OMG You are going to die if you bike there

This article from the Harold Mall really bothers me. Besides the fact that they treat some random caller as an expert in the field it's how we look at motorists here in Maryland. It's like they are the mafia, above the law and out to do harm to anyone who gets in their way. Why do we accept such tolerance of uncivilized behavior?

Who can fix it: The police! We need to crack down on speeding, aggressive driving, distracted driving and enforce all traffic laws in general. To many people look at the above picture and say to themselves, "Cyclists are going to get killed there so no one should bicycle." rather then saying "That motorist really should be driving better then that or they should not be allowed to drive at all."

But shouldn't we have tolerance for minor infractions, after all we all make a minor mistake from time to time? Well there is two problems with that; 1) We have evolved to the point where only "serious" infractions are enforced like driving drunk and going 25mph above the speed limit, anything less then that we tolerate, 2) What the heck is wrong with giving warnings? Don't get me wrong as a cyclists I would love to see some drivers in jail for harassing me or my kids or maybe just impound their car for a month so they realize that driving is a privilege and the whole point behind licensing and insurance is because people need to be held responsible for incorrect handling of a machine that kills way too many people. It is not an American right to drive irresponsibly and put other lives in jeopardy, to that end at the very least the police should give warnings.

The above bicycle accommodation is recommended by AASHTO and I really like it as well. It reinforces that bicycles are vehicles and we need to yield to motoring traffic just as much as motoring traffic needs to yield to us. No one has the right to travel totally unencumbered by other road users. We all need to follow the standard rules of the road and no that does not mean it's bicyclists responsibility to get the hell out of the way of cars. It means we all need to treat each other with respect and courtesy.

Please comment on this article if you support this kind of bicycle accommodation as I would like to say "thank you" to SHA for their efforts in accommodating bicyclists and I would love to see at least as many positive comments as the below referenced article has negative.

Reference:What's wrong with this picture?