I wish I could share your serious doubt about people's capacity to be assholes toward each other. I can assure you that here in America some people have made th

I wish I could share your serious doubt about people's capacity to be assholes toward each other. I can assure you that here in America some people have made that particular pursuit the object of their life's work. And they have pursued it with great vigor and success. -- There is bad behavior from both cyclists and drivers but when drivers do it the results can be lethal. There is also a lot of damage done that simply results from driver ignorance; a lot of older drivers here believe it is illegal to cross a double yellow so they don't pass at a safe distance. Then there are many that simply believe bikes don't belong on the road and damned if they are going to do anything -- like slow down, or alter their course in any manner -- to "accommodate" them. In their minds, if they hit you, it's your damned fault, you don't belong on the road. And, of course, sure as there is gravity, there are drivers that do it intentionally. I agree very strongly with your last paragraph. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should -- especially when interacting with other parties that believe what you are doing is illegal. "Taking the lane" is a cyclist action that many/most drivers in America do not understand and certainly do not like. Think of it from the driver's perspective. Drivers do not consider themselves to be dangerous. So when a cyclist 'takes the lane' to be safer, the action may appear irrational to them and can spark a bad interaction. We have a curious situation unfolding in the U.S. where city planners and managers are encouraging people to commute by bike and engage in activities like 'taking the lane' in certain situations, but they are not taking additional efforts to educate motorists about the actual rules of the road and the motorists tend to see cyclists as "obstacles" rather than fellow travelers. I find it interesting that city planners encourage cycling commuters, then while the people are riding to work the city's own buses nearly run them down.