Don't make my mistakes.
I was in this situation:
Approaching traffic signal with blocked vision to my rear.
The setup: To access a MUP on a quiet Saturday morning, I used a two-lane road for about 1/3 of a mile to reach the traffic signal. When I entered the road I saw a full-size pickup truck headed in my direction but a long ways away. I took the lane and sure enough, that truck reached me about the time I got near the red traffic signal, which does not reliably trigger with bicycle metal. I was watching the truck (black above) for a signal indication but they did not signal (and they can't go straight). I decided to change to the left lane to make the crossing. I signaled my left before the "paint" of the left lane and checked my mirror and the truck was pretty close to me. I then moved left without looking over my shoulder and heard a honk .. a motorist (yellow above) had pulled out from behind the truck to pass to get to the left turn lane. I can't be sure, but I think we both moved left in the portion that had cross-hatched paint. I didn't hear any skidding so I have to assume they did not have any drama avoiding me.
My reflections on this incident:
1. I’ve been accultured (60 years of immersion) to keep traffic moving so that probably motivated me to move left as my guess was the truck would turn right (which it did). I need to put my safety first and consciously work to change my habits.
2. I remember thinking there was no traffic behind the truck, probably because I didn’t see it at any time on the 1/3 mile stretch. I have to remember that if I can’t see it, I have to assume there is a hazard on the other side.
3. Most of the time I look over my shoulder before changing lanes and I failed to do so this time. I’m not sure I’d have seen the motorist on my normal quick check, but my bad for not looking.
4. My decision on lane position is often last-minute; in some conditions I would use the crosswalk. In retrospect, staying in the right lane was a safer choice.
Looking back over my near-misses and crashes over 60 years, the majority have been related to some kind of vision issue: blockage, glare, lighting. Anytime I can’t see well, the red warning light must come on in my head.
Clearly motorists behaving better (using turn signals, obeying lane markings) would help but in the real world I can only control my own actions.
I welcome other perspectives.