Triangle Denizens of Doom

CREEPING TRAFFIC

This page produced from information provided by:
Russ Parker

Parker's Creeping Traffic Rule #1:

When on a motorcycle, DON'T CREEP WITH TRAFFIC!

"Creeping" traffic is very dangerous for motorcyclists. The likelihood of a fatal accident is very low, but getting knocked off your bike is a definite possibility. So, don't play the game.

When at a traffic light where car drivers are "creeping" while waiting for the light to change, don't creep. Pick a point where you will stop and wait for the light to change, then do not move until the light changes and it is safe to proceed. If the car(s) in front of you creep forward and leave a big gap, resist the urge to creep forward and close it up like all the BDICs around you. If that means there is a car-and-a-half length gap, so be it. If you play the creepy game with the BDICs, you are simply giving the one behind you yet another chance to tap your rear wheel with his bumper, sending you rapidly onto the pavement or into the vehicle in front of you.

If the BDIC behind you doesn't like that you're not playing nice with the rest of the traffic, give him a wave when he honks at you, but DON'T MOVE. If cage horns annoy you, get loud pipes so you can drown them out with a throttle-blipping fest.

Parker's Creeping Traffic Rule #2:

Again, when on a motorcycle, DON'T CREEP WITH TRAFFIC!

If you are in stop-and-go traffic that is moving slowly enough to constitute "creeping," like the daily stuff on 54 in Morrisville, again, don't play the game. Again, if you "creep" with the rest of traffic, you are giving the cager behind you plenty of opportunities to rear-end you. Remember, they do it all the time to each other, and they'll do it to you too. It'll hurt worse. When you creep on a motorcycle, you are very vulnerable and you have limited your ability to act rapidly. You are probably going about as slow as you can, so you don't have much stability other than the balance you provide. No gyroscopic stability means that any rapid movement on your part could upset your balance point and cause you to drop your bike. All of this can add up to a problem if sudden emergency maneuvers are required, assuming that you even have time to perform them.

Creeping like that also reinforces the tendency of the vehicle to get into an accelerate..brake..accelerate..brake routine that often ends in a collision when the driver stops paying attention and starts fiddling with the CD player or talking on the cellphone. Also, if you are riding with the clutch pulled in your brake light isn't going to be coming on as much as the cars in front of you. If the BDIC behind you is reacting solely to your brake light, he may not stop quick enough to keep from hitting you.

So, don't creep. When you stop, come to a complete stop. Put your feet down. When the vehicle in front of you starts moving, STAY PUT, with your brake light on and your foot/feet down. Wait until the vehicle in front of you has moved several car lengths ahead of you before you pick up your feet and slowly proceed ahead. Stop at least a car-length away from the vehicle in front of you when you catch up, not right on the bumper.

This process immediately halts the accelerate..brake routine of the vehicle behind you, and if he's paying attention at all, he will realize after you do this a few times that you are not going to play the creepy game. He will then wait for you to move ahead before he moves. You also minimize the number of times you stop and start, thus saving wear-and-tear on your clutch, your feet, your sanity, and you minimize the number of chances the BDIC has to smack into you.

Resist the urge to rapidly close the gap when you do move forward, as it will suck in the cager behind you. When you stop suddenly, so will he - on top of you.

Last but not least - don't drag your feet at low speeds. As soon as you begin to move forward, your feet should be on the pegs. I mean immediately. When you stop, put at least one foot down. The cager will quickly associate your foot/feet being down as a sign that you are completely stopped and not creeping, and will associate your feet being up with progress forward. If you use your feet as outriggers at slow speeds, you will confuse the cager, thus increasing the chance of a poor decision.

Again, if the cager behind you honks, too bad.