Geez... Have a little sympathy. The kid died. I know we preach defensive riding and all but sometimes there really is nothing you can do. You can ride as if every car is going to pull out in front of you, go 5-10 under the speed limit just to "be safe", and end up getting rear ended because you are being so "careful".

I believe I am one of the most defensive riders around. I do everything I was taught in the MSF course plus everything else I can think of such as wear reflective clothing and gear, flash my brake lights when stopping/stopped, expect cars to pull out, etc. I have still had one car pull out that I could not avoid (I was able to almost stop thanks to defensive driving so it wasn't so bad) and I have been rear ended twice at stop lights.

Bottom line is no matter how great of a rider you are, if you ride on public streets at some point some idiot is going to hit you. Some riders are skilled/lucky enough to go for years and years without it happening, but it will happen. If you have never been in an accident it is just as much luck as it is skill.