Yet another near miss ...

[ManDownUnder]

i agree - trying to ride too far ahead of the bike, without really understanding the implications of doing so.

you should be thinking of the 2nd car as you are approaching the first one, then the 3rd as you pass the 1st, then the 4th as you finish the 1st pass, then think 'what happens if there's a 5th car?' it's not like a car - your brain can't sleep.

Exactly.

One of the things I got from Peter Perfect was a "what if" mentality. What if they pulled out/stopped/swerved/etc

What would I do. Riding past 4 cars on that corner appears to be doable... but a little at a time. Like eating an elephant...

[Whynot]

cheers for all the feedback
I have made a point of being more careful and keeping more of an eye on the cars further up the road and it seems to be working.
so ... yea

[bell]

appears to be doable... but a little at a time. Like eating an elephant...

Curious to know what elephants taste like...!

Whynot - the defensive rider needs to be thinking about 10-12 seconds ahead of where their wheels are at that point. Especially on the open road at those speeds. Sure, it's a bit harder at 50k/hr to scan that far ahead. At highway speeds though, it's a useful credo to ride by.

What if....always be suspicious of your own actions especially if you've had close calls/near misses in similar situations in the past.

The issue of not overtaking when there are driveways is a good one. Think about how smart it is to overtake a car or three when you're approaching a T intersection - if you haven't seen the vehicle pull up at that intersection that intends to turn across the bunch of traffic that you're a part of AND you then become invisible by moving down the outside of those cars.....you need to be thinking "what if" on occasions such as that too.

So, firstly: What if? Then secondly: Now what? Can I? Will I be able to? Are my skills up to that?

I ride to enjoy the bike, the journey, the freedom that bikes give you. I'm not some speed junkie and somedays after being out there in the traffic I feel like making that my last journey - there are so many idiots out there trying to make it your last! My point? Um, I started out with one when I began this sentence. Fuck.

Good on you for taking the time to learn from this. (No chance of being able to pull up on the extreme right hand shoulder before the driveway? Couple of flashes of the lights might have helped the oncoming vehicle to slow down a bit and give you some room when they saw you taking that evasive action?)