Well, that's an odd one in my book. I have several potentially fatal encounters with motor vehicles per week, but in all cases the motorist is at fault and I see the situation develop and take appropriate action to avoid the collision. Oftentimes, the motorist doesn't even know that his/her scofflaw driving habits would have killed a less attentive person.

Today I had a woman so intent on the dog in her passenger seat that she couldn't be bothered to even slow down, let alone stop, at the intersection with the four-way stop signs that I was crossing (after stopping, of course). I saw it coming and stayed out of her deadly line of fire, but I did remind her what the word stop means when it is on a red octagonal sign. Later, on my way home, another woman decided she was visiting Australia while making a left turn. I would have been in her path if I hadn't anticipated her poor driving. Ride like your life depends on your attentiveness and actions, because it does.

When my son was five years old, he had a preschool teacher who was simply amazing. She consistently saw problems in their nascent stages and took subtle, gentle actions to head them off before they were noticeable by the rest of us. I try to ride my bike like she dealt with those children: Pay attention, assess potential threats, anticipate other's actions and avoid trouble.