Originally Posted by
turbo1889
It's not fear of motorists (I have a healthy fear of the nut job, speed demon, idiot, reckless, territorial aggressive, and/or just straight out aggressive segment of motorists) but rather a very base line instinct that "flight or fight" are the only available options and that of those options the fight option is impossible to win and thus the only choice remaining is the flight option.
First off the "fight or flight" is a false choice on an animal instinct level. There are many, many, many more options available all of which require a higher logic thinking above the base animal level. Unfortunately many members of the human race are not used to normally thinking above the base level especially under stress. Secondly the idea that the flight option will always save you from harm is far from the truth even at the base animal level much less a higher level of consciousness.
I think that it is not accurate to categorize cyclists' fear of traffic as a "fight or flight" emotion. To be short about it, the cyclist can neither fight the car nor outrun it. To be sure, it is fear, but fear of a supposedly great danger about which the cyclist can do nothing, often mixed with a fear of social opprobrium for trespassing on the road and slowing the cars. The fear of the supposedly great danger is the fear of same-direction motor traffic, which has been so carefully cultivated by motordom for eighty years or so, but which is one of the least important hazards when cycling, depending on location and such, of course.