I believe (strongly) that not everyone belongs on a MC, but for those of us who do it is one of life's sublime pleasures. Normally I would say that anyone who has to think about it as much as Todd has too much trepidation and should not ride, but we all know here that he has his own unique decision-making process when it comes to vehicles in general.
I would say that Randy's friend and Hugh do not belong on a bike, and at least Hugh knows it. Too bad about the other guy. Very sad. I do not agree at all that I am going down in the future for sure; if it happens, it happens but I'm a damn good rider and driver and don't crash much. Haven't balled-up a car
ever, and that includes a cab driving career in two different cities driving 200 miles a night in the city and more x-country drives than I can count. I've done a LOT of driving and MC riding in traffic, doesn't faze me in the least. Could I run-out of luck and be killed tomorrow? Of course. But the proof is in the pudding. People who have two major bike accidents in a few years do not belong on a bike. That's self-evident.
My biggest, and really only major fear on a bike is hitting a deer out on the open road or on a country ride. For that reason, your accident, Todd, sent a chill up my spine. You have to have a plan in advance that is very practiced in your mind for those situations, rare and freakish as it might have been. If I take a road trip on a MC, night driving will be minimal and mostly drafting very close behind semi-trailers out on the interstate. Just enough room for braking reaction time, that's it. You can use 18-wheelers as rolling steel walls around you on interstate hiways if you know what you are doing.
Lastly, I was just with a friend whose Dad died recently @ 94 years of age. (My friend is only ~40). The only thing the old man had to tell him about life was that "it goes by really fast..."
