[TimonKnigge]

> After decades of riding (sometimes wildly irresponsibly) I can only count on one hand motorists who were actively trying to run me over.

I don't see how this is a good thing? I've been riding my bike since I was a little kid (in the Netherlands) and I've had zero people actively try to kill me, I'm not sure why any nonzero number is not a big deal.

[aww_dang]

The point being that there are people out there who might be provoked, but as you observe it certainly isn't the norm. It isn't as prevalent as comments here would suggest. Bicycling is safe, despite all of the alarmism. Hope this helps.