Mini Vans

[al_ngl]

Why is it that people driving minivans always follow motorcycles too close? Today I was tailgated by two consecutive minivans. The first one was probably about ten feet away from me, and I tapped my brake lights multiple times trying to tell them to back off. After that didn't work I made some hand gestures (not the finger) at them to back off. Then they were where they were supposed to be. I think people who drive mini vans must either dislike people who have any youth at all, or they are ignorant and don't understand that riding a motorcycle is more dangerous than a car. Or maybe they weren't even paying attention, probably talking on their cell phone or doing their makeup or arguing with the brats in the back seat. And it's not always on the bike, either. Every time someone pulls out in front of me, it's a minivan. Every time someone leaves a dent in my door, it's a minivan. I don't even park next to vans anymore! Does anyone else feel this way? I'm sure there are some decent people who drive vans, I just haven't seen too many. That's my rant of the day.

[mason79]

i avoid tractor trailers because they are dangerous to me now i can look out fof minivans, thanks for the tip.

[al_ngl]

I always thought Semi drivers were supposed to be really safe drivers. are you talking about the wide turns?

[ClarkGriswald]

Mini vans do that to me all the time no matter what I drive. I think it is the large windshields. Maybe they think they are on the starship enterprize looking at that giant screen (and presumably have shields).

Seriously though I have noticed that lately. Im in a 97 olds gutlass putting along like grandma tryin to conserve gas and the only people that bother me are minivans. Flying up behind me at light speed then doin the "back and forth" uncertian if they can pass. Then they always end up passing you erraticaly in a no passing zone. (oh those lines on the road mean something? haha).

How much you wanna bet they are on a phone complaining to someone about traffic??

[Pat Kelly]

Maybe it's because there are so many mini vans out there now.
You should see hom many vehicles (motorcycles included) that tailgate me in my tractor-trailer. Had a motor cop today pull out and come after me. I thought I was going to get pulled over (I wasn't speeding). He disappeared behind me and in my right mirror I saw him stopping a mini truck that was so close I couldn't see him. I see the shadow of tailgaters al the time. If I don't like it, I gradually slow down until they go around. In my rig I stay 4 to 6 seconds behind the vehicle in front of me. Too many others don't. If I hit someone from behind it's not a fender-bender.... someone dies. Sadly, if a bike is hit by a Mini Cooper (example), the biker dies.
I have found that bikes are my least problem as they are in close proximity for such a short amount of time. They are usually speeding and splitting lanes.
The worst vehicle group I have encountered (long before getting my CDL) is white Jeep Cherokees.

[Wildkat]

Re: Mini Vans

Originally posted by al_ngl
Why is it that people driving minivans always follow motorcycles too close?

Because it's easier to check out their butts?


I drive a Mom-mobile... out of necessity... but that's beside the point...
Maybe it's because I ride... but I tend to watch very carefully how I drive around bikes... but I do notice a great deal of SUV drivers and mini-van drivers talking on the phone while driving... but it isn't just them... Most problem drivers I've encountered have been on the phone... vehicle type doesn't matter...

I stay out of the big trucks way no matter what I think of their driving abilities... They are a lot harder to compensate for due to their size... I figure it's just best to give them plenty of space...

[Montreux_Blue]

Originally posted by al_ngl
I always thought Semi drivers were supposed to be really safe drivers. are you talking about the wide turns?

Maybe they are good drivers, if they can see you! They have very limited visibility. And the draft from them will push you around in directions you don't want to go. I just zip past real fast to get in front of them.

[trbig]

I have found more and more of the "Professional" drivers in the rigs to be a problem. When you are coming up fast in the fast lane, they pull right out in front of you and shut you down (I assume it's amusing to them) or run a rolling roadblock for mile after mile with another rig at @ 5-10 mph UNDER the speed limit. In these cases, I think it should be legal to start shooting out tires... I'd also like to say that none of these rigs have been passed on the shoulder and both of them given some international sign language.... but I can't. lol.

