I would bet that a large percentage of criticizers would have hit the car in the same situation.
It's known that there was a large vehicle in front of the motorcycle in question. That would have blocked view of the stopped car while that large vehicle was still in the left lane. It's known that this vehicle did a lane change to the right, thus revealing the stopped car. Keep in mind that when the rider first saw that vehicle moving to the right, he wouldn't have known or seen WHY it was moving to the right. It's quite likely that even at normal following distances, there might have only been 2 to 3 seconds between first getting line of sight, and impact.
And ... The woman was outside the car walking along the roadside behind the car ... a visual distraction. It's pretty likely that the person walking along the roadside would have caught the eye of the rider and thus he would momentarily have looked away from his direction of travel.
AND ... We also don't know what was in the lane beside the bike. If there was another vehicle in the adjacent lane, swerving right wouldn't have been an option.
I guarantee that there is no person out there, including all of those people saying "he should have avoided", who stares steadfastly and unvaryingly ahead of them at all times. Heck, you are not even supposed to do that. You have to do periodic rear view mirror scans, and periodic instrument scans. It is absolutely necessary to look around so that you know what is around you. But an inherent result, a necessary consequence, is that during those times ... you are not looking ahead.
And then there's the following distance. YES, if you maintain roughly a 4 second following distance, it is theoretically possible to fully stop from highway speed within the distance that you can see ahead including a 1 second reaction time.
If you try to maintain a 4 second following distance in normal traffic, someone else is going to jump into the gap. In fact, a good many of the "he should have avoided" criticizers would themselves jump into such a gap.
In Quebec, and in a good many other places around the world, it is explicitly illegal to stop in a traffic lane of a road having a speed limit higher than a certain amount unless forced by traffic conditions. She broke that law, and killed someone by doing so.
Excerpt from the English translation of the Quebec Highway Safety Code:
"384. No person may stop a road vehicle on the roadway of a public highway where the maximum speed allowed is 70 km/h or more, unless in a case of necessity or when authorized to do so by signs or signals.
1986, c. 91, s. 384; 1990, c. 83, s. 149.
385. If the driver of a road vehicle stops his vehicle at night on a roadway out of necessity, the driver must keep his parking lights or flashing emergency lights on, or signal the presence of his vehicle by means of lamps, reflectors or flares visible from not less than 150 metres and used in accordance with the norms prescribed by regulation.
1986, c. 91, s. 385."
