Originally Posted by sbhikes
Acting like one does not correspond to being treated as one. How often do you have to do something forceful -- give a special hand signal, or a glare or a steely-eyed stare -- in order to get the "treated as" part to work.
The acting as and the treated as do not flow from each other.
If you act like a driver, you have a very good chance of being treated like one. At the very least, you get to use the roadway quite safely and efficiently, with the slight possibility of an occasional horn honk or close pass depending on local ignorance.
But if you don't act like a driver, you'll never be treated like a driver, and you're much more likely to be treated like a pedestrian, or worse, like a mailbox.