Primo. I am so sorry about your friend. If more drivers would simply pay attention to their driving these things would happen alot less.
God speed to your friend Ken, and a speedy recovery for those injured. And God forgive the kid who caused it all. I'm sure he or she can't be feeling too good about this. What a way to learn.

 

Primo, sorry to hear about your friend Ken and his fellow biker James. It almost make me want so support mandatory ongoing drivers training.

 

right

 

Sorry to hear about your friend. This is not something I like to hear.

I know this is hardly appropriate here, but keeping your wheels straight is more with regard to cars turning left.
With bikes, getting rear-ended by a car at pretty much any velocityis going to launch a bikein a direction to bedetermined MORE by where, and what amount of force was applied to the bike, rather thanthe direction the front wheel was aimed, because of the bike's relative 'light' weight versus that of a car. If you were to be rear-ended, there's a pretty fair chance the front wheel likely could and would,even leave the pavement rendering it completely useless, steering-wise. Even at slow velocities, the bike is apt to be 'pushed' in the direction of the cars momentum, andthe bike's frontwheel, regardless of it's POSITION, would simply be along for the ride.
We're talking real basic physics here.
I wouldn't put a whole lot of faith in this idea being much to your advantage. In a car? Absolutely. On a bike? Naw.

CN