Originally Posted by
FBinNY
Assumption no.3 in my post immediately above yours.
I don't think it's an assumption.
My one sentence makes the issue much more clear.
The whole closing-angle stuff is a red-herring. And based on a lot of speculation. The closing-angle argument assumes the cars didn't really stop.
Even if there wasn't a pillar, the drivers might not have noticed the cyclists. Heck, the might not even been able to notice a car.
The point of requiring a stop is to eliminate the issue of things like closing angles.
What other accidents have occurred there?
Now of this means cyclists should not drive defensively.