Quote Originally Posted by Indie View Post
Drivers aren't all just lazy ****s with no regard for bikers. There are plenty of things to concentrate on when driving, to the point where it is impossible to expect drivers to drive with the constant assumption that there's a rider perched in their often-sizeable blind spot.
If I can do it on the bike in the car with a simple head check to the left or right to know 100% there is no car or bike next to me and it is safe to merge over anyone can do it. This is the exact issue at hand. People just don't see or look for a bike. Subconsciously they are looking for a car.

'Sorry mate, I didn't see you' really means 'Sorry mate, I had no way of seeing you or knowing you were there. I was driving as safely as possible with the visual information I had at my disposal. Maybe you should have left more space between our vehicles. The responsibility is yours as a motorcyclist.'
As I stated above. I'm have always ridden under the belief that I'm responsible for myself, even if I have an accident and it was legally the other persons fault, l would blame myself for not putting myself in a safe position or being able to escape the dangerous situation.

I find it hard to have sympathy for motorcyclists when I see them riding like idiots, speeding between cars, wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. But I'm not going to judge all of them for this minority. So, I don't agree with treating drivers as uncaring pricks because of the occasional accident caused by driver negligence, when it's usually just a case of motorcycles appearing from nowhere. Motorcycles are inherently unsafe, as opposed to car drivers being inherently negligent.
Car splitting, riding like an idiot, wearing un-appropriate clothing is just asking for trouble. I have no sympathy for them either. Talking about taking responsibility as a motorcyclist, I feel safer passing cars than sitting with the flow of the traffic where I am just a standing target.