# I hope you've got an organ donor card, mate **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 20, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500 "2006-04-20T17:44:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/1 "2006-04-20T17:44:45Z")
Because if you continue to ride in the blind spot of the car in front, then at least someone will benefit when you kill yourself. Yes, it was a learner driver on a motorcycle. Fortunately for him, I knew he was there, but if I’d had to make an emergency manoeuver, then his survival would have been doubtful. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/2 "2006-04-20T17:56:57Z")
If they survive the first few close calls, they learn to drive defensively. _If._ ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/3 "2006-04-20T19:14:54Z")
That’s why I took lessons… Of course, lessons didn’t teach me to kick the doors of people who can’t be bothered to actually look before deciding to change lanes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/4 "2006-04-22T13:33:09Z")
They’ve been running public service ads recently about the dangers of not noticing motorcycles (‘Think bike’) - it’s a pity they don’t direct them at motorcyclists too. ---
**Author:** ![GawnFishin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@GawnFishin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GawnFishin)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2006, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/5 "2006-04-23T06:36:27Z")
**Quartz** , have you ever ridden a motorcycle? > [@Barbarian](#): > > That’s why I took lessons… Of course, lessons didn’t teach me to kick the doors of **people** who **can’t be bothered to actually look before deciding to change lanes**. > [@Quartz](#): > > Yes, it was a learner driver on a motorcycle. My guess, it was his first day on the road. If you see the same guy tomorrow he **will** have learnt this lesson several times by then. Personal experience, the guy who got me. Got me from behind while I was stopped at a stop sign. I had assumed he would at least stop for the stop sign if not the motorcycle that was already stopped in front of him, and waiting for the traffic he was trying to beat… ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2006, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/6 "2006-04-23T08:38:38Z")
> [@GawnFishin'](#): > > **Quartz** , have you ever ridden a motorcycle? Only a bicycle. In UK traffic that’s plenty scary enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/7 "2006-04-23T20:38:11Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > That’s why I took lessons… Of course, lessons didn’t teach me to kick the doors of people who can’t be bothered to actually look before deciding to change lanes. 🙂 You should never kick the doors of cars. It is very dangerous. I hear 9-Volt batteries, spark plugs or ball bearings work like a charm on a windscreen! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![liberty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/958977/32.png) [@liberty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/8 "2006-04-24T01:15:24Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Because if you continue to ride in the blind spot of the car in front, then at least someone will benefit when you kill yourself. > > Yes, it was a learner driver on a motorcycle. Fortunately for him, I knew he was there, but if I’d had to make an emergency manoeuver, then his survival would have been doubtful. I’m a truck driver and you won’t believe the stupid things people do around me. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/9 "2006-04-24T01:45:42Z")
Yeah, the “If you can’t see their mirrors, well guess what, nitwit?” rule doesn’t seem to sink in with some folks. Basic optics is just too much for them to grasp, I guess. How much of the average motorcyclist’s sorry carcass can be usefully harvested after an accident? At highway speeds, maybe they’d be picking bits of these guys out of your mudflaps. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/10 "2006-04-24T01:57:54Z")
I drive a bus, and you simply would not believe the stupid things people do. Driving in my blind spot is one of them. When I begin a move to the right lane, I do it VERY slowly, watching my right mirror the whole time, so that they have plenty of time to get the hell out of the way if they happen to be there. When they finally do appear in my mirror, their eyes are as big as saucers. ---
**Author:** ![liberty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/958977/32.png) [@liberty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/11 "2006-04-24T02:11:18Z")
I drive for Family Dollar and have to back up off the street into the store. People actually pass me from behind and even come right behind me and stop. Passing a backing truck isn’t the best decision to make, but to pass behind the truk is plain idiocy. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/12 "2006-04-26T15:41:55Z")
Years ago, I used to pull house trailers… You guys ain’t seen nothing… ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/13 "2006-04-26T19:41:19Z")
Funny, with all the hatred towards motorcycles, you rarely hear bitching about bicycles (which are more numerous than motorcycles and nowhere near as powerful, making them more dangerous in some ways.) I’ve never had problems with motorcyclists on the road but the fucking cyclists in their goddamn tight pants are a menace. They get in everyone’s way, they don’t have the power to get out of the way fast (unlike motorcycles,) they have bike paths but they often DON’T USE THEM, and frequently they do not obey the traffic laws. Maybe because bicycles are “green” and environmentalist, the people who ride them and their defenders claim some kind of moral high ground, but fuck that. So many of the bike riders around here are idiots who get in the way of regular drivers. Not once have I ever thought “GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY” to someone in front of me on a motorcycle. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/14 "2006-04-26T19:49:30Z")
Totally with the OP on this one - fair enough if motorcyclists want to be treated like other road users, but weaving in and out of traffic and zipping past on the wrong side means the responsibility is with the two-wheelers to be aware of turning traffic… there’s a guaranteed way not to get hit by me, and that’s not to overtake :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/15 "2006-04-26T19:56:34Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > Funny, with all the hatred towards motorcycles, you rarely hear bitching about bicycles Come to where I live and you will. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/16 "2006-04-26T20:36:12Z")
I was driving down the freeway a couple weeks ago going the speed of traffic, which was about 75, and two assholes on crotch rockets passed me simultaneously, one on each side, so fast that I just about lost it. They must have been doing 120 easy. I called the highway patrol and reported them, and suggested they might want to try to catch them before they ended up smeared all over the highway or, worse yet, did that same stunt going by someone who _did_ jump out of their skin, jerk their wheel, and cause a 27-car pileup. Sitting in someone’s blind spot is bad enough, but passing them on both sides at 40+ mph faster than they’re going? Downright suicidal. ---
**Author:** ![liberty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/958977/32.png) [@liberty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/17 "2006-04-27T13:43:48Z")
I was driving my truck passing some on a normal 4 lane interstate highway and a dang motorcycle went between us. Dang, all it would have taken is me to drift over just a little and he would have been sucked underneath me. bye bye motorcycle. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/18 "2006-04-27T18:52:34Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > Maybe because bicycles are “green” and environmentalist, the people who ride them and their defenders claim some kind of moral high ground, but fuck that. So many of the bike riders around here are idiots who get in the way of regular drivers. Not once have I ever thought “GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY” to someone in front of me on a motorcycle. Yeah, and throw in the joggers who wear all black and jog with traffic. It’s not like there are any traffic lights or shoulders around here, but hey, enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/19 "2006-04-30T00:32:11Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Yeah, and throw in the joggers who wear all black and jog with traffic. It’s not like there are any traffic lights or shoulders around here, but hey, enjoy. Here in the U.K., you’re supposed to walk or run against the traffic, not with it. I don’t have the Highway Code to hand (it’s in the car, of course), so I can’t give a cite. And wearing something dark is asking for trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-youve-got-an-organ-donor-card-mate/353500/20 "2006-04-30T16:07:17Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Here in the U.K., you’re supposed to walk or run against the traffic, not with it. Recommended in California, too.