When it comes to personal decisions, 100% of the responsibility lies with me. When I'm driving, 100% of the responsibility to avoid hitting a bicyclist lies wit

When it comes to personal decisions, 100% of the responsibility lies with me. When I'm driving, 100% of the responsibility to avoid hitting a bicyclist lies with me; when I'm biking, 100% of the responsibility to avoid being hit by a car lies with me. The idea being that everyone else on the road is absolutely crazy, so my responsibility is just to be prepared for their insanity and act accordingly. I think this philosophy increases my likelihood of survival. On the other hand, when it comes to cultural and (to some extent) legal ideas about "responsibility," I do think that the idea that "with great power comes great responsibility" (thanks, Spiderman) is a pretty decent heuristic. Lots of people have no concept of their own vulnerability, and lots of people have no sense of their own power to do harm, but one will hurt me and the other hurts others. Plus, and maybe for that reason, I think it's a lot more difficult to forget vulnerability (it's obvious every time a car flies past 3 feet away) than it is to forget power--passing a bicyclist with a couple feet of room just doesn't feel scary to lots of drivers.