Spend one day in San Francisco on your bicycle. If you follow all the traffic laws perfectly, you will piss off a few motorists (I have had bus and car drivers honk at me for coming to a stop sign, yelling "Just go!" out the window in one case 2d ago). If you blow stop signs (and quite a few red lights), you will piss off quite a few (more) motorists, as is reflected in the (unscientifically significant) anti-bicycle rants about the "horrible cyclists" in SF every time a cyclist gets run over (usually by a right-hooking truck).

Living here 10 years: a significant majority of cyclists in SF blow stop signs (no change in pace), jump red lights, and pass on the right (which drives me F*ing nuts). I believe these behaviors contribute to a broad local perception that "every cyclist" has a death wish. And, as a consequence, I DO believe this -- in-turn -- decreases the respect given by non-cyclists to cyclists, and increases the relative danger I face each day I choose to commute by bicycle. For my daughter's sake, I hope I am wrong. - JP