I’m the invisible man. 12/19/2008
I’m the invisible man
I’m the invisible man
It’s criminal how you can
See right through me.
- Queen, The Invisible Man, The Miracle, 1989
Ever had a SMIDSY? Sure you have, if you ride a motorcycle or a bicycle. Hell, I’ve even had several while driving the truck. In case you have no idea what a SMIDSY is, it stands for, “Sorry mate, I didn’t see you.” And in case you’re wondering what it means, it is usually said by the driver of the car who’s just pulled out in front of you, or turned into your path, when you have right of way. Especially when you have right of way. And you have proceeded to either broadside his vehicle, or get crushed under the wheels.
A couple of nights ago, I was on my home, riding the pushbike. It was late, but it wasn’t pitch darkness. I was wearing a bright red and white cycling jersey, and had a (very) bright white light on the front, and a red blinker on the rear. I came up to a “T” junction. It was my right of way. A car was coming out of the tee, saw me, and stopped. In front of me was a car wanting to turn into the tee from the far side of the road. So far so good. Now, by traffic rules, the right of way was mine, since I was on the inside, closest to the junction. I cycle up to the tee. Here’s a thing some of you may not know about modern bicycle frame design. A carbon fiber frame is stiff as a board, if not stiffer, and when you exert a bit of pressure on the pedals, the bike will get up and go. Nice thing to have in a criterium, when you’re faking out the pack and trying to make a break-away. Nice to also have on the road, when you’re pulling away from the lights, or need to get out of the way of a vehicle coming up behind you.
Not so nice when you accelerate to clear the junction, and afore mentioned car waiting to turn into the tee decides that he will turn, now.
I shouted a very very loud “OI!”. The driver braked suddenly. I cycled past in front of him, and looked him straight in the eye. He had this completely dumb-fucked look on his face, like his mother had dropped him on his head as a baby. This was when I realised he never even saw me, and didn’t even realise I was there. To him, I was completely invisible. Even though I was a legitimate road user, because his visual recognition system did not process me as something to be avoided, or an immediate threat to his vehicle, or that whatever damage that could be inflicted by my running into him was negligible, he did not see me.
Hence the SMIDSY. If he had run into me that evening, I would have been right in front of him when he made the turn. I would have suffered, at the very least, a broken leg, and road rash. The bicycle would have become a collection of so much graphite shards and twisted aluminium alloy. Was I scared at what happened? No. Was I terrified? Yes.
I was terrified because I realised no matter how defensively I may ride, be it a motorcycle, or a bicycle, there will be drivers who will not see me. I’ve had more than one encounter when riding the motorcycle, where a car suddenly pulls out in front of me. When I stop to berate the driver, they usually say, “SMIDSY”, or “I didn’t realise you were going so fast”, trying to imply that I was speeding. The fact that I was doing the posted speed limit, or just slightly above, was immaterial to the driver. The driver will not admit that they either, 1. truly didn’t see me, or, 2. didn’t process the fact that a motorcycle (or bicycle) was there, and had as much right to the road as the car.
Personally, I blame our local road traffic regulations, plus the driving test syllabus. There isn’t enough emphasis on road courtesy, or defensive driving, or proper driving techniques and car control. All the driving school teaches you is enough to pass the test. And that’s it. Road planners share the blame for designing a city that worships the almighty car, and everyone else can take a flying hike. Our local roads don’t even cater to pedestrian traffic. How do I know this? Because I’ve had to make enough sudden swerves to avoid pedestrians walking on the road, trying to avoid the pavement, or in most cases, a non-existent pavement.
Am I going to give up riding? No. I prefer time spent on 2 wheels, in spite of the hazards. Will I be riding more defensively? Definitely, because the idiocy of some car drivers knows no bounds.
And in case if any of you were wondering, the car that turned in front of me was a Mercedes. Will someone please show me a Mercedes driver who knows how to drive? And no one say Lewis Hamilton. Race car drivers tend to be some of the worst drivers on the road. Very skillful and fast, but their drive mode operates on a totally different level from the rest of us.