[clon]

I agree with you, the way people will inevitably use them makes them unsafe to be used in the vast majority of the US urban scene.

In Europe, for example Amsterdam or Berlin, it would be a different story, however. They fit very well to the existing comprehensive system of bike lanes. They have a similar speed and manoeuvrability and also both the pedestrians and cyclist are already well conditioned for avoiding each other. Try stepping onto a bike lane in Berlin - you will be feeling really stupid in a hurry.