Unseen of the Crime

[XLFD]

Most people have a general idea of how to obey a stop sign when you come up to one while operating a vehicle.  For those who don't, plenty of instructional websites will show you how, like this one.   The most important reason for stopping is outlined in the fifth of eight steps in the link:

Look Both Ways for Traffic:  

-- Only cross the intersection if any traffic is a safe distance away. The exact distance will depend on the speed of the oncoming traffic and other concerns, so always use good judgment and play it safe.
-- Remember that traffic on the road may include bicyclists, motorcycles, and other vehicles, in addition to automobiles.

Following the first directive should be almost automatic for an experienced driver paying attention to what they're doing, particularly when they enter onto a highway with considerable traffic.  The second directive is often forgot, not only by drivers, but by accident investigation units and the media.  A Case in point just happened down in Muskegon, the diagram below illustrates the car's pathway (in red) the blue shows the motorcyclist's:

MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — One person was killed in a crash near Muskegon Wednesday evening.
The crash, which involved a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle, happened around 8 p.m. at the intersection of Apple Avenue and Center Street in Muskegon Township.
Authorities say the motorcyclist, 37-year-old Timothy Bollin of Egelston Township, died at the scene.
Police say Bollin, who was wearing a helmet at the time, was traveling east on Apple Avenue when he collided with a passenger car that was turning onto Apple from northbound Center Street.
The driver of the car was not injured, police say.
Authorities say impaired driving is not suspected to be a factor at this time but toxicology results are pending for both drivers.
Officers say they are still investigating the crash.

This happened in broad daylight, fair conditions, no low-lying sun.  The view from Center Street looking out towards where the motorcyclist would have been riding from (as seen above), is rather clear, and had the driver looked both ways he should have seen objects moving down the highway from either side.  Sometimes it's hard to pick up a motorcyclist or gauge how fast it's going, but that should not be an excuse for not seeing them.  Check longer, or check twice.

Now the driver made a left turn, in such situations they need to cross three lanes and this takes a little time accelerating from a complete stop, making one wonder why the driver still failed to see the problem.  It is generally expected that you enter the closest lane when turning, had they done that, the motorcyclist may have been able to avoid the collision by changing over to the other lane, which was presumably clear unless the motorist had failed to see a car there too. 

But here, it is likely that they went fully over across both eastbound lanes, offering the biker no way out.  The motorcyclist was using the highway legally by just going straight ahead (presumably within the speed limit) and the vehicle driver failed to observe the dead biker's right-of-way and the worst the driver will likely get for their crime is some body damage bills from the local garage.  

For the police and media are obsessed with knowing whether the rider was wearing a helmet which seems immaterial to what happened, and whether the victim may have been impaired while riding legally down the highway with a helmet.  

But they both show no interest at all in why did the driver violate several rules and duties of the road in needlessly taking the life of the helmeted young man traveling lawfully down the highway.  That's why these sorts of fatal accidents will continue to occur, snuffing the lives out of people that travel without airbags and tons of metal to protect themselves with.