As a motorist, I am terrified of the thought of accidentally hitting a cyclist.
True, we keep hearing about cyclists who are wearing brilliant yellow jackets and have bright lights, but here in Seattle, we also have a large group of cyclists who wear dark clothes, do not wear helmets and do not have lights. They are poor people, not scoff laws. They are hard to see. Accidents DO happen, and yes, it's horrible, and we should be more careful, but stuff happens. People are distracted, too easily. Last month I was driving at the speed limit (20 mph) past a school where the buses were loading. I was watching the buses and kids, and ... the car in front of me stopped. I barely had time to hit my brakes, scared me to death.
stuff happens. People sneeze, drop things in their cars, etc, etc. cars are scary.
The irony of it is that I am more afraid of aggression in motorists than inattentiveness, and more often than not, it's the inattention that is killing us!