indyfabz

+1. I toured southern Spain for 7 weeks back in the day. The day before I flew home I was tooling around the 'burbs outside of Sevilla. An inattentive motorist leaving a parking lot did something stupid and almost hit me. He was so apologetic I thought he was going to get out of his car, get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness. Other than that, the trip was uneventful motorist-wise.

Same back in 2013 when I was riding in Italy for two weeks. The only close call came when some people in our group ignored the law and entered a traffic circle while a car was already negotiating it. (I did not.) Many people think Italians are maniac drivers. Truth is is that they are very skilled. It takes a lot more education and practice to get a license there. Our host, who has been running a cycling camp there for decades, explained that motorist drive with the expectation that cyclists will obey traffic laws. I live in Philly. The best way to avoid a car-bike collision is to drive with the expectation that cyclists will not obey traffic laws. Same when you are walking. A few years ago a pedestrian crossing the street legally while heading to his train after work was hit by a cyclist. The pedestrian fell to the ground, hitting his head. He slipped into a coma and later died, leaving behind a wife and a couple of kids. Witnesses say the cyclist got up, straightened his handlebars and rode off. He has never been identified.