Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
Poor analysis. Change the facts just a tad. You're in your car travelling in the right lane. Car in the left lane a few feet in front of you makes an abrubt turn in front of you to turn across your lane into a gas station. You collide with the car.
No one in their right mind would say you were travelling too fast to control your car and are at fault for striking the car that turned across your lane.
The OP's facts are not materially different The Car turned immediately in front of him without signaling.
Admittedly Cars are want to do this, and Cyclists have to be vigilant about right turn hooks. So a little bit of defensive riding might have avoided it.
However, assuming the Op's description to be true, there is no way he's at fault.
Poor analysis....this was not a car switching lanes to make a right turn from the left lane...it sounds to me as though the OP was possibly in the cars blind spot...he was "beside and slightly to the rear of"...IMO, not a good spot to be in on a bike...I ride both a motorcycle and a bicycle and that is a spot I will NOT spend ANY time in while riding...to easy to not be seen...at least on my motorcycle I'm on the loud side and can be heard, not so on my bicycle...when I read the OP I thought it sounded like the neither party was really at fault, just bad timing and a little lack of attention on both parts.