road hazard

[redwing]

Today cruising along on a curvy country road I saw an animal on the side of the road at 200 feet and thought it was a small cow (calf). I slowed down to discover it was a big dog. The dog bolted for me...I was trying to down shift paranoid of what I don't know when the dog bolted across my path. Within ten feet... daylight and my headlight shown on the dog's coat. Missed the dog and pooped my pants ...



Another day while riding on a curvey road I noticed horse poop on the shoulder of the road every 20 feet or so and sure enough where the horse and rider crossed the road and Ka-poop there was stole in the middle of a curve... (no pix of poop to follow)

So many experienced riders on our forum ... what kind of road hazards might a rider find and not expect????

Robert

[ka5ysy]

Well, the list can get a bit long, but to start, some of my favorite "gotchas" :

Tar snakes. These things are really bad several ways early morning when the dew is on them they are a slip-n-slide, when very hot the stuff is like thick grease with the result that you can crash or at best get a lot of goo on your bike. When cold the stuff is like ice.


Mud/gravel/sand tracked in from side roads. Not too bad if on a straight road, but Murphy's Laws of Motorcycles say that it will be in the apex of a curve when you are leaned way over. Instant low side unless you can get upright quickly through it.


Blind Corners in the mountains: Murphy guarantees a large rock or three in your path of travel.
Blind corners (generic, anywhere): Bambi, Dogs, Humans, junk etc will be there to greet you.


White Roadway markings: Most of these are now plastic stick-on things that are basically a slip-n-slide all the time due to road oil. No brakes when you are on these things, and avoid them if possible in curves. Those arrow pointers stuck on the road in a turn are a great trap that almost guarantee a low-side.


Squashed cold drink cans or plastic bottles. Avoid these things if you are braking. The front wheel can trap them and lock the wheel causing a dump just like hitting ice or oil on the road.

Diesel fuel spills: If you ever smell this, slow way down and locate where it is. If on the roadway is can almost guarantee a fall. Very bad stuff.

Riding behind Joe Sixpack's pickup: The junk in the back always flies out and tracks for you like radar guided missiles.

Riding behind 18-wheelers: If you start smelling burning rubber, be prepared for a tire explosion from the truck, and the resulting huge chunks of rubber that will be heading your way.

Deer: These forest rats are insane. If you see one, slow way down and assume it will instantly jump toward you regardless of which way it is looking. If you see one cross the road, STOP. There is a high probability that several more are right behind the first one.


Highly Recommended reading: buy both of David Hough's books:

Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well
More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

These are great to review from time to time to keep your brain in the "search" mode for stuff that will bite you.

Also recommended:

Take a MSF or Harley Riders Edge course, and all the other riding courses you can locate/afford. They will teach you street survival stuff that can save your life, literally.

Ride Safe !

Doug

[dav]

Ive come across most Aussie wondering wildlife but on my most recent trip in the middle of now where i stumbled upon this,



must have been shearing time & thought 'bugger that i'll see what the grass is like on the other side'.
Just had time to take a few shots before he darted back into the scrub.

[BigEasy]

I live in the hills close to farm country and we get all kinds of stuff in the road you might not think about on nasty little blind corners and rises: real snakes to go along with tar snakes (a friend of a friend wiped out when he ran over one a couple of years ago and is now whellchair bound for life), soybeans/corn from grain trucks is rather marble like, grass clippings can be pretty greasy, bark from trees falling off log trucks, mulch out of the back of landscape trailers. It's a long and diverse list, just don't push it and be safe

[Faylo]

Don't forget farm equipment! Especially around spring planting, and harvest time in the fall. Particularly morning and/or evening. Some of these machines can take up 60-70% of a 2 lane road and if traffic is coming the other way, you'll have no where to go, so watch your speed. Brakes may be the only resource you have at that point. I've had a couple of close calls out in rural Missouri.

[rockbottom]

Live in Amish country, I'm use to doing the horse poop weave. I've also had near collisions with wild turkeys, pheasants, and vultures. Lately there has been a spate of dead porcupines around here. I can't ride a mile without seeing a deer and groundhog carcass.

[jkhomes]

FYI, MSF class says to slow down first for dogs, then speed up. It throws their timing off. Early in the morning and late in the evening, watch out for deer. They try to hurdle motorcycles and that usually ends with a broken neck.

[rockbottom]

Early in the morning and late in the evening, watch out for deer.

I've had to dodge deer in the middle of the day three times in the past week.

[angellr]

Early in the morning and late in the evening, watch out for deer.

I've had to dodge deer in the middle of the day three times in the past week.

Yup, me too. Bambi are oblivious to noise and had a whole family hop across street in front of me not long ago while riding up the canyon by my home. In fact, have a whole herd living across the street from me in the Cemetery (about 1/2 block away). There are plenty of stuff to dodge. At least for me, I just slow down around blind corners and am ultra paranoid while I ride. BTW, low sided the bike in the driveway when the neighbor's dog came out of nowhere (mine were in the house) ... SW Mototech bars are worth every penny!

