I don't even understand the hate for riding in the middle. If a driver were to pass someone riding on the right, he would (should) have to move so far over that the next lane has to be empty. That is the same as if the bicyclist was in the middle.
Riding to the right only invites cars to squeeze past. Take the lane, it's safer.
Of course, even though the above is possible, drivers often don't leave enough space for cyclists, so cyclists should ride in the middle to force cars to not try to squeeze past.
This then ensures that cars pass you at a relatively low speed difference and you generally control when they pass you.
It doesn't make any sense to protect pedestrians from having to deal with larger, faster, heavier vehicles, that may injure them, by forcing cyclists into the street, where they have to deal with larger, faster, heavier vehicles that may kill them.
Many accidents currently occur because most cyclists aren't able to pedal fast enough to ride the center of a lane (Without making every motorist in a 50 yard radius want to kill them, for obstructing traffic.)
So, they end up riding on the shoulder, where they are less visible, are more likely to get doored, are more likely to be killed by people who don't shoulder check on right turns, are often passed with a great speed differential, but only inches of clearance...
Why would cyclists have to move at 40+ mph on streets where traffic moves at 20 to 30 mph? Even so, traffic is capable of dealing with larger speed differentials due to intersections and steep grades, so there really is no requirement for cyclists to be able to keep up with traffic in order to ride within the general purpose traffic lane.
> Many accidents currently occur because most cyclists aren't able to pedal fast enough to ride the center of a lane
Do you have a citation for this claim? As a counter example, I've been riding in the center of the general purpose lane for a number of years and have never come close to getting rear ended (on roads where traffic goes between 30 to 50 mph).
> are often passed with a great speed differential, but only inches of clearance...
The reason they get passed with inches of clearance is that a cyclist who is edge riding gives motorists the impression that there is sufficient room to pass within the lane. A cyclist who rides in the center of the general traffic lane basically sends the message that faster traffic must change lanes to pass. Hence, they get a lot more clearance when they're passed by faster traffic.
The problem with this is when an intersection comes up, cars preparing to turn or approaching from an intersecting road cannot see the cyclist in time to avoid colliding with them.
And this now significantly increases the wait time for all modes of transportation. This will lead to signal non-compliance which will lead to more collisions and injuries.
> or puts the bike lane's stop line ahead of the automotive stop line.
This presents another set of issues where cyclists now have to determine whether they have enough time to get ahead of the general traffic stream before the light changes to green. The other issue is that this type of facility encourages cyclists to keep to the right of the general traffic stream when the light is green which makes them much more likely to get right-hooked by traffic preparing to make a right turn at the intersection.