Great article. To add: It also doesn't help that many of NYC's bike lanes are less safe than just riding in the middle of the road.
The streets of Manhattan are a dangerous jungle for bikers. Cabs hit and run on a daily basis. Some of the bike lanes are in between parked cars and the car lanes making the risk even higher. Car doors, pedestrians running out, cars hugging the edge to make a turn, cars double parked. It's a far cry from a dedicated lane.
Personal experience time: When I first started riding in NYC it was a cautious, rule following experience. Then after a while you see how little respect you get and how much you genuinely have to look out for you're own life and you stop caring. You perceive every passing car as a potential death/bodily injury threat and pave your own way.
The streets of Manhattan are a dangerous jungle for bikers. Cabs hit and run on a daily basis. Some of the bike lanes are in between parked cars and the car lanes making the risk even higher. Car doors, pedestrians running out, cars hugging the edge to make a turn, cars double parked. It's a far cry from a dedicated lane.
Personal experience time: When I first started riding in NYC it was a cautious, rule following experience. Then after a while you see how little respect you get and how much you genuinely have to look out for you're own life and you stop caring. You perceive every passing car as a potential death/bodily injury threat and pave your own way.