[Catchina]

Tons of deer around here in western New York. I see see live ones as well as carcass by the roads practically every day. Deer are just about the greatest danger to motorcyclists because there is nothing you can do to prevent them from jumping out right in front you. Absolutely no warning...crazy invisible animals.

[deilenberger]

This is only anecdotal experience speaking, and I hate to start a headlight modulator (hate/love) thread.. but it appears that a headlight modulator annoys deer as much as it does the one or two people who hate them.

My experience - rode for the first 25 years with no real deer problems. Then hunters started dying off in NJ, and Bambi took over the suburbs, and it became an attraction on club rides to watch Don lock up the rear wheel avoiding a jumping Bambi (this also inspired my installing ABS on two bikes that hadn't come with it.) The frequency was about 1 deer per ride at peak times of year.

I installed my first headlight modulator about 12-13 years ago. I have had two deer observed (neither required any braking on my part but they did cross my path) since I've had modulators installed. I've observed a *lot* of deer on the roadside turn and run away at my approach.

I had a discussion on line with a naturalist/biologist who thought it might have something to do with the "blink instinct" that many animals have to a threat. When a predator is about to attack - it usually stares with an unblinking eye at the prey. Just as it starts the attack, it normally blinks. (Hey - I'm just paraphrasing our discussion, I know zilch about this.) His thought was - the modulator scares off the deer. Deer DO have excellent vision, and it's probably close to 360 degrees (eyes on the side of the head)..

That was his thought. My thought is - it seems to work. I always ride during daylight with the modulator on. Even if it's doing nothing, it makes me feel better (placebo effect.) It's also why I won't ride after dark (except for very local urban rides,) modulator can't be used.

If Larry Grodsky can be taken out after dark by a deer - he was a much better and more skilled rider then I am - I'm avoiding the after dark stuff. And thinking of getting roo-bars for my Cayenne.

[Caroanbill]

Don't get me started oops! too late .. an aussie list

Kangaroos - more than a few scares, even with lights and a loud horn. Size ranges from small and unpredictable to over 2m tall and seriously scary. Not worth riding at night in many places.

Cattle - irksome but I grew up on a beef property so I'm used to them. Cow manure in bends .. sploooooch ...

Sheep - one is bad (unpredictable) - a mob is worse. I've had a large mob spill onto the road around me like a woolly river - had singed wool on BOTH exhaust pipes (this was a 1982 Ducati 900SS) .. and on a loose gravel raod, I was a tad .. um .. in need of laundry

horses - nuff said

goats - all over the near outback, stupid, unpredictable and fast

Emus - big, stupid and fast. Built like a short fat ostrich that's gone to body-builing class. They'll race you - and with up to about 40mph in short bursts, they can! Then they tend to trun right in front of you .. and since they can slip over in turns on sealed roads .. yikes!!

wombats - solid and mostly too slow (fast in short bursts). At 35kg / 80lbs of pure muscle and gristle, they are like hitting furry rocks (known to kill predators by allowing them to chase the wombat into its burrow and climb on its back .. wombat stands up, crushing the predators skull against the burrow roof). A cranky one (and I've seen a few) can knock over a standing bike by barging it. Too many get killed my trucks as it is.

Echnida (spiny anteater) - cute little chaps, but their survival instinct is to (a) burrow (doesn't work on bitumen!) or (b) curl into a ball, spikes out. Only solution is to stop and wait until they amble off, or pick 'em up and drop them at the roadside.

Goanna - large lizard, usually 4 to 6 feet long. Handsome buggers, and not much afeared of humans. Quite capable of speed, but they tend to amble with some insouciance. ABS and wait is the best strategy.

Wedge-tailed eagles - sit on road kill in the outback .. very, very slow to lift off and with a wingspan up to 3 metres (10 feet) the ABS gets a work-out. Sadly, a few get killed by the large trucks that can't or won't stop in time(they are such beautiful birds)

cassowary - live in north Queenlsanmd rainforest and are built like a big, fat ostrich - quite aggressive around their young and they will attack a bike. They have an irridescent blue patch where their "ears" should be - if you light hits that in a Queensland forest late at night, watch out!

snakes - big, little, venomous and more venomous ... I've gone over a few .. and then the bugger always want to bite me .. pity, coz many are endangered.

Rabbits, foxes, cats - they all bolt off the road too fast to hit 'em .. indiscriminate killers of native wildlife - I actually try to hit 'em!

retirees - curious form of nomadic wildlife that run along rather than across roads. Usually clad in armour labelled "Toyota" or "Nissan" and "4WD". Appear to be related to the snail - tow a large shell (called a "
caravan" here) into which they reatreat at night. Very, very slow and tend to block back roads in both directions as they crawl along. Southern Hemsphere migration pattern tends to be from south-east to north and west in autumn, returning south-east in late spring. Best overtaken quickly and then avoided: they offer their prey tea and sometimes beer when stopped, in return for "chatting", and activity which can go on until you feel you'd rather have crashed into their shell while out on the road and died quickly ...

[garr2]

On damp, shaded, secondary roads I've seen a green-tinged strip between the tyre tracks that I assume is moss. I haven't tested whether it's a hazard and I'm doing my best to keep it that way.

