On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:05:28 -0600, wrote:

Notice also that
Germany has extensive bike lanes, so it works like a zero tolerance
between cars and bicycles since they are separated.

They are separated only until the next intersection - and that's where
they become dangerous, and many cyclists have been killed by
right-turning motorists not seeing the cyclist.

Just curious--got any statistics to back that up?

This study in English:

http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/digest/research.html

touches on the issue.

In German, extensive information he

http://radweg.radzeug.de/

http://www.bernd.sluka.de/Radfahren/Radwege.html

http://www.radwegweg.info/radwege/index.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/NoRadweg.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Rad-Tipps.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Radw-Tip.htm

including a simple, but graphic illustration:

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Abb-Unf.gif

of how most of the accidents happen.