Originally posted by Ba-Dg-Er
I don't know about where you live, but down in Tucson people use bike lanes as turn lanes whenever possible and the cops allow it. They are also often filled with glass and nails thrown out by "rednecks," often trying to cause some sort of bodily injury to cyclists.
Ah! Well, somehow that doesn't surprise me, but it does reinforce my longstanding skepticism about bike lanes and other "ghetto-izing" of cycling.
My worst redneck encounters (or maybe that's noneck) were two episodes of thrown firecrackers, from pickup trucks, naturally. They were pretty good marksmen, too: one scorched me, and damaged the hearing in my left ear.