I was an American expat in England for 2 years and can vouch that culture was much more cycling friendly. However, you still got the occasional "white van man" and this was his favorite argument: http://ipayroadtax.com/

And there's no single word for Schadenfreude in English, but it exists there as well ;)

IIRC, it's a traffic offense in Germany, too (as well as here in Prague ;)). While city centers may be pedestrianized again, it's bound to be an uphill battle for some time.