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Uneven lanes

I was just trying to point out it's not a problem to climb up to a higher lane when going slow, but it can be a problem if you're going 60 MPH.
It can be a problem at ANY speed if your front wheel gets captured by an edge trap.

There was an excellent article quite a few years ago in Motorcycle Consumer News with a great explanation of how a motorcycle, due to it having to lean to turn (and counter-steering) can basically get the front tire sucked tight against an edge trap no matter what the rider tries to do to break free. Bob Higdon used that article in a lawsuit against WDC for a crash he had due to an edge trap. IIRC - once the defendant (WDC) saw and read the article, they just settled rather then continue to court.

In Bob's case, it was a steel construction plate (invisible at night, no warnings, no signs) that captured his front wheel, but it can happen just as easily with an edge formed due to paving. That's the reason to cross these sort of traps at as close to perpendicular as possible..
 
Yes. The article Bob used was written by David Hough and David was prepared to testify as an expert witness if it went to trial. Bob and I had a long conversation about this at a rally a few years ago.
 
Wouldn't weighting (stand slightly and put more weight on that peg) the out board peg be helpful? (the peg on the opposite side of the raised section) Same principle for dirt bikes climbing out of a rut or riding off camber trail.
 
I took the opportunity to practice on some road construction here. about a 1.5 inch difference edge. I was amazed at how well the R1150RS handled it. It was no drama, and I worked from sharp angles to shallow ones, eventually even riding the edge. No drama of any kind. Maybe that was not wise. But I really have little fear of edges now.

This discussion reminds me not to get overconfident and still respect the edge traps. There are some angled RR tracks where I work. I ride over them often, and never have an issue. And I have seen a bike wrecked on them once, so they do deserve respect

Rod
 
Anyone know if any of this is taught in civil engineering school?

It isn't.

The problem is that if it is taught in courses related to maintaining traffic through road construction projects, you also have to overcome the inertia in state bureaucracies for anything to be done about it. A big part of this inertia is hostility towards motorcyclists, the attitude that motorcyclists deserve to be injured because they shouldn't be riding motorcycles in the first place. I've seen this in meetings. And of course contractors are another problem. They tend not to do the right thing unless ordered to.

Harry
 
It isn't.

The problem is that if it is taught in courses related to maintaining traffic through road construction projects, you also have to overcome the inertia in state bureaucracies for anything to be done about it. A big part of this inertia is hostility towards motorcyclists, the attitude that motorcyclists deserve to be injured because they shouldn't be riding motorcycles in the first place. I've seen this in meetings. And of course contractors are another problem. They tend not to do the right thing unless ordered to.

Harry

It is easy to go through a construction zone and recognize if the project is being done at the convenience of the motoring public or at the convenience of the contractor. Jurisdictions vary. Making the contractor do things like wedging asphalt edges cost money and some jurisdictions are all about the cost - safety be damned.
 
Be aware too, that any edge, groove, cut line, raised surface, that runs parallel to your path of travel is a potential edge trap. Some back roads in Wisconsin develop a lot of long cracks or depressions that the highway crews fill with epoxy material. But those cracks can cause the bike to wander off your intended path. Don't freak out, dampen the reaction at the grips with steady pressure, but don't lock up your arms.

Same applies for the edge of the pavement onto the gravel shoulder. Recently a bike here wandered off the pavement (actually, the rider wandered), and when trying to get back on the pavement the front tire contacted the edge and caused the bike to steer back onto the gravel and into the ditch.
 
NC Stephen
Don't know when or where you had that conversation but there is still quite a bit of that going on in NC. Last season I ran into a very long stretch of 40 somewhere out west of Greensboro that had squared off 3" change at the new layer and I've seen a bunch of lesser stuff on 40 between Raleigh and Wilmington.
We even had one of those morons paint full lane width signage with that slippery plastic paint on a curving, sloped bridge here in Wilmington. Its finally worn in a bit but you can imagine how slick it was when newer..
NC DOT is a poorly run and managed organization that for years fed new roads to polticians as political favors rather than plan for the state's real needs and we're still playing catchup for that stupidity. The reorg of a few years ago helped but didn't fix all their problems. They're so far behind around here that it is possible to run into a 2 1/2 hr traffic jam in Wilmington now. Labor Day Fri saw a 5 mile long backup where 17 splits off 421 going over to Leland- made for a long evening for folks heading to Myrtle Beach or Brunswick County beaches...
 
