Low Sun, Loose Gravel, and a Tailgater
At 7:10 p.m. in late October you are westbound on US-50 east of Fallon at 55 mph. The sun is about 4 degrees above the horizon directly ahead; the asphalt looks washed out and your clear face shield has a light film of dust. Deer-crossing signs appear every few miles, and you have already seen two carcasses on the shoulder. A lifted pickup has been 1.5 car-lengths behind you for three miles; its headlights fill your mirrors. Oncoming traffic is steady, so you cannot wave it past. The right shoulder is loose gravel, and a right-hand curve begins about 300 feet ahead. Your tank is half full and you have 60 miles to go. You are wearing a dark jacket and the bike has a working headlight but no auxiliary lights.
1. Choose a lane position and speed for the next 300 feet, and justify both.
Read the worked answer
Do not speed up to create a gap from the pickup; that raises closing speed into a curve you cannot see well. Roll off 5–10 mph smoothly and build a 4–5 second gap to the road ahead. Lane position: stay in the left tire track rather than the center. The center is oily and gives no escape room; the right side is next to loose gravel and the deer corridor. The left track keeps you visible to oncoming traffic in the glare and gives you the whole lane to the right if the pickup does something sudden. Tap the brake light before slowing so the driver behind sees a reason. Signal early for the curve, but do not brake hard with the truck 1.5 lengths back.
2. The tailgater stays glued to you. What are your options, and which is safest?
Read the worked answer
The safest option is to create space ahead and then get out of the way at a safe place. Do not brake-check, do not wave the truck around into oncoming traffic, and do not ride onto the gravel shoulder at 55 mph. Continue at a steady, slightly reduced speed, increase your following distance, and look for a paved pullout, wide driveway, or store lot. Signal early, slow gradually, and let the pickup pass. If no pullout appears before the curve, take the curve conservatively and let the truck either pass when oncoming traffic clears or follow. Your goal is separation, not teaching the driver a lesson.
3. How should the low sun and dust film change your visual strategy?
Read the worked answer
Treat the glare as a visibility emergency. A dusty shield scatters light and turns the low sun into a smear, so clean it at the first safe stop; do not use a dark tint at dusk. Use low beam, not high beam - high beam reflects off dust and does not help you see through sun. Look at the right edge line and the lane ahead rather than into the sun, and reduce speed enough that you can stop within the distance you can actually see. Watch for deer silhouettes and shadows at the shoulder. If the glare is bad enough that you cannot read the road surface, the correct choice is to stop at a safe pullout until the sun drops, not to follow the pickup's taillights.