Doohickie

I know what you mean. When I started riding again in 2008, I had never heard of "vehicular cycling" and was pretty much taught to stay out of the way of cars, in the fringes. In actuality, you are safer out in the lane in many conditions. Check the laws in your state (Google "[YourState] Bicycle Laws" and you should be able to find a summary pretty easily).

If you stick against the curb in a lane that is not really wide enough for bikes and cars to operate side by side safely, you have little or no room on the right. Doing so, though, invites cars to pass without changing lanes and it can be a tight squeeze. A small error on anyone's part and the cyclist is going down and maybe suffering serious injury. If there truly isn't enough room, it's safer to control the entire lane, which sends the signals drivers behind you that they need to change lanes in order to pass you, which gives you a LOT more room.

Honestly, my personal experience is that yes, you get that kind of cooperation from cars. Note that the cyclists is riding predictably (steady speed, straight line), and when he changes lanes, he signals first. Another thing that helps a LOT, in my experience, is using a helmet-mounted mirror. It really provides a lot of information that can add to confident vehicular cycling. You can confirm that the lane is vacant before changing lanes and not just make a leap of faith. When I ride in traffic I find that signaling a lane change invariably causes drivers to slow up. Whether it's because the are courteous or just they are freaked out and confused so they back off, I don't really care, but it does work.

A website that has a bounty of information, including a lot of videos like this, is http://commuteorlando.com. In addition to the videos, there are articles and animations that illustrate how to operate a bicycle in traffic. From what I've read over there, the video above is typical for them as well.

I can think of only one instance where I had an issue with taking the lane, and the helmet mounted mirror helped. A car was coming up behind me, probably doing 55 or so in a 40. There were two lanes each way and the car and I were both in the right lane, with no other vehicles present. It didn't seem to be changing lanes, so I lost my nerve and bailed out toward the curb. At the last second, it did change lanes, and my movement to the right meant that there was, in fact, plenty of room for the pass.

Still, controlling the lane is safer than riding on the fringes where you are not really seen as traffic, and in a lot of cases not even noticed at all. If you're in the lane, you become a motorist's primary focus of attention, which is much, much safer.

Much (perhaps most) of the time, you're much safer controlling the lane than riding on the sidewalk. Again, if you're on the sidewalk, you are not the primary focus of drivers and since you are moving faster than pedestrians, you are probably out of their view area when they want to turn across that sidewalk. Also, sidewalks are often bumpy and neglected. Since riding again, the only serious fall I've had was on a sidewalk before I learned about vehicular cycling. Ended up doing a face plant due to poor sidewalk pavement.

One last thing: I agree with the contention that honking is good, because when they honk, you know the driver sees you. If it goes beyond that (verbal abuse, etc.), I make a concerted effort to smile & wave. In my mind I might be giving the finger, but outwardly I wave. When they are trying to get your dander up and you just wave, it takes them off their game (and can even turn their own frown into a smile).