Originally Posted by Gear_Admiral

I know you meant this qurmestion rhetorically, but many people (esp. in North America) unironically think this. A cyclist is trespassing on the road invented for automobiles and paid for exclusively by fuel taxes. If someone is so immature and incompetent he is riding a bike instead of driving everywhere, then it is to be expected he would risk his life being on the road. As a driver, they think, I have been benevolent and skilled. I had every right to hit this obstacle, but I chose not to, and my impeccable driving has allowed me to circumnavigate this moron gallivanting about on my motorway. The cyclist should be grateful. If the car never ran him over, he has nothing to complain about.

In reality, that is like me stalking a movie star, but saying she has no right to get a restraining order because I never physically attacked her. However, many motorists who do not ever ride bikes or exclusively ride as hobbyists on velodromes or wherever *do* think like that. You would think "this driver has a bike rack tied up to the back of the car or SUV" means you would get *some* sympathy, but it guarantees nothing. Plenty of bikeforums posters here fall into that category. On one thread a few years ago on the "end of car culture?" you have even seasoned bike tourers screeching that it is a human right to own a car, as if it is possible to furnish our planet with 8 billion F-150s. And that attitude is on here. It is even worse for non-cyclists.