Hi buzz,
Yes, I`m a driver. I drive to work every morning. Had a wreck a few years back...t-boned a guy. Sucked. I was driving home late one night, residential road, guy ran a stop sign, and...bamn. Ouch. Yes, there are bad drivers. Things happen.
San Diego is the safest place on earth. Or so it seems. Quite apart from me being invincible or having an over-inflated self image, I really do believe it`s because people here are bike friendly. I understand that not every place is the same.
There`s not a whole hell of a lot I can do if I`m riding down the road and a driver runs me over. That it hasn`t happened has nothing to do with my `skills` and everything to do with drivers being cool and paying attention. That I`ve never been slammed by a driver running a red light, well, that`s just good luck. I guess in Florida and North Carolina it`s fairly common for drivers to run lights. I`ve read many posts saying as much. Riding a bike sounds a bit like going into battle. More power to cyclists in such places. I wish them well.
I don`t know what to say. I assume I live in a bike friendly place. If there are other San Diego people reading this post, maybe you can share some of your life threatening experiences? Most of my rides are towards east county (94, Dulzura, Tecate, Dogpatch, Campo, Buckman Springs, Alpine, etc.
Buzzman, I`m not trying to be a jerk. I`m simply telling you my experience. If I made claims of jumping over cars using my super powers or having some extra heightened sense about being able to read a driver`s mind, well, your last paragraph might hold some water. It doesn`t. I don`t do anything out of the ordinary. I ride my bike and have thus far had the good luck of being left alone.