Old 11-18-10, 08:29 AM
  #22  
sggoodri
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Originally Posted by SBRDude
Because we're all sharing the road and moving aside to let a motorist pass, even if you don't have to and even if you believe it is unnecessary, is good manners and communicates to the motorists that cyclists actually care about them.

I do the same thing as a pedestrian when I'm crossing the street - if there is a car waiting for me, even though I have the right to take my sweet time, I always make an effort to show the motorist that I'm trying to get across quickly. That does't mean I have to run, but it's easy to walk at a brisk pace or otherwise demonstrate to others that you are aware of their presence.
I believe that polite society follows a pragmatic approach to the golden rule: If the effort that must be expended is equal to or less than the effort you would save the other person, you make the effort. If the effort required by you is obviously, substantially greater than that, both parties recognize that it would be silly to bother. Unless, of course, your ultimate objective involves getting into the other person's pants.

I apply this metric when deciding whether to hold a door open for another person (always do so for my wife) or deciding to pull to the right. If I'm still making the calculation after the other driver has already changed lanes, then it obviously wasn't even worth the CPU cycles.
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