Originally Posted by sbhikes
This could happen regardless of the presence or absence of bike lanes.
Rather than complain about bike lanes, your money/time would be better spent on a bright neon-green jacket with reflective piping, good lighting, a bike flag or any other visiblity aid device you are comfortable with. You will be more visible and you will put the decision in your favor. How could they not see you? Plus, you have the right of way. This statute that you quote does not match the rules of the road for California that I have read that says that you have an obligation as a bicyclist to make left turns from left turn lanes.
Yes, it could happen regardless of the presence of a bike lane, but it was noted as a counter-example to the argument that bike lanes help cyclists by delineating liability. The argument is that if a cyclist is hit while riding in a bike lane, it's clearly the motorist's fault. The problem with this is the flip-side: if the cyclist is not riding in a bike lane, it's (generally assumed to be) NOT the motorist's fault (unless proven otherwise).
As to "complaining" about bike lanes, I just want to bring their problems and dangers (including those inherent to the fundamental concept of bike lanes, which thus applies to ALL bike lanes) to the attention of cyclists. What's wrong with that?