Originally Posted by
Digital_Cowboy
Other than wearing dark clothes and not having lights/reflectors was he riding legally, or is it being suggested that he just swerved into the motorists path? . . .
I don't know what conditions were, but I can see how it would happen, even without the rider swerving.
If he was riding at, say 15 mph, and the driver was going 50 mph, that's a differential speed of 35 mph or 51 feet per second. If you figure a response time of 3 seconds, anything within 150 ft will get pasted, much more when you account for stopping distance or the vehicle's ability to swerve rapidly.
Can a driver resolve a dark cyclist at 150 ft in the middle of the night when they are not expecting one? I don't think it's very likely.