What? I am sometimes pissed at cyclists, but to think "they're not [fully] human" would imply significant cognitive deficiency.
I mean, it is one the world has been plagued with. You can find past examples in constitutions viewing slaves as lesser and forbidding Jewish folks from a country. In modern times - at least in the US - folks use it for immigrants and prisoners and to a lesser extent, poor people.
And sure, a deficiency, but I'm pretty sure it is one folks choose part of the time.
Admittedly, however, I think what the article refers to is kind of a mental shortcut folks do unknowingly - one of those things that usually just helps us process the world around us. A car isn't full of people, it is a thing. A bike is a mini car on wheels. Walking folks, even with a bike, are people, though.
― Flann O'Brien, The Third Policeman
I don’t think that’s the problem that drivers have with cyclists.
Just like some car drivers feel entitled to "own" the road and feel that if they hit a cyclist, it was the cyclist at fault, also some cyclists feel entitled to "own" the shared pedestrian and cycle paths, and occasionally hit pedestrians and then blame the pedestrians.
No sane person hates the random civilian cyclist who rides inner-city to his place of work, on bike lanes where available, and who acts in a predictable manner (give hand signs when making a turn, stopping when the traffic lights say so, ...). But those wannabe-Lance-Armstrongs on the country road, I can understand how they can make someone's blood boil. Even worse when they do everything to be as invisible as possible (for example, wearing mostly black).
Sounds like it's you with the heavy fast moving object that's creating the danger in that situation.
That's the "pro-car / anti-bike" angle, I think. If cars had been invented first, it would probably be illegal to ride bikes on the road. They basically were grandfathered-in.
Let's see it. Street View link, please?
You'd be amazed how inconvenient or dangerous many "perfectly good bike lanes" turn out to be.
> https://www.google.com/maps/@49.2815263,9.5021834,162m/data=...
On the right side, there's the L1045. Speed Limit 100 km/h (around 60mph). Large curves. Lots of woods, thus shady in the summer, which reduces visibility for thin, slow-moving objects in dark clothing.
On the other side of the river, there's the Kochertalradweg, which is forbidden to motor vehicles, a designated bike road, goes on for the next 25 kilometers while still hitting all the same towns the street does, and is over most of it's stretch a one-lane asphalt road. (There is a small stretch where it becomes a gravel road, with very fine gravel, for about 200 meters).
Sane cyclists use the Kochertalradweg. The bike folks I encounter on the L1045 are almost exclusively 40-year-old folks who dream of their imagined glory days as a bike racers.
1. I am not saying "Don't ever use roads". Sometimes, I accept that road use by cyclists is unavoidable.
2. I am all for more money spent on bike roads and -lanes, both for upkeep as well as for building new ones. More good bike roads means less bike traffic on standard roads, mean less dangerous situations.
3. I do not hate cyclists. I just have been in situations that became incredibly dangerous because cyclists slowed down traffic considerably (either because they had low visibility, or they inspired other drivers to dangerous overtaking attempts, or because they acted in an unpredictable manner (e.g. by not signalling or not following stop signs/red lights, or sneaking up from behind at a traffic stop and appearing out of the blind spot).
4. Some car owners are assholes and do stupid things to annoy you - much like some cyclists may act less than gentlemanly. We need more street laws enforcement to get either of these groups under control - these groups are those that make their supergroup problematic to the other road parties.
In short: Be considerate, be responsible, be visible (high-visibility clothing is worn by construction workers on road locations for a reason), be predictable. Use designated lanes/roads if available. Even if you may be technically in your right, do not demand it if the situation could be unclear to other road users - chances are they have a lot more survivability than you have if things go wrong.
And for god's sake, there's no reason to use a country road as a bike sports racing track during rush hour.