"if you nail someone from behind you're guilty, regardless of what they did to get in front of you. Once someone is there in front of you, it's your responsibility not to hit them, not theirs not to get hit."

jeez, i started biking more often to avoid the stress of traffic but i might just avoid being near roads altogether... are you serious? are you suggesting that a car can pull out of an intersection at any time he or she pleases and never assume liability for an accident? as i understood driver's education, i was told to follow cars by a 1 second margin for each 10 mph of speed. nobody follows this "rule," but it was taught to everyone who received a license in virginia at least. which is why when people get rear-ended, its the rear-endER, not the rear-endEE, who is liable, because if this rule had been followed, 9 out of 10 times, there would have been enough space to stop, in all circumstances except inclement weather. check your driving on a busy highway next time... if you're going 70, and a car in front of you passes a lamp post, does it take you 7 seconds to reach the lamp post? i doubt it. a whole different set of rules apply if someone pulls out of an intersection/driveway or cuts me off though. who knows, the kid may have been riding erratically, perhaps without reflectors or lights... he was riding a bmx bike after all. so we dont know. it seems like most are glad to jump to the conclusion that motorists are a hazard to cyclists and never the other way around. we can be guilty of improper "driving" too. cycling is not my main mode of transport, but when i drive, i try to be extra considerate of cycling commuters, but at the same time there are a hefty number of cyclists i see and say to myself, "i wouldnt be surprised if he/she got hit in the next 10 seconds..." around campus, i would say that at least half of people riding bikes do so in what would be generally considered an "unsafe" manner, e.g. hopping to and fro between sidewalk and road etc.