-=> Quoting Dave Hughes to Phil Piltch <=-
 DH> Egzackly! I just act as if I belong there (which, of course, I do!),
 DH> and keep on riding within the law, and I don't have any trouble at all,
 DH> except for the occasional "bubba" driving along drinking beer, thinking
 DH> what fun it'd be to scare shit out of a cyclist. But those are very
 DH> rare, even though I ride in a rural area in S.E. Texas.
 DH> Dave
I began riding in rural central Texas and found pretty much the same thing to
be true.
And lately I live in Dallas and do most of my riding on Dallas streets and
find it to be pretty much the same.
Sort of a standard speech I have developed on the subject . . .
My experience is that about 1 in 1000 motorists is a jerk who will try to
scare you.  That motorist is not trying to hit you; (s)he is trying to scare
you.  That motorist is aware that if (s)he hits you, you will damage the
paint job on the car/truck, adversely affect the insurance premiums, and
cause a delay and hassle with the police.  What you have to do is be
absolutely steady and not be panicked.  If you do something unpredictable,
you increase the odds of getting hurt.
The "from behind" accident is rare and is usually caused or partly caused by
the bicyclist.  (E.g., swerving into the path of the car or riding at night
without lights.)
There are also a very few homocidal maniacs out there.  But they have been
known to do their thing on cars as well as bicyclists.
And there are more drunks out there.  The are the same as homocidal maniacs.
If you ride according to the principles taught in the League of American
Bicyclists' Effective Cycling program, your chances of a collision with a car
are about the same as your chances of a collision while driving a car.
    ===  ==== =   _@
    Ken Peck +  _ \<._
    =========  (_)/ (_)   Kenneth_Peck@clr.com
... The times demand you, as pilots the haven.  S. Ignatius
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