I think this is a great debate, a bit heated but still good conversation.
For me personally, the incident was an eye opener. I was stupid thinking that it was ok to ride in the EL, and it was always on my mind - what if the idiot in front of me swerves and cuts me off ? There's nowhere to go.
Its really sad that this bloke had to die to change my mind for good, but it did, and I hope it does for a few other mavericks that ride the EL on a daily basis. Apologies to SmokenFly for scaring the shit out of motorists who the swerve in front of you guys filtering too. I admit that it is illegal, wrong and stupid in fact.
The lady driver was alone in the car and had nobody close to her to console her. We had a little chat and I tried to calm her down. She did on fact admit that her attention was split between her phone and the traffic. When she looked up , she was about to hit the car in front of her and (as many of you said) swerved into the ER with one hand on the wheel - the other still holding the phone and she was totally surprised when the bike was right there at that moment. I told her that we (that includes me) where not allowed to ride there and that she was not supposed to fiddle with her phone either. So 2 stupid acts = one big accident and thats just what it was, an accident. No intentions to do harm.
I'm sure she has learn't a live lesson from this, just like I did.
So in closing - my last comment on this - I will change my riding habits, I will start wearing a neckbrace and I will certainly do a few advanced riding courses, me and and my wife. 21 yrs of riding experience means bugger all if one is perpetuating bad habits.
I want to fix it for good.
