Quote Originally Posted by wannaduacentury View Post
If you're driving a car, how can you NOT be aware of all around you(blinkers, mirrors, turning your head if necesssary to look around you. You need to be attentive and prepared as much as possible and be a defensive driver. I almost got backed into the other day in town by an SUV with a blind spot - I honked and steered left and avoided getting hit. The "I didn't see him/her" a copout and devoids responsibility like you said. We may just have to take the lane so they can see us like the other poster said. Jenn
Jenn:

Ever notice how we do our best to soundproof our cars from road noise, add in just about as much stereo equipment as we have engine and air conditioning, then throw in window tinting, big fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror, rebel flags, posters, or one of those little bobble-headed dogs in the back window, etc., etc.?

As an LAB instructor (Ed Wagner from http://cycledog.blogspot.com) notes:
A car is much larger and heavier than your bicycle. It cannot turn or stop as quickly. In fact, cars are about as nimble as a brick, so it's imperative that you learn their limitations. This means that cars are fairly boring to drive since they can't dodge around potholes, patches of glass, and other road debris. Basically, you just sit there and sort of keep the car going straight down the road without wandering from side to side. You find yourself staring at roadway that changes oh-so-slowly. It's like watching a video game where nothing exciting happens.

Modern automobiles are equipped with high-power sound systems, so you can listen to music at deafening levels. The sun visors are equipped with vanity mirrors so you can check your makeup, style your hair, or insert your contact lenses while you're behind the wheel. A cellular phone will let you keep in touch while driving, and a small television can be propped up on the dash. All modern cars have cup holders, so you don't have to juggle a drink and a sandwich. Also, the dash is convenient for placing Chinese take-out, though eating with chopsticks is best left to advanced drivers. (Practice your technique in light traffic.) Older, less technologically astute drivers may enjoy reading a book or magazine to relieve the tedium.
Ed's writing with a great deal of humor mixed in, but the essence is still true, cars are built so as to put us in a little cocoon, isolated from the rest of the world... and it's a shame that cyclists, pedestrians, or other motorists should want to intrude on that... After all, car ads on television always show someone zooming along on an open road. They never show a car braking heavily to avoid a collision.


Tom
After riding on the street, you may believe that motorists are maniacs in motor vehicles. Congratulations! You’ve come full-circle. While some cyclists believe that motorists are deliberately trying to kill them, it is not true. There’s seldom anything deliberate about it. Motorists may be distracted by a cellular phone, an AM radio talk show, screaming children on the back seat, an inflammatory article on the sports page, or a fumbled burrito that just landed in their lap. When they inadvertently run over a cyclist or pedestrian in such a situation, they inevitably say, “But officer, I never saw him!” They sometimes pay a stiff fine totaling several hundred dollars.