But here's the thing:

In all the time I've been commuting, no one has ever had to jump out of the way to keep me from running them down. Never. Meanwhile, I have "near misses" on roughly a weekly basis. Careless drivers, who don't understand bicycles on the road are a constant menace. Constantly.

Now I'm a bike rider. Not a commuter. A rider who puts on the spandex, helmet, and cool shades. I get down to business and get my miles in. I roll through stop signs, run the reds when they won't turn for me, and take a full lane when safety demands it. I also respect cars, get out of the way when possible, and mind pedestrians. I signal my turns, talk to drivers politely, and nod appreciatively.

The fact is there are jerks on bikes and jerks in cars. Every time you turn around you read about one or the other causing problems. In Portland the other day it was a cyclist using his bike to bash the motorist's car. Nice. He was also a transportation planner for the city, and drunk. Most importantly he was a jerk. Just try being nice and you will see it works pretty well.

Common sense.

Well, the open door met the bike; bicyclist hit the road; door was seriously sprung. Good thing I wasn't quicker getting out or I'd have been on my way to the emergency room.

I'm happy to accord bikes all the protection they're granted by law, even when it means I'm driving at 15 mph down Beach Drive in the wake of a bike or two. But this is predicated on their obeying traffic laws as well.

Megan McArdle argues that drivers who exceed the speed limit in their cars have no right to get angry at bikers who run stop signs and red lights, weave in and out of traffic, and otherwise ignore traffic laws

Someone doing 5 or even 10 over isn't nearly the flow blockage that one bike can be, particularly when they're behaving in the manner you suggest.