Originally Posted by
livedarklions
And what kind of reasoning is "their unsafe behavior is going to hurt them worse than you so don't worry about it" anyway?
79pmooney really did a clumsy job of burden shifting here. As far as I'm aware, all vehicle codes, etc. are premised on the basis that the operator's primary attention should be focused on the road and vehicles ahead of him, and that it's the trailing operator's responsibility to maintain a safe distance behind the vehicle in front of them. This notion that I just assume the risk that someone will violate that every time I go out on a road and should therefore, I guess, just lump it is crazy. And if they do hit me or pretty much anybody from behind, they can expect to be sued successfully.
I am not sure what you are asking me.
I don't think I said the lead rider is immune to injury.
From my experience in criteriums where there is a lot of contact, the rider behind is the one most likely to do down. Not always but most likely. At my age, I am not sure I have the reflexes if someone overlaps wheels or if I brake and we collide. I would probably crash. It is a big uncertainty and a risk that I do not want to take, which is why I handle it with the four steps mentioned earlier. If I am on my recumbent and it is flat, I just put the hammer down and drop them. On an upright, I am at their mercy