[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

You're absolutely correct -- none of us here have enough information to act as jurors.

However, we do know that the car was traveling fast enough to kill a cyclist, and that the driver was not paying due attention at the time.

I mentioned peripheral vision in # 27 (L98Fiero also raised it). That is what saves most of us when we don't pay enough attention to the road. The fact that it didn't in this case tells me that the driver was focusing on the mirror; using short-range vision -- which probably made his long-range peripheral vision ineffective. He should have pulled off the road.

[L98Fiero]

"The fact that it didn't in this case tells me that the driver was focusing on the mirror; using short-range vision -- which probably made his long-range peripheral vision ineffective. He should have pulled off the road."

That's a good point.

[SZonian]

However, we do know that the car was traveling fast enough to kill a cyclist, and that the driver was not paying due attention at the time.

A bike rider can sustain substantial head injuries from a fall at any speed. Yes, the driver hitting the cyclist precipitated the event, but if the rider had gone on the cheap with her helmet, it may be a contributing cause. I've seen folks spend over $250 for a pair of cycling shoes and $35 for a helmet. Which do you think is worth more?

SZ