with the flow of traffic moving at about 25 – 30 MPH, with no signal, about 20 feet in front of me through my lane that was to his immediate left.

There was no avoiding the collision, not at 25 – 30 MPH and 20 feet of distance. The only question was how bad of a hit. Instinct kicked in and I hit the brakes as I turned a hard left so that when my bike hit the car, it was a glancing strike and not a head on.  If I had hit straight on I would have gone over the handle bars, perhaps over the top of the car and onto the pavement with big body breaking force. With the glancing hit the bike absorbed most of the damage, though I am still sore and walking around with a few cracked ribs. A combination of my riding skill and the grace of God protected me from greater injury (much more God’s grace than my skills).

As it was, when the forward motion of the bike stopped, I was still in the saddle until the car pulled away.

The guy did not even stop.

An on duty City of Cleveland Motor Officer was standing on the traffic island and saw the lead up and the accident. He was on the radio as the driver continued on his merry way, calling to officers down the street. They pulled the car over 2 blocks away, the driver still talking on the phone.

It has been over a week now, and I am spending time with the insurance company adjuster working out what happens to the bike, which is sitting at a Cleveland shop. There are many details that have to be worked out. I want to rebuild the bike; it was only the plastic fairings and fairing frame that got damaged. But all that plastic costs a lot of money and the insurance folks want to total loss the bike.  

I am going to make a trip back out to Cleveland this weekend to get my bike.  I want to get my sticker off the bike, stick it on a piece of paper, and send it to the moron that pulled out on me as a "suggestion" to improve his driving skills.

Posted by Dave Schneider on April 30, 2008 | Comments (0)