Originally Posted by Brandonub

I think the whole "war" thing is a bit overplayed, but there's conflict for a few different reasons. The biggest, in my opinion, is that many motorists simply have no experience with cycling and don't understand why cyclists behave the way they do. I've had conversations with friends and coworkers that will tell me, "I don't mind bikes, but I hate when cyclists do _____". Often, I wind up explaining that it's something I do, and explaining why it is that I do it. Usually, they say, "oh, I didn't realize that". I think if they'd spent some time in the saddle, it wouldn't be so necessary for them to have it communicated to them, but when you haven't ridden, it's hard to put yourself in the shoes of the guy on the bike.

At least in the States, I think there's very little of the opposite. Most cyclists are also drivers - I know what's irritating, what I can do to mitigate irritation for drivers, and how to operate as efficiently as possible for myself and a driver I'm interacting with.