Originally Posted by bikedaddy
I know a lot comes into play in this situation. Maybe they have encountered scofflaw cyclists or maybe they are pro-cyclists and think they are doing me a big favor. I appreciate people being kind but not when it puts in danger.
I think the major reasons are:
1) they think of cyclists as unpredictable and figure it's better to just let them clear the path ASAP so that normal operation can resume
and
2) they think of cyclists as pedestrians on wheels (who happened to venture onto the road, but don't really belong there) - and pedestrians have ROW at many intersections.
Neither of those reasons has much to do with courteousness, unfortunately.