One thing I would tell people in my cycling skills classes is: "Don't jeopardize your safety for someone else's convenience." If you can be polite in using the roadway, do so, but not if it means putting yourself at significant risk. One principle of traffic law and operation is that an operator of a vehicle or other conveyance is responsible for choosing their roadway position - that decision is not up to others.
Another issue I've noted is that roadway hazards such as glass, cracks, oil, or similar are readily visible at riding speed, but much more difficult to discern at motor travel speeds.
On the subject of passing offset: About a decade or so ago, there was a push to adopt signs depicting a motor vehicle and end-on bicyclist and a minimum distance between them, such as this:
After a similar sign was installed on a street near me, I had a policeman pull me over and instruct me that the sign clearly stated that I must stay at least 3 feet from motor vehicles under all conditions, even if that meant riding on the sidewalk or in the dirt. Fortunately, newer signs recommended for this situation don't seem to convey such unintended messages.