Originally Posted by
Brian
He didn't tell him to get into the bike lane. He told him that he should have been in the bike lane. There's a difference. Seems to me that the officer is pointing out that had he been in the bike lane, he would not have been buzzed by the motorist.
Seems to me that if the police enforced safe passing laws and educated the public about cyclists' road rights, rather than blaming the victims, the OP would not as likely have been buzzed by the motorist.
This of course assumes that the cyclist made a safe movement into the travel lane in the first place. But I'm willing to give the OP the benefit of the doubt for the sake of the discussion. If the police officer was unsure who was at fault, he should not have said anything.
This all goes back to the taboo about cyclists causing motorists to slow down. As long as violation of this taboo is seen as justification for the unlawful endangerment of cyclists, rather than addressing the unlawful endangerment, cyclists will remain marginalized, second class road users.