I don't hate cars. Cars are just machines, like food processors, toasters, bicycles and guns. It really only matters who possesses them as to what their potential for good or bad turns out to be.
I have owned a car myself since I got out of college. I'm guessing that with public transportation continuing to be like it is in the United States I will probably find good reason to own one for the rest of my life, whether I want to or not.
A car is used to get quickly from place to place. Notice I did not say cheaply or safely, just quickly. Cars are neither cheap nor safe. But everything is relative. I'm always amazed to hear someone say how they are afraid to go in to a particular neighborhood at night, or afraid of being murdered by a stranger. But in truth what you should really be afraid of is getting in your car every day, but you don't hear that. No greater probability exists for you to meet sudden death in a given day than when you get in your car and take it out on the road with thousands of other "highly skilled, competent" drivers. It is the obliviousness of this situation that strikes me as being so odd. Each day we look death squarely in the face and do not recognize it for what it is, nor do we flinch.
But the real danger of a car is not the car, but the driver. That ‘pilot' unit may be, at any given moment, tired, distracted, angry, impatient, discourteous, oblivious or clueless. The same so and so who so rudely banged their shopping cart in to your ankle while you waited in line is the same jerk tailgating you now. I always say that you don't really know anyone's true personality until you get to see how they drive. As cyclists we bear the brunt of this ugliness, because unlike the other cars, our bicycle goes slower than grandma, and our mass and volume offers neither threat nor opposition. We are at the mercy of the kindness of strangers.
Or are we? I don't mean to be completely cynical here, but I find myself at opposition with many of my bike friends when it comes to dealing with cars. Some propose an assertive approach of eye contact and forceful occupation of a cyclist's "legal" territory. The martyr approach. But wait, you may have to die to be a martyr. But you'd be within your legal rights! What if you were planning to live a long time so you could enjoy a lot of biking rather than just making a ‘statement'. Then this approach may not work for you. And given the tremendous numbers of collisions between cars themselves, what would lead anyone to believe that they will be privileged to all their ‘legal' rights, if they just ‘act like a car'.
There is a difference between what is ‘legal' and what is smart. It may be legal for you to ride your bike on a narrow, hilly, curvy, country road where other cyclists never go, but it may not be smart. Even the cautious driver may be at a loss as to what to do when he mounts that hill at 55 miles an hour, and as he tops it, sees you only a few hundred feet ahead while a semi approaches in the opposing lane, with big trees close to the road off to his right. By the time he makes that decision to hit the brakes as hard as he can it may be too late anyway. And if he somehow had just enough time to pass around you and get back in to his lane instead of hitting the brakes, imagine the visual shock of the guy tailgating him, to whom you have just been revealed, only 50 feet ahead. Hope your life insurance policy will be a comfort to your family.
My point! In spite of all this, you largely hold, in you own hands, your fate in regard to interactions with cars. How is that? Well, think more about what is smart rather than what is legal. Never presume that anyone in a car is going to be polite, yield the right of way, be predictable, do the right ‘legal' thing, act intelligently, be kindly or watch out for you, or even see you. Always expect the worst and then when courtesy does occur you can really appreciate it. But more importantly you won't be caught off guard by false expectations. In situations where traffic is heavy and drivers have too much to watch already, make yourself scarce. Cross the road where it is safe and make yourself visible when in the company of cars. Wear bright colors and try to ‘be predictable'. And when you get that funny tingling sensation at base of your neck at the feel of cars approaching from the rear, don't ignore it, that's your brain warning you that you may be in imminent danger, so keep one eye on your mirror. No one has a greater vested interest in your life than you.
And remember, biking may never become the transportation of the masses like the car is in America, but then again, biking might not be any more fun than driving if we had to do it.
Following winds, my friends, Rob Wilt