Originally Posted by
spare_wheel
huh?
i defend the right of people to bicycle drive* or to flow through traffic in a more organic style but teaching these styles of cycling as default techniques is elitist and, imo, harmful to more widespread adoption of cycling.
*still think sucking tail pipe or merging into 55 mph traffic is nucking futs but no direct harm no foul...
Sorry man, they did NOT teach those techniques as "the only way" or "you must do it this way by default".
Various road risks were presented (right hooks, pull-outs, doorings, left crosses etc.), along with various ways to prevent such things from happening, which BTW from my own experience those avoidance techniques absolutely, unequivocally work!
It's your choice whether or not those techniques align with where you are, where you're going, the type of street you're on, and so forth.
CS gives people the tools and techniques to make their own choices. I've heard from a number of CS instructors that quieter, low traffic streets are preferred by them as well as most people. But when your destination is on a busy street, or you have to use a busy street to connect quieter streets, here are some tools and techniques to help you make it there safely.
I told one of the instructors about how just a few weeks ago in Destin FL I chose to ride contraflow on a sidewalk for a short stretch because of a huge intersection with massive amounts of traffic. I needed to turn left, and used an early gap in traffic to get across to the sidewalk for a short distance. And because I was aware of the risks of wrong-way sidewalk riding, I was careful, and indeed I saw a person pulling out while looking left the whole time, and never in my direction. I stopped and waited for that person to go. Someone without knowledge of such risks could have easily ridden right in front of this person as she pulled out and run right over the cyclist. The instructor I relayed this story to said yep, that's a perfectly acceptable alternative.
So until you actually take a CS class, perhaps you should stop making such generalizations.