There are just too many drivers licensed by their states that lack the minimum skills, knowledge, judgment, attention span, and temperament to drive multi-ton high-speed vehicles in mixed traffic.

The effect of allowing nearly anybody to obtain a driver's license fosters the public's low expectations of the average driver performance. If you don't think this is true.. What are your expectations of commercial airline pilots and what is being done by their licensing authority ,the FAA, to ensure your expectations are met?

The officer quoted in this article is basically expressing this low expectation of drivers his state allows on the road. I have no doubt the officer's unwillingness to cite the driver is because he is quietly blaming the cyclist for placing himself in such an obviously hazardous environment.

The new laws passed like the 3 ft rule and others being proposed to protect cyclist are overdue, but to be effective people licensed to drive must be willing and able to following them. Until then the defense of "too ignorant or too ill-tempered drive safely" will continue to enjoy passive approval by the state when cyclist are involved.