This was probably an isolated incident but points out that problems can occur anywhere. I was out in Redmond (the self-proclaimed cycling city of the US) the other day... in a bike lane... and one of those BMW minivans they're trying to pass off as an SUV came alongside and swerved right into my lane... crossing the white line. I nearly got curbed but managed to brake in time to drop behind. The driver then proceeded to jerk the wheel back into the driving lane, overcorrected and swerved back into the bike lane. I caught up to the BMW at the stoplight and tapped on the passenger side window. The driver rolled it down looking annoyed. I asked her if she had seen me back there. She apologised and proceeded to tell me she was trying to get her kids in the backseat to stop fighting. I let out a sigh and asked her if their lives were in jeapordy because she certainly had put mine in it. Her response was, "well you shouldn't be out riding on the streets... it's too dangerous." I was infuriated and wanted to say something harsher but I didn't want to say it in front of her children so all I could muster was, "and it's because of people like you that it's dangerous." By now, the light had turned green and she drove off leaving me so sour that I cut my ride short and went home to fume.

So although bike lanes may be good for all involved, there are a lot of people who don't regard them as real lanes or use them to pass... yet another example of driver ignorance. Cyclists should definately not consider bike lanes as an impenetrable zone. The other thing drivers tend to do is cross over the bike lane into a right-turn lane without first looking to see if there's traffic in the bike lane... and usually without signalling. I encounter this at least twice a week.