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Several months ago, I found out a guy in a department I occasionally am in contact with is a biker (think his bike is arround 1200cc). I met him last week and did the "long time - no see" intro. Turns out he almost got road killed.

Wayne, his story depicts a road like the one that leads into your neighborhood, but four lane - speed limit 35-45mph, not a lot of lights - city but sort of open - long and winding. He turned out on the street with a wide turn, putting him in the fast lane - not the rightmost one. Unfortunately, this is a winding road and just around the curve, a woman was blasting by at 85mph. :eek: He had to slam the accelerator to get out of the way, hit water, skidded off the road. He hit the concrete base of a street light. Brain surgery was performed and fortunately he healed months faster than usual. His facial scars are barely noticeable and will probably clear with time. His motorcycle was not damaged that much, but he said he won't be riding it anymore. Sad, but I understand after his close call.

The lesson I draw from this story is just assume a reckless driver is going to pop out from past the horizon - they do a lot these days.

One good reason for driving with buffers and being aware of your surroundings.

I had a really good driving teacher in my father. He made it very clear that safe driving is not only obeying the posted laws but doing so in a manner allowing you to react to the unexpected.

There is always something unexpected that's going to happen: expect it.