being cutoff by a car making a right turn just after passing me and then braking hard to make the turn
Ah yes, such a classic move. I love when they zoom past you to try and make the turn, then chicken out at the last second and brake hard to "let" you pass. Which in turn forces me to brake heavily because I have NO idea what they're doing, and forces all the cars behind HIM to brake as well. Just relax and watch the bike pass through the intersection, and we'll all live longer, healthier, richer lives. Thanks!
Join American Wheelmen and (a) learn about defensive riding (quick turns - saved me from hitting the quick turner, making eye contact, position on the road, etc)
No doubt. Anything you don't have to assume, don't do it. I take up more of the road so that when I "feel" a car bearing down on me hard from behind, I can actually move over and avoid them. Much better feeling than simply hugging the curb or parked cars and waiting for someone to pinch you out.
But at least San Diego has a pretty good number of bike lanes (even if they have a fair amount of glass and debris). There's only a few roads with no lane at all, and a good mixture of aggressive / defensive driving (best defense is sometimes a really strong offense!), it's pretty OK.
Except for those horrible, horrible decisions on when to pass a bike and when to just wait... and when to pull out of a driveway, and when to wait in your driveway so you don't nail the biker that can proceed even though there's traffic, because there's a bike lane.
Although I did almost kill a guy on a bike in downtown Seattle once. Was in the left lane of a one-way road, and went to park on the left. Had NO idea there was a bike lane on the LEFT side of the road. Really bad feeling when the dude was yelling at me. What could I do but say sorry (he was already gone by then).
Ben
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