[CliffFletcher]

Okay, let's set aside the matter of bikes vs cars and look at cars vs cars and bikes vs bikes.

When I drive to work, I interact with a couple hundred other cars on the road - signalling, changing lanes, merging, yielding. On a typical drive, I don't have any problems. Maybe every third commute or so I'll encounter someone being oblivious or ######y in a way that affects my drive.

When I cycle to work, I encounter maybe a dozen or so other cyclists on the pathways. I'd say close to half behave in a way that shows a complete disregard for other cyclists, the most common being overtaking without ringing a bell or giving an 'on your left', or racing to pass pedestrians in a manner that makes me have to brake or ride off the path. And maybe one in three uses hand signals at all. Never mind such advanced techniques as ringing a bell when approaching a blind corner, or riding in single file instead of two abreast.

Basically, driving a car is treated as a regulated and orderly (if frustrating) endeavour that requires a high degree of communication with other drivers, while cycling is a solo free for all. Others have pointed out that the stakes aren't as high for cyclists, so they simply don't take it seriously. Which is probably true. But if cyclists really want to share the roads and be treated with respect, it's to time ditch the renegade free-for-all and take it as seriously as driving.