It's not uncommon for drivers to think they know better than cyclists.

Totally agree, with spatial awareness too!

Spacial and situational awareness are the biggies when it comes to longevity on a bike. Anticipating potential road dangers, looking ahead, evaluating risk/benefit is constant, but experience is the real factor in being safe. Been there, done that, are huge teachers. Near misses, over cooking corners, seeing dangerous drivers, dogs, idiots all add up to being a better cyclist and better driver.

(Quick story, a neighbor I have known for 15 years, two doors down, decided he wanted to get into cycling, so he geared up with a nice bike and kit. On his fifth ride with some buddies on a local MUP lost focus for a second, went off and got stopped dead by a fence post. Got knocked out, broken arm and dislocated shoulder with a trip in an ambulance. Six weeks later he moves slowly and looks like s***. He is probably 58 so no spring chicken. He hasn’t said if he will get back n the saddle. I rather doubt it.). Didnt have the nerve to ask about his driving record.

I really dislike drivers like you when I ride. Horns startle me and make me think I am in imminent danger, like the car behind me is swerving into me to avoid a hazard or is trying to warn me about someone about to hit me from the side. I jump every time.

I don't doubt your intentions but you have to understand how it is received.

Exactly my perspective. I cycle and I ride motorcycles. Actually was once a MSF Instructor. Whether I'm on my Guru or Ducati I am alert, scanning and anticipating.

In my experience, most cars are so quiet I can't hear them over the wind noise in my ear. Not counting the vehicles with loud exhausts or off road tires humming on pavement, it's mostly visual for me.

I, for one, do not mind a quick toot of the horn as a warning I am about to be passed. Now laying on the horn, is rude and aggressive, but a quick toot is just fine with me. I sure don’t do it, because I don’t want to risk startling a rider, but certainly don’t take offense if someone else does it. I usually give them a quick wave out of appreciation, just like those who move into the other lane to give me room while passing. To each their own.

This whole horn toot versus blast thing.

It may depend on the horns or circuit in the vehicle if the horns can even be controlled to give out a low volume "beep".

My wife's car with American Ford horns, pretty much hit full volume even with an attempted light rap of the horn switch. My Mazda with a set of Hella horns puts out a very low "beep" with a light rap of the horn switch, while the volume increases substantially if I lay on those Hellas. I'm going to say it's the horn switch control of my car that makes this control easier. My car's horn switch, under the airbag, is very light and responsive. My wife's car, not nearly as light and responsive.

I figure that anyone that has a car with a light and responsive horn switch and electrical circuit can finesse the horn in polite little "hellos" to huge "eff offs" rather easily.

Funny thing is I rode bikes and motorcycles like a mad man in my youth. Yes, I've had more accidents and tickets than my friends and relatives, but I could do things in a car or on a motorcycle back then that they wouldn't attempt to do.

Nowadays, I'm much more cautious. Comes with aging and getting tired of paying fines and deductibles, I'd say. :D

You should get some Cat Ears (they work way better that I expected they might). :)

https://www.cat-ears.com/

This is probably mostly true but I had an incident just the other day which happened because I was in a cyclist mind... There is one segment that I just got a top 10 time in and there is a stop sign in it. The intersection is a T intersection with the segment going straight through and usually there is no one around. I of course usually just blow through this on my bike. I was then just recently driving it in my car and thinking about the segment and my impulse was to just go... caught myself half way through the intersection and I had blown it based on how I ride it on my bike.

Does cycling make me a better driver?
Probably not. If anything, because I think cycling helps slow the age game (or, at least, feels like it), I'm probably more alert and feel better because of biking. And this may translate to better reaction times when driving.
I dunno though.
However, I do give cyclists much more room when I pass them. I always have in the past. Just even more now as I get older.

^^^^^^^^
This.

Check out my tag line. Developed it from riding motorcycles for a number of years.

By nature, I'm a very defensive person, which translates to my driving as a very defensive driver and someone that never tailgates, which is one of the most dangerous conditions out on the roadways, along with speeding.

I don't think my cycling, which is my primary form of transportation, affects my defensive driving skills one way or the other. However, I do think my excessive time on the bike does make me a more patient driver, which helps me keep the speed down and my distance away from other motorists; so in that sense, it does improve my driving.

I'm always struck when I take my foot off the gas pedal when I see a red light up ahead, there are a ton of vehicles that speed by me, including cars that change lanes from behind me, just to get to the light a few seconds before me:rolleyes:

"80% of drivers are above average."

That being said, alcohol in your bloodstream may be the worst, but next to alcohol is an excess of testosterone. Chances are that riding a bicycle makes a (male) driver a bit more hesitant and cautious, due to a sense of the imminent danger of having your body crushed under 2 tons of steel.