Do you stop when you bump mirrors while lane-splitting?

[EastBayDave]

some dweeb squeezed me as I approached a light in Hayward @ Footblvd. & Grove Way. I don't think it was deliberate but was not prepared & clobbered his mirror, knocking it completely off the mount. I apologized profusely & asked the guy to pull into the gas station to exchange info so I could get him a new mirror.

He appeared frightened & refused. I said "hey, I'm ok w/replacing it for free my cost= no charge to you." He just shakily replied "I'm in a hurry, don't worry about it." I couldn't make up my mind if he was scared, or was really in a hurry? I kept asking if he was ok, & telling him I'd gladly replace his mirror.

He didn't give me a chance & drove away. What was I to do?

During my ~4 years of Bay Bridge commutes, I clipped a couple, but hard to stop on the moving mass of traffic on the bridge. I did clobber one guy & clearly scratched it. Again I offered to fix it for free. His reply, "don't worry about it as it gets clipped all the time anywayz." Uh....ok, & drove on.

Depends on the situation I guess...

 

[manusingh]

you should stop. Not worth the hit and run charge

 

[P90Wex]

I barely nudged the guy. I was going about 10mph and traffic was stopped.
I have those silly folding mirrors on my Hyper. My mirror didn't even fold.
I raised my left hand as in "sorry" but there was no easy place to stop.

I ride a Hypermotard as well and have found that it's pretty difficult to lane split without folding both mirrors in...the bike is just too wide with them out. I've gotten good at folding/unfolding my left side mirror before and after lane splitting...kind of a pain in the ass but better than clipping car mirrors (which I did twice when I first got the bike). I've been talking about getting practical mirrors for the bike for 1+ year now...one day.

 

[jdhu]

A few years before I started riding I had a kid hit my passenger mirror while splitting...with his girlfriends knee. I was at a dead stop and I didn't even hear it. The dude kept going. As I went to change lanes once traffic started up I saw the mirror folded the opposite direction and got a little pissed, but there was no way i was going to catch the guy. I was getting off the san mateo bridge headed to Oaklamd and the kid was continuing into Hayward.

How do I know it was her knee? The little weasel (no offense, Weasel) ended up somehow getting onto the freeway and chased me down a few miles up. I exited and pulled into a parking lot and the dude followed getting off his bike and demanded that I apologize to his girlfriend, and called me all sorts of names.

I walked up to the girl who had a blood soaked hole in the knee of her capri's and said "Sorry your boyfriend is a dick and chased me down instead of taking you to the hospital. Would you like me to take you to see a doctor?"

Before she could say anything he hopped back on his bike , flipped me off and WHEELIED OUT OF THE PARKING LOT. I felt bad for the poor girl and really hope the kid got dumped.

I hit one mirror while splitting. it was with my right side case after a big rig swerved at me clipping my left side case and picking the back tire up off the ground. The driver of the car was too busy screaming at the driver of the truck to notice that I slowed down to check for damage. I was not about to engage the meth head in the big rig, so I kept going.

What...the...F? What a DOUCHEBAG. I like how you handled it.

It is heartening to see that most of us would stop. I have hit 2 mirrors in 10+ years, stopped both times, but I also took the position that I could understand, in certain circumstances, not stopping. Having read all replies, I have changed my mind a bit, and am closer to agreeing that one should stop, no matter what.

 

[R1-Limited]

I cannot believe this is even in question for some. No wonder the society we now have is the way it is. Fucking what happened to responsibility when ya fuck up?

Seriously this is like the neighbor walking the dog and while it shits on your lawn they look up and see you standing there and wave hi and walk on.

 

[tuxumino]

if it is safe to stop and I can get the cager to stop then I will, but if it isn't safe and I see no apparent damage I'm not going to slow everyone elses commute to feel noble about myself.

 

[Lunch Box]

I cannot believe this is even in question for some. No wonder the society we now have is the way it is. Fucking what happened to responsibility when ya fuck up?

Seriously this is like the neighbor walking the dog and while it shits on your lawn they look up and see you standing there and wave hi and walk on.

god dammit, I agree with R1 on something. Seriously, though. Personal responsibility. Where did it go.

The dog poop analogy was a good one, and is one I have experienced a couple of times.

 

[Ironbutt]

Absoultly, I'd stop in the middle of traffic..

put my bike on the kickstand, get off the bike.. take off my gloves and helmet.. and have a cup of TEA with the other driver..

Sheese!!!

 

[Lunch Box]

Absoultly, I'd stop in the middle of traffic..

put my bike on the kickstand, get off the bike.. take off my gloves and helmet.. and have a cup of TEA with the other driver..

Sheese!!!

For the record, I don't think that most of us are talking about doing something silly like that. I would advocate getting the driver's attention (that should be easy, since you just smacked his mirror) and asking him/her if he/she would like to pull over at the next safe place to discuss the event and/or inspect the vehicle for damage. This can be accomplished quickly, without holding up traffic.

I do like a good cup of tea, though....

 

[Ironbutt]

I was in two back to back hit and runs last year; I know how it feels to get clobbered by another vehicle and left for dead. But this is a mirror we're talking about.

I used to feel different.. then I was hit.. Now I feel really different..



It's a mirror.. let it go.

For the record, I don't think that most of us are talking about doing something silly like that. I would advocate getting the driver's attention (that should be easy, since you just smacked his mirror) and asking him/her if he/she would like to pull over at the next safe place to discuss the event and/or inspect the vehicle for damage. This can be accomplished quickly, without holding up traffic.

I do like a good cup of tea, though....

 

[BigB]

If you knock off the mirror with your boot, does that change anything in regards to stopping and exchanging info?

