Originally Posted by
caloso
Here's the deal I make with my fellow road users: I will conduct my vehicle safely, efficiently, predictably, and legally; it is up to others to do the same. I am very little concerned whether they are offended or annoyed by my presence.
The logical extension of that is that you are very little concerned with your own safety. Motorists who are offended by cyclists are the motorists who typically pass cyclists way too close or much worse. You can be in the right and be more likely to get hit by a car -- it only takes once to make you a paraplegic. Or you can be pragmatic. While it is "up to others to do the same" in the real world they often don't. Concern for your personal safety dictates that you don't provoke those situations -- the right or wrong of it won't protect you. In Utopia your deal would be honored, in the real world it is not.
Don in Austin