When I used to ride, getting rear ended at a stop was one of my biggest fears other than people blowing stop signs. I always left more space in front of me that would give me room to maneuver as I watched for the car behind me to make the stop.
If you get rear ended at a stoplight or stopsign it’s very likely the motorcyclist is not at fault. The motorcyclist suffers significantly more bodily injury than a car driver would in a similar collision. As a motorcyclist, you can tell that sometimes people just don’t see you because their brain is looking for something car shaped.
When I ride, every time I stop at a stoplight or stopsign I am watching my rear view mirror to judge if the person behind me is going to stop, and I have an exit strategy if they don’t. Ive had some close calls.
And I rarely find myself splitting when the light changes; I simply dip back into the lane when the light changes before traffic starts moving.
Still, I always leave the bike in gear until the car behind me has stopped, and if I can, I stop slightly diagonally with enough space to move left or right to avoid getting sandwiched.
2nd hand collision, still pretty dangerous.