I've really stepped up my bicycle commuting this year. Unfortunately, I've also become more and more addicted to online reports of bicyclist injuries and deaths across the continent.

Having ridden the same 10 square miles of suburban Long Island roads for about 42 of my 52 years, I can't imagine that there any surprises out there. I feel invincible; like I am acutely aware of every single vehicle, pedestrian, pothole, and fallen acorn along my route every day. I am never, ever distracted. I have thoroughly analyzed the traffic patterns and the subtle variations in driver habits between morning and afternoon commutes in an effort to constantly improve the odds of my getting to and from work safely. I follow every traffic rule as if I were in an automobile and I carefully guide drivers around me in tricky situations, most often receiving a smile or a polite wave of thanks in return. I feel like I can get myself out of any critical situation, including a collision with one of the many distracted high school students who drive my route to school with both eyes firmly planted on their text screens.

Still, I know I am as vulnerable as any other idiot out there on a bike every day.

So what is it I am missing? I'm sure those of you who have been involved in collisions with automobiles are every bit as proficient as I am on a bicycle. And I would speculate that many of you are as intimately familiar with the roads you travel as I am. So what was different for you, in your head, in your physical state, or in the function of your bike in the few minutes/seconds leading up to that awful moment when your luck ran out and you found yourself sprawled out on the street? Did you make a mistake, maybe lose your concentration, or was it just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?