1. Most accidents between adult bicyclists and motorists are the fault of the motorist. It is the accidents between children on bicycles and motorists that skew the statistics. What this means is that if anyone needs to learn to behave, it's the motorists: to have more respect for adult bicyclists (rather than view them as losers), and to expect the unexpected around children on bicycles. Not to mention being more responsible parents - in terms of preparing their children to be responsible cyclists and setting an example themselves.
2. Cyclists do not organize to block bicycle-oriented education, licensing and insurance. North American society chooses to provide only the most minimal "education", and effectively no licensing or education. In my opinion, this is so that North American society is free to continue marginalizing use of bicycles as appropriate for children and playing.
3. I get tired of people discussing what "cars" do. Cars are not alive. They do not do things on their own. This is like children anthropomizing their stuffed animals.
4. Europe does not have this problem. To balance the inequity between the weight being thrown around by the two types of road users, and the relative damage that arises from that imbalance, it is typical in Europe for motorists to be assumed at fault in accidents involving motorists and bicyclists. The motorists quickly learn to give cyclists a wide berth. And why not? We need to do the same thing here.
Every time someone proposes putting in some bicycle facility, the media goes bananas about the cost. How can Europe afford universal bicycle facilities?
5. Anyone who thinks motorists are more likely than cyclists to be obeying the laws of the road, is just exhibiting prejudice. Motorists continually break the rules of the road so habitually that they don't even notice it, or somehow excuse it. How many motorists consider speeding to be breaking the rules? In fact, motorists are so lawless that I view them as a culture of lawlessness. Even when I'm driving. The amount of lawbreaking, bullying, cheating etc. that goes on between motorists is an indictment of the level of civility in North America.
Yes, yes, cyclists break the laws too. And I think they shouldn't. But three things. One is that they break the law less frequently than do motorists. And two, the consequences are far less severe. And three, see #2.
6. I sympathize with the woman who struck the errant cyclist. But I wonder if she has ever advocated for cyclists' rights, support or facilities. I doubt it. I also know from experience that there are a large number of motorists who inconvenience, endanger and harm cyclists without any remorse, and some who even pick fights with cyclists.
7. Cyclists pay taxes too. If you examine this issue beyond the ignorant knee-jerk charge that cyclists don't pay taxes, you'd eventually find that cyclists subsidize motorists.
8. And following from #7, it is utterly unacceptable that the police do not see it as part of their PAID duties to protect the safety of cyclists. Other than their annual "crackdown on cyclists", that is. Their crackdowns do nothing to reduce the majority motorist/cyclist accidents that are the fault of the motorists, and in fact reinforce the motorists' view of cyclists as lawless hooligans.
I have been passed, while cycling, untold thousands of times by motorists who passed me in an unsafe manner. Not one of those people was ever stopped by a cop. Multiply this by the number of cyclists on the road, and you get a grasp of the extent of the problem.
9. Most adult cyclists today also drive cars. So outside the need to use the terms to clarify arguments, you can't slot people as cyclists or motorists. The accusations about who pays taxes are also clearly and immediately undermined by that fact.
10. I'd love to see a study about which motorists have the most accidents with bicyclists, either child or adult cyclists. I'm willing to bet that the more road cycling some does, the less likely they are as motorists to have accidents with cyclists. I further believe that they don't see cyclists as illegitimate road users, as habitual traffic law violators, or as slowing their travel.
11. I haven't even mentioned economic, environmental and health issues.
