You forget that most often such a lane is as wide as a bicycle + 10 cm on each side. Meaning that if a car passes fast enough it could even push the cyclist around just with its air flow. Plus, at lower speeds bikes tend to go less than straight, so there is a fairly real danger of bumping into, e.g. the mirror on a car. Additionally a cyclist is obligated to handle things coming at him from between parked cars and such, which is really tricky since a cyclist is often much closer to those than a driving car. Those and more i don&#x27;t have in mind right now are plenty important reasons why taking a lane can make traffic safer for everyone.<p>Having been in the situation often enough, i can also tell you: I wouldn&#x27;t mind if cars passed by me in narrow situations if they slowed down while doing so, but more often than not, cars pass by at full speed instead.<p>Lastly, keep in mind that this situation only happens in narrow side streets, not on big streets with better separated traffic flows.<p>Sport cyclists taking a whole lane while ignoring a dedicated bike path are just assholes.