I think part of the problem is that you have to have brass balls to bike in certain routes anyway, which leads to a higher distribution of assholes than you get

I think part of the problem is that you have to have brass balls to bike in certain routes anyway, which leads to a higher distribution of assholes than you get in other groups. But after being a cycle commuter in the best (Minneapolis), worst (Albuquerque), and middle of the road (SF/Peninsula/East Bay) cities in America and then also London (which I guess is sort of middle of the road for Europe), I think the real problem is American urban planning and the entitlement of the American driver. Basically, average city streets in the US are like highways in Europe, they are wider, faster, and drivers don't give two shits about pedestrians, cyclists or anyone else (except in Berkeley, Berkeley is like a weird parallel universe of pedestrian etiquette); a disturbingly large proportion of otherwise decent Americans get behind the wheel and turn into Mr Hyde. Contrasting with London where congestion is every bit as bad, not only on the roads, but also the sidewalks, and you find a sort of emergent cooperative effort for everyone to pay attention to everyone else and attempt to make the least nuisance of themselves. This is necessary because often the sidewalks (pavements) are overcroweded and pedestrians spill into the streets, but the cars and the bicycles watch out for this. Similarly, cyclists will reach critical mass and sometimes block traffic, but then filter themselves down to single file to let cars go by. Lanes are much more fluid in general, with oncoming traffic making room for buses to pass each other by utilizing part of their lane. To sum it up, America lacks an attitude of public cooperation when it comes to transportation infrastructure and utilization. I suppose this is the cultural legacy of a century of being able to simply move west and be granted 160 acres of land to oneself.