personally, i would prefer to risk a flat by riding in debris-strewn gutters than to be flattened by some distracted inattentive conversationalist who thinks they're driving a phone booth.
i respect the weight to right ratio -- i may be right, but i'll defer to the weight every time.
i find a mirror to be an indispensable MUST for a bicyclist -- at least for this cyclist.
*sdr*