Accidents in which cyclists hit cars that pull out from side streets are not uncommon at all. The cyclist can't always stop or swerve in time.
The issue here isn't one of lightsm, it is one of sight and judgment. If I ma riding in a situation where I might get hammered fromt he side or a car might puill in fornt of me, slow down.
Same principle when driving a car, by the way. You proceed at the speed which is safe given the current conditions. Fifteen years of commuting in the most dangerous city in the nation at the time, I learned that my eyes and my brain were all that would keep me off the bumpers or the pavement.
Accidents in which cyclists are cut off by turning cars are very common ("right hook"). These are the most common sort of bike/car collisions in my city, because we have a lot of curbside bike lanes.
Again, very much a matter of awareness and judgment. if you cannot stop in time you were going too fast. if yuo did not anticipate that a car might make a turn at an intersection, you were not using sufficient foresight. I expect that cars won't signal, will switch lanes, will suddenly realize they are passing their turns while texting, lighting a cigarette, changing the music, yelling at kids--all at the same time---and I adjust accordingly. Thus, I am still riding.
Your statement seems to deny that any cyclists could be so stupid to get in such an accident and/or to say that cyclists involved in such accidents are all morons and deserve it.
i think you mean, my statement seems to imply ... and yes, if I hit a car, I am at fault in most cases, and really, who cares who is at fault? I don't ride to show that I know thew rules of the road, i ride so that I can survive and ride more tomorrow. if a car misjudges my speed or doesn't see me and pulls out in front of me ... how fast must I be going not to be able to slow, stop,, or turn inside the car? Maybe I should have bene watching that car from several hundred yards back, and been ready for the kind of bonehead moves which drivers often make?
Shoot, i do that in my car, where I am surrounded by steel. Why wouldn't i do that on my bike?
In my experience, often cyclists get into accidents because they got a bit complacent or decided to push the limit a bit. If a rider is steaming down the side of the road or in a bike lane and decides to assume a car won't cut across or pull out ... well, in your own observation that would be a tremendously unwise choice.
Tell me ... how often has it happened to you?
I'm not sure if you are a moron, but you are certainly saying dumb things here.
Or maybe things you simply cannot or choose not to understand. Either way, if you think i am so dumb, why respond? Oh, I see ... you are caling me dumb as a rhetorical tactic. well, thanks very much.
Which is something (dumb statements) I see a lot, from people who are trying to justify not taking some safety measure (helmets, seatbelts, lights, etc).
You choose to ride a bike in this incredibly dangerous traffic you were describing in your post, where so many riders get hit ... seems to me you are making the riskiest choice and trying to justify it. You see a lot of those riders who get hi wearing helmets? Yet ... they still got hit. Hmmm ... yeah, it is always a good idea to call everyone who disagrees with you "dumb" even if they aren't the ones getting hit.
I might be doing it all wrong and those other folks doing it your way may be doing it perfectly correctly, but They are the ones picking gravel out of their wounds.