Courtland Milloy at the WashPo has been stirring sh!t up with a few columns on the conflicts between bikes and cars. He's a clown, but I do find myself siding with him.
I don't know how you can have an in-town transportation system that can efficiently and safely combine 2 ton, steel (or aluminum!) contrivances that typically move at 25-45 MPH with 20 lb. bikes moving at 10-15MPH, especially if the biker claims a full lane of a roadway. Conflict is inevitable and bikers lose due to physics.
I've started doing some road biking and I try to hug the shoulder (inconvenient but IMHO the fair thing to do), and at controlled intersections, I will often switch into "pedestrian" mode, choosing NOT to sit at a red light between or in front of cars.
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Greg
Rockville MD
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