I look for a bridge where they didn't mill the surface and the lanes are even briefly - sometimes these even have "bump" signs. If I can cross on the bridge where the lanes are even I will if traffic permits. Plan ahead.

+1 Most of the multi-lane roads have overpasses, generally concrete around here, that they do not mill and pave.
 
NC Stephen
Don't know when or where you had that conversation but there is still quite a bit of that going on in NC. Last season I ran into a very long stretch of 40 somewhere out west of Greensboro that had squared off 3" change at the new layer and I've seen a bunch of lesser stuff on 40 between Raleigh and Wilmington.
We even had one of those morons paint full lane width signage with that slippery plastic paint on a curving, sloped bridge here in Wilmington. Its finally worn in a bit but you can imagine how slick it was when newer..
NC DOT is a poorly run and managed organization that for years fed new roads to polticians as political favors rather than plan for the state's real needs and we're still playing catchup for that stupidity. The reorg of a few years ago helped but didn't fix all their problems. They're so far behind around here that it is possible to run into a 2 1/2 hr traffic jam in Wilmington now. Labor Day Fri saw a 5 mile long backup where 17 splits off 421 going over to Leland- made for a long evening for folks heading to Myrtle Beach or Brunswick County beaches...



My conversation was with Resident Engineer for Div 5. Perhaps it made him more aware, perhaps not. Contact yours.. you are Div 3, the area west of Greensboro is Div 9.

As for the roads built and infrastructure not refreshed that for sure is an ongoing issue and not one easily fixed. I know that the two leading states with the most roads switch back and forth. It is NC and Texas. So we do have a lot of roads to maintain and some areas truly need more. My folks moved to Wilmington in 79 and it really isn't much different now than then. A little project here and there really doesn't make a big difference. With 40 dumping into town now it is always a mess.

While we perhaps can't predict all the hazards that are created, perhaps by pointing out the ones we do encounter we might make a small difference in how they do it next time.

Hey man, thanks also for all your posts and words of wisdom along with a bit of story telling

NCS
 
Here & there I seem to see a few more motorcycle oriented warning signs. Being warned is a good thing, but the highway authority would do better for us if they would do more to reduce the hazards.

I hate to say it but the only way that I see the road construction industry showing any concern for motorcyclist safety is if they get sued every time an accident occurs.

An expensive "crash course" in Civil liability is powerful medicine.

Perhaps Mr Hough will find a new way to enhance motorcycle safety by providing "expert witness" testimony.
 
As the roads get worst

More the just uneven lanes, roads are getting worst. Oil, gravel, dogs, deer, etc.

I wonder just how I would like to trade my 2 wheel enjoyment for a Spyder. I tried a sidecar, and I really don't like the way that handle. That Can-Am Spyder looks like it might make 'driding' (really not a 2 wheel motorcycle experience), much safer on bad roads.

I live on a gravel road, 1/2 mile to the pavement, so I ride on less the perfect roads even before I really get in any riding. In rural Michigan you get your share of gravel on every corner, poor patch jobs on the pavement.
 
Some State agencies are using the "Michigan Wedge," which instead of a vertical face, is a sloped face on the edge of a freshly paved asphalt mat. This is quite a bit safer than the vertical edges.

The best thing is for the owner and contractor to both be aware of the dangers to motorcyclists, and to have both minimize those hazards on their road projects, and at a minimum provide adequate warning signs.

This is also another reason to not ride at night: you will not see "edge traps" left by road construction crews while you are riding in the dark.

Harry
 
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