I saw that on the local news. Very sad indeed.
There was something on TV the other day about 'not seeing' things because you aren't looking for them. It was one of those brain teaser shows. They had people in animal suits walking through the scene and very few saw them until they were pointed out to the audience. It's very real and scary, if you ask me. MC have been around for over a hundred years and they still aren't treated as vehicles by many drivers. I've started doing a weave when I see a left turner in front of me and it still puts me on edge, though.
It's also difficult to hear a siren with the windows up and the radio on or have earbuds listening to a portable MP3 player. I'm seeing more of that these days.
With us, I hope, we're more alert than a normal cage driver (even when driving the cage) as we're on the lookout for people out to get us. At least, that's the way I feel when driving my cage and bike.