Sorry Oak - I don't agree at all about auto "accidents"

Yes indeed there can be true accidents in an automobile. A child can dart out into the road suddenly, someone dressed all in black can be crossing the street in the dead of night, a road can be unexpectedly slippery, but I believe more collisions are caused by aggressive and neglectful driving than are really and truly accidents.

The plain fact is that when you get behind the wheel you need to recognize that you are stepping into an inherently dangerous machine. If you are not prepared to take that responsibility and take *extra* measures to ensure the safety of others, by not driving distracted/drunk/sleepy, not using excessive speed, not being aggressive, by focusing solely on the task at hand, which is driving safely, you shouldn't be driving.

A bicycle is not the same. It is not a machine that kills tens of thousands of people every year. Even an aggressive or neglectful cyclist is unlikely to kill anyone. Fatal cyclist/pedestrian accidents are quite rare - you could probably count on your fingers the numbers that have happened in the last 10 years.... While it still isn't acceptable to ride this way, its just not the same...