Soldato
It has happened to me, twice..once it was totally my fault as I wasn't paying full attention and listening to my ipod..the car in front broke very hard as someone ran across the road in front of him and I went straight into him...there was no damage to me or the car and I just needed to fix a slightly buckled wheel. The second time I was cut up by a driver trying to force his way through a narrow carriageway, I didn't brake in time and fell off avoiding him..this was his fault for being a div and not waiting until it was safer to over take, and it was also partially my fault for not braking sooner when it was clear he was forcing his way through regardless.
Sometimes accidents happen, but rarely are they entirely unavoidable and if you hit a vehicle as opposed to the vehicle hitting you then you do have some responsibility for that, perhaps not all the responsibility, but at least some.
Things like a driver overtaking and then immediately turning left (without indication or without due care) is not the same as what I was saying about the incident in the OP...in that case the vehicle is colliding with you, not the other way around. And I agree that some road users require special consideration, this includes Cyclists and Pedestrians (it also includes large vehicles such as Buses and Lorries, which some cyclists seem to think they can pass on the inside and not risk getting hurt).
I am not really arguing for the sake of it, but I do think that their is another perspective with regards personal responsibility that needs to be considered here.
Thank you for making what you are thinking clear, because it wasn't coming across the same way as above previously.