I could have EZ'ly been dead!

I would be dead if...

If I had left home 5 seconds earlier, or
If I had ridden a bit faster, or
If I didn't have excellent brakes, or
If the road had been slippery from rain, or...

There are too many "ifs" to consider. The key thing is that a lady in a big, black Toyota Land Cruiser changed lanes to her left into the space within that lane that I was occupying on my V-Twin. God gave her eyes and Toyota gave her mirrors. She used neither. I could see her face clearly in her left outside mirror, her eyes straight ahead, her left hand flitting with her brunette bangs. She may have signaled; I could not see her car's lights from my position. My reaction was thankfully not dulled. I hit the horn and brakes, hard, simultaneously. My aftermarket air horn is loud, 118 dB, the manufacturer claims. She heard and her eyes widened as she jerked the Toyota right, nearly clipping a car she had intended to pass in her lane change. Then, realizing that my emergency braking gave her clearance, she jerked back left and accelerated ahead of me.

The incident was over, not really such a close call, and so quick my heart hardly had time to race. Had she bothered to look in her left mirror before she made her move, she would have seen me. Like so many drivers, she did not bother to look. This brings me to two points about motorcycle riding:

(1) Assuming the motorcyclist is awake and sober, the other drivers on the road are the most dangerous part of the ride; and

(2) The motorcyclist MUST be defensive. I taught my sons, when they wanted to ride, that they were likely to get hurt, and when they did it would be their fault. Had the lady hit me, the law and my survivor's lawyer may have claimed it to be her fault. But I put myself there. Defensive driving may not always save the day, but as a motorcyclist, I have to take the responsibility for my own safety. I sure cannot count on other drivers to do that.