Great advice

[OakLeaf]

Sundial, the thing about it is (and I deal with this all the time as a motorcyclist) is that you have to BELIEVE and RIDE as though you can prevent every collision. Wear the gear, for sure, but don't ever think that car/bike collisions are "inevitable."

On rare occasions that turns out not to be true. On a forum this large, sadly we're going to have some of us who have experienced those occasions. On many, many other occasions, a rider's momentary lapse combines with a cager's gross negligence or recklessness, and the result is the rider being seriously injured or killed.

It's important to realize that it's not a value judgment on the rider to recognize that they might have prevented the accident. By slowing down, speeding up, shifting their body weight differently, positioning themselves differently in the lane, whatever. There's not one of us who has 100% perfect attention or reflexes or judgment, and sometimes that moment gets us. There are very, very few accidents that can't be learned from (by others, if sometimes tragically not by the victim).

Another way of saying this is: our safety is our own responsibility and no one else's. Accidents can be someone else's fault, but they're our own responsibility. And I think what BSNYC is trying to say (in his own inimitable way ) is that you can't let fear deter you from taking that responsibility.

[Trekhawk]

Thanks for posting the link.
I really enjoyed the post and it gave me my first laugh for the day.