And on a public road that crosses at a right angle to the start of a military runway on the other side of the fence, I've seen a sign that says "Danger ..... ". Could be a hazard if you weren't ready to duck!

[hjsbmw]

Tons of deer around here in western New York. I see see live ones as well as carcass by the roads practically every day. Deer are just about the greatest danger to motorcyclists because there is nothing you can do to prevent them from jumping out right in front you. Absolutely no warning...crazy invisible animals.

Knock on wood, but so far avoiding rides at night/darkness combined with slowing down in areas that look like they are around has worked for me. I have more problems with drivers on the phone, in a hurry, ignorant, arrogant, or entitled to own the road.

[websterize]

Caroanbill, Australian wildlife sounds exotic and infinitely more interesting compared to what you'd see in the Mid-Atlantic states of the USA. For me, the most hazardous part of motoring down under wouldn't be the animals — I'd stop to photograph them — but remembering to drive on the left side of the road.

[ka5ysy]

Hey Robert:

I actually forgot you are in Louisiana too...

watch out for real Alligators south of I-10 most anywhere there is water, plus Racoon, Armadillos, and Nutria in most of the rest of the state.

Lately I have run across a number of fox and coyote wandering near the roads as a result of all the flooding in the Atchafalaya spillway basin since it is open.


Doug

[Fjm]

Caroanbill, An addendum to your comprehensive Oz Road Hazard List.

Kangaroos - Dont always travel alone, dont always stay the course and keep jumping across the road before deciding to turn around and jump back the other way in front of you.

Emu Chicks - Are small, fast and very stupid, just like mum. Travel as clutch(?) and as you are applying the brakes to miss mum, you are now wondering where to point the bike to miss the family filing across the road! BTW, emus are one of the tastiest pieces of game around.

Mice - Are impossible to miss when they are in plague proportions such as some places in the outback a certain times of the year. You dont want to stop for fear of being used as a mouse perch.

Bees - Is that mist up ahead?......mmm.....no.....splat...... now I can see squat!

[dav]

Don't get me started oops! too late .. an aussie list

Sheep - one is bad (unpredictable) - a mob is worse. I've had a large mob spill onto the road around me like a woolly river - had singed wool on BOTH exhaust pipes (this was a 1982 Ducati 900SS) .. and on a loose gravel raod, I was a tad .. um .. in need of laundry

Bill, on my first big run with the R12R i came upon cattle being moved from a property to the next on Bylong Valley rd, cows cows & more cows criss crossing me front & back, i was riding at walking pace but it was such a sureal moment.

[redwing]

Lots of good info
Doug... I had wondered about tar. Some roads will puddle tar during the summer so I'll be looking for that even in the winter. Gravel, rocks, mud, and dirt I watch for to the point of not looking toward the end of a curve. Can a few rocks cause a fall? Living out here where farms are so many I find pavement covered with mud or dirt. The farmers come off their fields and leave maybe a wheelbarrow full spread out over about 10 feet. Awhile back in a curve I ran over a chunk of dirt (mud from a tractor) about the size of a flattened softball. It was over before I could panic but the bike moved noticeably to the outside of the turn.
Gators are in the road? I could fall down and get eaten in one swoop. Dam
I have Hough's first book an read the second at Barnes and Noble ... really like the book. Hough's book kept me from running off the road in a turn in a traffic circle where I had turned not sharp enough. I added more counter steering and finished the turn but the wrong move would have sent me into the ditch.

Bigeasy.... never considered snakes as a road hazard... a local rider tells me hitting a turtle is a promised fall.??? Can't stay up hitting a turtle.??? Anything that doesn't belong on the road causes concern for me. I thought any bump in a turn would destabilize but the bike handles it well. Maybe a pot hole or a really large bump could destabilize a bike. Many old roads down here have a ridge across the road every 20 feet or so because the expansion joints weren't spaced properly but again the bike handles them well.

Faylo... I see lots of tractors

rockbottom...It seems likely a carcass would cause a fall. We got lots of them.

jkhomes ... I was trying to down shift once I realized it was a dog but it charged me...

Don E... I thought modulators were on all the time... I'll check into modulator since they're switched.

Caroanbill... I thought I lived in the country... seems like the city though crowded might the only place to ride.. so how do you cook a wombat???

garr2 ...IMHO I think moss would cause a fall... sometimes I only learn from my mistakes....not cool. Hough points to trees hanging over the road as a hazard because the pavement is the last to dry after a rain....

Fjm... I went through a small swarm of bees... and none went up my sleeve

Has anyone gotten a wasp in their clothes during a ride?

[rockbottom]

Carcasses are easy to swerve around. The only danger is if they have vulture on them because those things are big, fly slowly, and don't take off until the last second.

I've gotten bees, wasps, or hornets in my helmet or clothes several times, as recently as last week. The worst was when one was crawling up my back while I was on a high speed highway with no where to pull off. If was very difficult to ignore it for the ten minutes or so it took me to find a place to get off the road.

I've never had one sting me though. This was an even bigger problem when I used to bicycle because the helmet vents are so large.