Originally Posted by
daihard
Here's my take. The motorists who dislike us don't do so because we are engaged in an illegal behaviour. They do because we are cyclists. If every single person on the bike followed the strictest letter of the traffic laws, they would come up with something to hate us for - be it riding too slow in the traffic lane, wasting their tax money on bike infrastructure, etc.
I follow the traffic lights almost all the time, but that's for my own safety.
Having lived in a city where the cyclists, for a brief one decade window, did follow the traffic laws perfectly (imposed by a large contingent of bicycle cops), I agree that motorist will hate cyclists even when everyone on a bike is perfectly law-abiding.