[stevesimmons]

Three things are different in the Netherlands:

1. Almost everyone cycles. So all drivers are themselves cyclists. So they treat other cyclists with consideration.

2. The road/cycle infrastructure is set up to separate cars and bikes wherever possible. And where they share routes, cars are often explicitly second class users ("auto te gast" - cars, you're guests).

3. In any collision between a car and a bike, the driver will almost always be the one found at fault.