Hit by a mini-van

So today on my way home from a quick ride up 1, I got hit by a mini-van – bike and I are both fine other than some dings to my gear and a small ding to the front corner of the tail fairing on the bike. Rubber side stayed down, so not technically a “crash” but more of a “collision.” Detailed analysis below:

I’m lane sharing on 37 approaching the split towards Vallejo. Cars are being idiots (cutting into left lane to try to pass cars in the right lane, then dodging back over once they feel they can’t get any further), so I’m being particularly cautious (apparently not enough, but we’ll get into that). Right lane is at a stand still, left is moving at about 15, I’m sharing at maybe 20ish. There’s a semi on my right with a small space in front of him, and just as my front end reaches the front of the semi the mini-van on my left (one of converted ones that are raised, have the higher roof, etc) jerks right in front of the semi. I saw it start as soon as the wheels turned (no turn signal, and due to the build of the van I didn’t have a visual of the driver) and got the clutch in and on the brakes. My location at this point (see diagram below) did not allow me to stop without running straight into the side of the van, so I instead turned with it (and was pushed) until I was clear of the semi at which point I was able to stop and get around behind the van.
Gear kept me in the clear, got a few nicks in the elbow and knee on my left leathers, bike got a small ding/scrap on the front corner of the tail fairing. Since I was more worried about getting creamed by another car, the driver still has his window, although since it was a unique van and I got a good look at the driver on my way by that situation may be remedied (that or I’ll sign a CA citation if given the opportunity).

My options as I see them to have avoided this would have been to not been sharing or have been going a lot slower, or perhaps catching the movement a split second earlier and turning right in front of the semi rather than slowing down first….although turning right in front of semi’s is not typically on my to-do list because I’d be almost completely in a blind spot for the driver at that point. I think with where I was and my available options I chose best, but hopefully if nothing else someone else can learn from this experience as well which is part of why I’m sharing it here.

If others see other mistakes, I’m open to hearing them…glad this one came out okay, my awareness (such as it was), gear, and riding ability (such that it is) kept things to not much more than me being extremely pissed with no time to do anything about it. When I pulled over to access the damage I considered waiting till the van driver got to that point, but decided against it since there was nothing to be gained other than satiating my anger. No damage worth getting info for, and traffic was bad enough as it was without causing more problems.

My horrible drawing skills at work:

I always share with my hand covering the clutch and two fingers on the brakes

I'm cautious anytime I see an open space when lane sharing. Doubly so when I'm next to a semi. Did the mini van present itself as being driven aggressively? Did you see him make erratic moves before coming up on him?

An opportunity to avoid the crash would have come in recognizing the possibility that the van might change lanes into the gap in front of the truck. With that in mind, lag behind the van approaching the gap. If it changes lanes, you've allowed enough room. If it doesn't, continue behind it until you have the protection of bumper-to-bumper traffic in the right lane so it can't change lanes, then accelerate, and ease past.

A collision with a vehicle changing lanes into a gap in the adjacent lane is the most common lane-splitting crash scenario. I've collected more than 25 first-person accounts of these on BARF. You were lucky to suffer only a minor impact--especially since going down would have exposed you to the semi.

Generally, here's my advice for dealing with gaps in traffic while splitting:

• Stay visually ahead of your situation so you know when you're approaching a gap.
  
  
• Slow down as you near the gap. Reduced speed gives you two advantages: You spend more time in the driver's mirror field, so you're more likely to be seen, and your braking distance is reduced.
  
  
• Don't expect a signal, don't try to read head or eye movement, and don't fool yourself into thinking you're telepathic. A driver will jump into the gap without warning.
  
  
• Approaching the gap, position yourself where they can't get you. Try to time your passage through it when you're "out of phase" with the adjacent lane. That is, wait until the cars are aligned so that the car ahead of you is beyond the gap and can no longer swerve into it.
  
  
• As you enter the gap, occupy it and move away from the opposite lane. You gain space cushion that can protect you if another vehicle tries to occupy it too.

I'm very glad you weren't injured.

A few factors in this incident:

• Factor 1: The gap
  There's a gap in one lane and a car in the next. You immediately have to think "danger spot," and exercise a little extra caution. In this case the gap wasn't quite big enough for the car, thus perhaps giving you a false sense of security, but we'll get to that in a second.
  