 

[sanjuro]

some dweeb squeezed me as I approached a light in Hayward @ Footblvd. & Grove Way. I don't think it was deliberate but was not prepared & clobbered his mirror, knocking it completely off the mount. I apologized profusely & asked the guy to pull into the gas station to exchange info so I could get him a new mirror.

He appeared frightened & refused. I said "hey, I'm ok w/replacing it for free my cost= no charge to you." He just shakily replied "I'm in a hurry, don't worry about it." I couldn't make up my mind if he was scared, or was really in a hurry? I kept asking if he was ok, & telling him I'd gladly replace his mirror.

He didn't give me a chance & drove away. What was I to do?

Unlicensed/uninsured driver.

 

[Sharky]

Stop, oh yeah I would...so I could get a good wack in and take off the whole mirror so that sort of thing never happens again.

 

[ThumperX]

some dweeb squeezed me as I approached a light in Hayward @ Footblvd. & Grove Way. I don't think it was deliberate but was not prepared & clobbered his mirror, knocking it completely off the mount. I apologized profusely & asked the guy to pull into the gas station to exchange info so I could get him a new mirror.

He appeared frightened & refused. I said "hey, I'm ok w/replacing it for free my cost= no charge to you." He just shakily replied "I'm in a hurry, don't worry about it." I couldn't make up my mind if he was scared, or was really in a hurry? I kept asking if he was ok, & telling him I'd gladly replace his mirror.

He didn't give me a chance & drove away. What was I to do?

During my ~4 years of Bay Bridge commutes, I clipped a couple, but hard to stop on the moving mass of traffic on the bridge. I did clobber one guy & clearly scratched it. Again I offered to fix it for free. His reply, "don't worry about it as it gets clipped all the time anywayz." Uh....ok, & drove on.

Depends on the situation I guess...

This has been my experience. It is as if they are afraid or something.
My incident with the truck was amazing, I could NOT get the guy to pull over, then he wouldn't go look at the side where I hit him. I am a fifty something white haired little grandma and he still didn't want to get out of his truck. He refused to take my information and insisted his truck was fine, it wasn't, I scratched it and possibly put a dent in it as well.

I hit him hard enough that I felt, if he hadn't stopped, I would have been obligated to contact CHP which is the LAST thing I would want to do.

 

[angelsndevils]

Unlicensed/uninsured driver.

Or hauling a massive stash of "that shit"!

 

[moto-rama]

Hitting cars is not part of lane splitting. It is a fuck up. Stop, let the driver catch up and tell you what you should do. The one time I did ding a mirror as I passed by, I stopped (still mid lanes, it was slow) and make 'my bad' gestures; the driver pulled up to me and said it was ok, don't worry about it.
Do the right thing and don't be scared to stop and talk to the driver.

I did this yesterday, was filtering up to light and front wheel caught in deep, long pothole, pulling me off my line, my mirror folded back as I passed by.

I pulled over at the next intersection, and waited, but the car just drove past. I waited to see if they would circle around, but no car.

It probably only adjusted their mirror, since my bar-end mirrors will just fold back and there was no sign of contact where it would've touched the car's mirror.
Those potholes (the ones along seams in the road) are a menace!

 

[Joseppi]

I was lane splitting in the city on a busy multi-lane street today and managed to bump a cager's mirror. It made a loud noise but I kept going. It was my right-side handguard. There was no visible damage or scratch.
Traffic was pretty backed up.

Would you have stopped? What is the etiquette?

i did not see this question asked buddy so i will ask it, if you hit it and kept on going how do you now that there was no damage?

 

[budman]

I finally *ticked* one this year.. with my mirror. It was a truck. I stopped and looked at the guy and he looked like --What?? I motioned to roll down his window he did.. and I said I barely clipped your mirror with mine. I looked at it and there was nothing.. he did as well and said "thanks all good.. ride safe"

Perfect record... done.

 

[Schnellbandit]

I wacked the mirror on a car while riding the Trophy, like really good. The mirror on the car twisted and I pulled ahead and over to the curb. I apologised but the driver was rather annoyed. Happens.

I'll pull over if it happens again but will never motion for a car or truck to pull over. First, I am not the cops and more important, you have no idea what that driver is thinking when helmeted and suited up you try to get them to pull over. If you pull ahead and over and they do not, trying to get them to do otherwise can end badly for you.

The riders knocking off mirrors though, to make a point? Sooner or later they'll choose the wrong car and driver, the light ahead will turn red and they'll get pulled off and end up looking like marinara.

 

[moto-rama]

I wacked the mirror on a car while riding the Trophy, like really good. The mirror on the car twisted and I pulled ahead and over to the curb. I apologised but the driver was rather annoyed. Happens.

I'll pull over if it happens again but will never motion for a car or truck to pull over. First, I am not the cops and more important, you have no idea what that driver is thinking when helmeted and suited up you try to get them to pull over. If you pull ahead and over and they do not, trying to get them to do otherwise can end badly for you.

The riders knocking off mirrors though, to make a point? Sooner or later they'll choose the wrong car and driver, the light ahead will turn red and they'll get pulled off and end up looking like marinara.

Intentionally damaging someone's mirror is not really an accident, should be considered as a criminal act, you would think. Not a good idea!

I am thinking the driver of the car whose mirror I ticked was either unaware of being contracted or did not care.

I moved to to a conspicuous spot but wasn't sure even which car it might've been, as I was distracted by the pothole and steering over it. I waited long enough to smoke one whole cigarette, but no one pulled out of traffic to talk to me.

Proving that even when you try to do the right thing, sometimes people would rather be driving home and not discussing a minor mirror thing. As I said, my rt side mirror showed zero evidence of contact, so I doubt there was any damage to the car.