Neutral at stops, or in gear?

[storysunfolding]

I would assume, and maybe falsly, that most problems like this occur when a car doesn't stop at all. In that case the car already has some speed going behind you and your "route of escape" might be a busy intersection. So he's already got the speed built up, and you're going to be hesistant moving forward because that could put you in the way of a cage equally dangerous but not at all expecting a bike to shoot forward on a red light.

I don't jump off the light when it turns from red to green so were the car behind me to gun it without noticing me I may still have a problem because in my area they get ridiculously close at stoplights (sometimes less than a foot)

[sharpmagna]

I'm in gear before the light changes. I'm always looking around and when I see the other lights start changing I predict when my light will turn green and I throw it into first.

Being in gear may not have saved that guy either. He could still have been in gear and still have the car rear ended him. By the time you can react, you won't have many options.

I have shaft drive and I haven't even hit reserve yet...

unless you have a ferrari behind you how is your bike not fast enough to avoid the guy behind you hitting you? All the bikes I have seen will out run your average vehicle from a standing to going position. This is a ? I would like answered as well most of you know I dont have a bike yet and my MSF course isnt until next weekend =[. I mean heck it took me all of about 30 seconds of someone explaining to me how to shift in a car and I was out driving like I had been doing it for years (shifting that is) cept that stupid stop on a hill thing. That took me a bit to figure out lol.

I guess the case I was imagining was if a car was in front of you, and the car behind you sees the green light and starts moving forward. He doesn't realize you are there and you get rear ended. Right when the light is about to change, I'm usually looking ahead at the light and not in my mirrors.

[therealandymilinokis]

i almost always throw it into neutral. If i need to check my cell for txt messeges or missed calls, or to change playlists on my ipod. I know how long i have typically at the intersections around my area, and if someone behind me has to wait for a second for me to put it in gear, there not gonna be able to catch up with me to complain.

[mahgnillig]

I usually stay in gear, but on the occasions that I may want to take a drink (it gets hot in Vegas and I carry a water bottle in my tank bag), or fiddle with something, polish my mirrors etc., I always wait until there is a car behind me before putting the bike in neutral. I figure that if someone is going to rear-end me, I can see it coming, but if someone is going to rear-end the person behind me, I'm not goint to be able to see it quick enough to react whether I'm in gear or not. That said, I always make sure I'm in gear before the ligh changes to green.