JoeyBike

Yes and no. Motorists were, in my observations, much more predictable before cell phones. Take it from a guy who waits for nothing on a bicycle. 10 years ago splitting lanes between slow moving cars/trucks certainly took unyielding concentration but at least the vast majority of motorists stayed in pretty tight and dependable formation. Now!!! Good God. They are not only crossing the dividing lines but bumping into each other at low speeds front to rear. I started seeing, and capturing on video, these "tiny" bumps that did little to no harm to a car bumper. But when the unpredictability became predictable....then I had to seriously rethink my behavior. The environment has changed. I had to evolve or live with greater risk.

Traffic laws make some of us feel like there is some order in the universe. In fact, our commutes and recreational rides are made up of a long series of totally random events. That motorist who steam rolls me got a phone call at exactly the wrong time for ME. If I had not been there to kill, that event would have likely gone completely unnoticed. Russian Roulette is not even a good comparison because depending on how many bullets are in the cylinder a player can calculate EXACTLY what the odds of surviving with every spin.

What every traffic cyclist needs to come to grips with is the fact that events in this new and changing environment does have a basic order to it when looked at from outer space, but a close-up on-the-tarmac view reveals a long string of tightly grouped random events with no way to calculate your odds of surviving each one. The only control we as cyclists really have are the choices WE MAKE - when, how, and where we ride. The rest is just a lottery we hope we never "win".