• Factor 2: The sudden lane change
  When you have cars going very slow on the freeway, there is the potential for them to make sudden changes in direction. These changes usually happen next to a gap.
  
• Factor 3: The merge
  A situation where a lot of people are merging into one or two lanes. People tend to merge LATE. You see a lot of this in interchanges and when lanes disappear. The only time people merge early is when there's a new lane with nobody in it. Gaps in the lane that people are merging into are particularly dangerous. Even if it's a small gap. If it's a high value gap such as one near the end of a long merge, people will wedge their way in and stop the traffic behind them in order to take the position.
  
• Factor 4: Speed
  Speed is a factor that exists in ALL crashes. It's one of the only factors you have complete control over.
  

Even without knowing about the gap, the merge, or the sudden lane change, the key thing here is reaction time. In a lane sharing situation, the most important variable is the difference in speed between you and the slowest cars. If you have one lane stopped and the lane next to it doing 5mph, then you could be splitting at 10mph pretty safely. But if you have a lane stopped and the one next to it doing 15mph, then I would be VERY cautious. Why? Because when you have a large difference in speed between two lanes, the probability of someone darting into or out of the slowest lane is much higher, and the reaction time available to you is much lower. As a motorcyclist riding on the freeway, it is critical that you are able to recognize the danger and exercise the appropriate amount of caution to achieve a good safety margin. There's no use in trying to shave time in this type of situation, because when that incident does happen, you're going to lose all that time and risk injury or death in the process.

Being that this is the crash analysis forum, I have to ask you at least one question... I have a few

1. Would you say your speed was safe? Why?
2. What would you say is the PRIMARY factor in this crash?
3. What will you change to avoid an incident like this one in the future?

As folks have pointed out, obviously I did something wrong or it wouldn't have happened to begin with, but to answer your questions RR:

1) Up to that point, I would have said I was being very conservative in the speed department simply because drivers were doing exactly what this one did. Usually there are a couple warning signs (such as a slight jerk in the vehicle to the opposite direction before turning) but this one had none. My speed is a bit of a guess - I know I was in first, and nearly to the point of having to have the clutch in to maintain the speed, so I'm figuring that typically happens around 20 for me. I didn't feel like my speed was uncomfortable, hindsight being what it is, I should have been more cautious approaching the gap, instead I was perhaps a bit too focused on not getting squeezed between a vehicle and the semi.
2. Considering the gap and what I knew vehicles were doing, I should have assumed the van (or another vehicle) would take it.
3. Typically, gaps are the thing that make me the most nervous lane sharing just for this reason, but I think my biggest mistake here was that I may not have interpreted the gap as being large enough for a car moving at the speed they were in the left lane to consider it worth moving into without a significant speed reduction first. Therefore, rather than waiting for a gap on my left to approach the gap on the right, I proceeded forward next to the van. So, to answer the question, my lesson learned is to never, ever, believe a vehicle will pass a gap.

Historically, I've been a very safe driver...in fact, this is my very first collision (of any kind) in 16 years of driving, including Wisconsin winters, EVOC and code 3 driving situations...so while there is always something to be learned (hence why I posted up) I generally assume the worst situation when other vehicles are involved.

SLu said:

I'm cautious anytime I see an open space when lane sharing. Doubly so when I'm next to a semi. Did the mini van present itself as being driven aggressively? Did you see him make erratic moves before coming up on him?

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No and no...those kinds of drivers stick out like sore thumbs to me, this guy was smooth as silk till he turned. There may have been head jerks that would have tipped me off if I could have seen the driver, but I couldn't and did not ride accordingly.

Glad you are OK. Gaps while lane sharing are always sketchy at best. I will occupy them myself or wait until a car isnt parallel to it.

I cant believe you didnt run into the ditch in at least one of those WI winters. I put the parents car into front yards and plenty of snowbanks in my youth.

In squirrely traffic conditions like you describe (cars cutting back and forth like that), and on that part of 37: DON'T lanesplit.

I'm only guessing but I bet you could have avoided this.

Did you slow up and loose concentration by looking at the vehicle? Could you have jogged into the next open lane around the car? Do you always look at drivers? Do you use only front brake?

When you're along side a vehicle with an open spot. Avoid looking at the vehicle or it's occupants, no matter what it does.. (no matter how hot that chick or guy is) Expect it to move into you..

Looking for verification from the driver, means your not looking for means of egress.

