Drivers loathe anything that slows them down. Cyclists, pedestrians, horse carriages, even other cars. It's nothing to do with the moral order, it's "Get the hell out of my way!"
As a driver/cyclist as well, I think you're absolutely right and not just from the perspective of a car driver - one of the most rage-inducing things I can experience while on my bike is when a car in front of me causes me to slow down in otherwise open driving conditions.
It seems the reasons for both group is different: motorists because obstacles just add up to their already rather unpredictable commute time. Cyclists, because the energy spent doesn't come from a gas tank.
But deep down, when it comes to "rage" it comes down from the same irrational, primitive brain. It's not right for either group.
I smile when I see cyclists, think about what a nice day for a ride. I slow down, look for an opportunity, and pass them. But hey I'm not a 20-something self-absorbed ego machine.
Either I slow down to 15 mph or I commit dangerous driving. Neither option is really good. If there is a bike lane and they are using it, yay. I am happy. If there is a bike lane and they aren't using it (instead being in my lane), I am pretty torqued.
http://bicycledriving.org/public-awareness/motorists-should-...
(tl;dr: It ain't your lane)
There are a ton of reasons for not being in bike lanes including snow, pot holes, glass, other debris, and the very real potential of getting doored.
Don't see why that isn't true for bikes.
But it really disrupts traffic when someone is trotting along at 15. Be that a horse, dogcart, or tractor. In a car-centric infrastructure, it's a disruption. Obviously the USA infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, is car-centric and thus non-cars will be disruptive. That's my point.
It all looks car-centric when you're driving a car. In rural areas, if you've even been in one for even a short amount of time, you learn that the roads are almost exclusively there for the commercial traffic. Iowa has a grid on a 1-mile spacing of gravel roads - not so you can race to grandma's house in your car, but so all arable land can be serviced by tractor and truck.
Let's say you're traveling 10 miles in either bike (15 mph, very fast cyclist) or car (55 mph). It will take roughly this many minutes to travel:
(* 60 (/ 10 15.0))
40.0
(* 60 (/ 10 55.0))
10.90909090909091
Note that I live in a rural area and bike around as much as I can. So I swing both ways here, and I still say that bikes disrupt road infrastructure which isn't designed to handle them.
Personally, I prefer most auto lanes to the bike lanes. I'm easily seen, I can see others and I can make maneuvers without being wedged between parked cars and moving traffic.
That said, I plan routes that avoid as much traffic as possible. I hate getting stuck behind a cyclist when I'm driving, too.
- car lane? now you disrupt cars.
- bike lane? hope no one does something crazy.
- sidewalk? swerving all over to avoid people/poles & likely illegal.
Not a great set of choices.
I really tried to ignore all that as the cyclists not using the existing bicycle lanes are really annoying when in a car. But in the end I gave in. I know I am annoying, but it's sometimes the only option you have.
Tough call, considering the average speed on surface streets in most towns/cities is about 20mph or less.
It's not really as much of an issue in town.
Cars often stop/park in bike lanes.
Bike lanes can be downright scary. Sometimes I feel alot safer riding in traffic where motorists don't have the option to ignore me.
(edit) Why the hell am I downvoted?
If you are cycling at 10 mph in a rush hour and holding back a block worth of traffic, do you seriously not have a slightest concern that you might be valuing your own interests a bit too much? And then you wonder why-oh-why the cars drivers don't love you with all their hearts. Jeez. Do not do unto others what you don't want to have done to you.
My primary goal when biking is to stay safe. Everything else is secondary. I want you to get where you're going quickly but I will not feel guilty about making you slow down if it's going to keep me alive.
When you get behind the wheel, everyone and everything becomes a potential source of rage because everyone and everything becomes just another obstacle.