Originally Posted by
genec
Does it have to be proven beyond the fact that most Americans consider riding a bike on the street unsafe, and use that (and a host of other excuses) to avoid cycling altogether... that perception of "unsafe" is enough.
That people consider it unsafe does not mean it is unsafe, nor that the government is being negligent in providing for our equal safety. The question would be whether the government actually is being negligent to our safety; people's ignorance has nothing to do with it.
I think it would be a very difficult case to prove, even in the most unsafe areas. You'd have to show that it's the government that is responsible for unsafe conditions rather than drivers. In all but very few cases, I don't think this could really be done, as the infrastructure itself isn't usually the cause for an unsafe situation and the law (depending on the state) grants us the protections we need (at least on paper).
$.02