I have been in some close calls with regular cage drivers, but I expect this kind of thing from them, so it doesn't bother me as much.


Tod

[al_ngl]

I'll have to be more cautious around semis. I knew about the wide turns and low visibility, but blatantly interrupting traffic? That's pretty bad. I haven't ridden on the interstate yet so I haven't ridden next to semis much.

[Pat Kelly]

Passing with a big rig is frustrating for the operator too.
-Finding an opening to change lanes with a rig 70 feet long can be challanging. 4 wheelers are comming up faster than the truck and the cars tend to be closer to each other (despite the higher speed)
-This 70 foot long truck that has been stuck behind the slower truck now has to accellerate 40 tons to pass the other truck. a total vehiclelength of 140 feet.
- For safe spacing we need to have at least another truck length before moving back to the right... 210 feet. This is a mooving 210 feet that can take a mile to accomplish.
-Add to this that the slower truck may now speed up (the a-hole) leaving the passer "hung out to dry".
It takes very little effort for a car or bike to slow for a minute while the big-rig passes, then get back to speed. The truck can take many miles to slow then regain speed for a slower vehicle.
A frustrating area for me is when I'm driving my truck at 59 MPH (CA speed limit is 55) and I get to an on-ramp. The car drives the length of the ramp at 40 MPH then accellerates once on the freeway, or worse, being at the end of the ramp, I've slowed to let them on (can't move over for all the cars whizzing by on my left), and they hit the brakes.

Just as we cyclists think everyone should ride on a bike to see our frustration, everyone should take a ride in a big-rig to see what the road throws at them.

I personally don't find it amuzing to hold-up traffic, it's just what happens in the real world when vehicles share the road.

[yamahansolo]

hey i have a mini van and i don't tailgate...
can't put the whole family in a sidecar... i have 3 kids with 1 on the way!!!

[trbig]

Pat, I have driven trucks also and still have my CDL. I know when a truck is trying to just pass, and that isn't a problem. Out here in the middle of the U.S., there's a lot more room between cars when you're away from the cities than there is on the west coast. The problem I have is having everyone in the slow lane, me clipping along in the fast lane with miles ahead and behind me of clear lane.... then having a truck pull out in front of me when he could have waited about 5 -10 seconds.

SO.. I can tell the difference between someone just trying to do their job, and someone being bored and screwing with people.

Tod

[al_ngl]

Nobody said all truck or van drivers are bad drivers. There are bad drivers/operators in any type of vehicle. It's just more noticeable when a larger vehicle does it.

[ClarkGriswald]

Ive been behind a few of those rolling roadblocks.. very frustrating but I have to say the few times it happened to me.. you realize later on that there is a horrible accident up ahead a few miles.. those trucks are actually helping because now we are all still moving along at a snails pace. I guess mabye they were doin that on purpose. Id rather creep along slowly and have some airflow than sit in hot traffic..

Not sure if its really that organized but thats what happend a few times to me.

[Ivan]

TBH, Dumbasses drive all kinds of vehicles. Minivans are just very popular, so there are more jerks in them. I have found the worst ones to deal with are yuppies on custom built choppers. I guess they figure since they spent enough money to buy a small country on their "chopper", they own the road. Maybe they are pissed because I have less than two grand and am having more fun. Big Dog drivers, Victory drivers and any prefab "chopper" guys will cut me off, tailgate, pass in the same lane, and anyother stunt they can pull. Guys with grease under their nails are much more kindly on the road, and they wave too.

Truckers, as I understand, are just trying to do their job. I have met the rolling roadblocks, and more often than not, its the car they are trying to pass that is screwing with the trucker. I have seen cases where the trucker has a good view into a convertible and pauses to savor the cleavage for a bit. That gets to me, cause they should at least share with other drivers.

One of they guys I work with has been riding for 30 or more years and he said he carries a pocket full of bolts and washers and such just for persistant tailgaters. Not sure if I am that gutsy, but I certainly understand his frustration.