Just like in a fight.. Don't watch the hands.. Otherwise your 'mind' has stopped and is stuck on the hand. WHAM.. the other hits you..

Stay on the gas. GO... Turn with the car, get on the gas, move over to the next clear lane.

Just food for thought... timing is everything. I default to 'open throttle' Brakeing to a stop is my last resort..

HtChic, glad you are ok and made it through unscathed.

I don't think you really did anything wrong. But in my mind, lane sharing, as with anything we do on public roads, is part trust, and part luck.

In my analysis of your incident, it seems like you fixated on a small box immediately around you. You saw the van, the truck, the small gap, but did you happen to notice what was going on several vehicles in front of the van?

I know when I'm cagin it, I will look very far up the road to see what lane is moving or stopping, or if there is a stall or whatever. So perhaps the van saw something he didn't like in his lane, saw the small gap in front of the truck, but failed to see you just as you could not see his head?

So maybe a bit more patience or scanning further up the road may have helped? Again, just glad you are ok!

Three other things to consider:

1. Speed of the right lane traffic. Typical advice for lanesplitting is a delta of 5-10mph. However, if the right lane is stopped and you are doing 20, then the delta is 20mph, even though the left lane is doing 15mph.

2. Blocked visibility from the semi. You had less of a warning because the gap in front of the truck was not visible. Not applicable here, but you also have no warning if there was something in front of the truck, like another bike or a small car, looking to merge into your lane.

3. And this has been mentioned, but I would slow before passing the truck. I would not shoot past the truck if I had no visibility and no idea what was in front.

Was the semi moving? I haven't seen anyone bring that up yet. Splitting by a truck is extremely dangerous, because the driver might not see you, their vehicle is large and hard to get out of the way of, you can't see turn signals once you start passing, and drivers of other vehicles might not see you because you're just a small blip compared to the truck they're looking at.

Don't share past a moving semi. Too dangerous, period.

Aluisious said:

Was the semi moving? I haven't seen anyone bring that up yet. Splitting by a truck is extremely dangerous, because the driver might not see you, their vehicle is large and hard to get out of the way of, you can't see turn signals once you start passing, and drivers of other vehicles might not see you because you're just a small blip compared to the truck they're looking at.

Don't share past a moving semi. Too dangerous, period.

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No, semi was stopped - the entire right lane was stopped.

sanjuro said:

3. And this has been mentioned, but I would slow before passing the truck. I would not shoot past the truck if I had no visibility and no idea what was in front.

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In my opinion, this was my biggest (and primary) mistake - I knew there would be a gap in front of the semi (I've actually driven one) and I did not ride accordingly. Logically, no one should have taken that space, but as we all know, logic means nothing when it comes to these sorts of things. Rather than executing a touch more patience and just going with the flow in the left lane until I had better visibility, I proceeded anyways, and got into a jam.

Knowing myself, IMO, my judgment was what failed in this scenario, and perhaps not enough patience leading to execution of poor judgment.

Aluisious said:

Was the semi moving? I haven't seen anyone bring that up yet. Splitting by a truck is extremely dangerous, because the driver might not see you, their vehicle is large and hard to get out of the way of, you can't see turn signals once you start passing, and drivers of other vehicles might not see you because you're just a small blip compared to the truck they're looking at.

Don't share past a moving semi. Too dangerous, period.

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Consider time and space and "what if I fall here"?

Getting squeezed into a semi or a fall just in front of one is a high possibility of a fatal accident. What is so important to risk it all for a few seconds?

Ask yourself "Will it matter in a year if I take this risk?"

I realize it was not moving but this is more for the other readers.
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With the semi not moving as you mentioned there was a space in front of it - so that gets back to being super careful if there are gaps in the lanes you are splitting. I usually swing into the gaps to create a bigger space cushion. That way I am already moving away from the potential threat.

Nice diagram. Good job on keeping the rubber side down.

You stated that you were not able to see the driver, so the driver could not see you. Vans have huge blind spots, so we all need to take extra care when sharing next to them. Especially if there is a gap nearby.

As an aside, I thought whenever you collide with someone else, you are legally obliged to stop and swap information.

While the gap discussion and everything else, is appropriate, and helpful, and I hope you're paying attention, there's one bigger rule, I think here:

Don't share any where you can be knocked under the wheels of a semi.

If they cut over a little faster, you wouldn't be reading this.

MCSFTGUY said:

Wow, I knew I was going to like this Forum!

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