ZRXMAX,
While I appreciate the "it takes two to tango" philosophy and I will certainly concede that the "I didn't see him (the motorcyclist)" defense as generally being abused, I will respectfully disagree with you on the final assessment in this particular incident.
In particular, you have contended that you disagree with the concept that there is no way to be truly certain that the way is safe. I stand behind this concept, again, with respect. I challenge you to be 100% certain, EVER, about ANY traffic situation. The reality is that we, humans, ALL make mistakes from time to time, for a multitude of reasons. Is there ANYONE among us that can claim to have made ZERO mistakes in our riding careers? And are there no accident survivors among us? The answer, of course, is that we have all made mistakes and many of us have been in accidents. Accidents are, by definition, an event that occurs contrary to intent, i.e., a mistake of some kind. That mistake, ultimately, boils down to us being somewhere that when it was not safe to be there. Thus, we either chose to go somewhere unsafe or we thought the way was safe and were found to be in error.
As for holding the driver accountable, did he do EVERYTHING he could to avoid the accident? Well, technically, no or it wouldn't have happened. He could have waited. He could sit by the side of the road for an extended period of time practicing his ability to judge the speed of passing motorcycles until he was "SURE" that he could judge that speed accurately. Of course, then he'd have to navigate that particular turn and do the same thing over and over again, hoping to face a motorcycle and not a car each time, ya know, for practice. And then he'd have to do the same with motorcycles traveling nearly 40% above the limit, again, for practice. He could calculate the time needed to make the turn and add the minimum 2 second surplus as you suggest we all know to do (I can't say I know anyone that has considered this at all, let alone on a regular basis). He could have stayed home. He could have waited until no traffic was visible. He could have taken the LEO training that you mentioned. He could have taken a route in which no right turns were required. I realize this is all quite ridiculous, but it does make the point. And the point is, that the driver was probably an average driver that had no special training or awareness and that we, as motorcyclists KNOW comprise the majority of the driving population.
IMHO, the driver is guilty of nothing more than not expecting the rider to have been approaching at a speed 40% greater than the limit. And that is why I place the responsibility on the rider. The driver is guilty ONLY IF the rider has already egregiously broken the law and created an exceptional circumstance for which no average driver is EVERY trained or prepared for.
In addition, there is the additional potential that the rider’s final pass was completed only moments prior to the intersection and could have easily obscured the rider’s position and speed for the driver. At a great distance, one might easily misinterpret the rider as traveling the same speed as the car he was passing.
All that said, I certainly agree with you that drivers need to be vigilant and do all they can, reasonably, to be aware of us (riders) and ALL road users. And certainly, we agree that all road users have a responsibility to not engage risky attempts, such as "squeaking" a left turn in front of oncoming traffic.
That said, I fear that one of the most easily avoidable risky behaviors is speeding when there is a reasonable expectation of accident potential. And that, my friend, is where I see this particular accident boiled down. A simple case of too much speed when there wasn't enough room for the speed to be safely managed.
You say that the driver of the car was complacent. That may be true. But it is no less true for the rider and, IMHO, it is SO MUCH MORE SO for the rider because he is one of us, a RIDER! We KNOW that drivers are not to be counted on in NORMAL circumstances and yet this rider chose to create an EXCEPTIONAL circumstance which relied on EVERY other road user to abide by the law and make no mistakes in their driving...
...so that HE could make the mistake of going far too fast. Unfortunately for him, one of his fellow road users was NOT perfect. And I will NOT hold the driver accountable for an honest mistake that was made after the INTENTIONAL mistake of the rider.
Again, with respect, in this singular circumstance, both the rider and the driver made mistakes, but I hold the rider at fault.
Merry Christmas Eve and Safe Riding!
:santa: