We are in an era, in the United States, where automobiles and bicycles are learning to accommodate each other.
I argue that this accommodation is slow in coming because we treat drivers as incompetent children.
I say this based on the contrast between pedestrians and cars.
Pedestrians do not bump into each other, they do not give each other the finger, they do not get angry at people who respond the way they are not expected to, and most of all when bicycles and unexpected objects appear on the sidewalk the pedestrians accommodate and behave civilly.
I argue that cars are overwhelmed with signs and instructions, yellow lines, white lines, double white lines, red lines and countless stop lights. Since cars are traveling at low speeds in urban areas and in residential areas (only a little faster than horses) where they would not cause serious collisions with each other, the excessive number of signs and restrictions treat automobile drivers as incompetent children. As a the result, drivers behave childishly. Drivers do not act like adults in dealing with anything including bicycles because their behavior is treated as irresponsible.
I would argue, without hesitation, that if we reduce the number of traffic signs and controls by 90%, the number of accidents would decrease and driver behavior would be more responsible. Bicycles would be much safer.
It is unfortunate that we treat adults as Incompetent children.
The history of the automobile and its difficulty in fitting into our earlier horse society explains our strange treatment of auto drivers. It is no longer justified.