Waiting for a clear chance to pass a cyclist will probably delay a motorist only a few seconds at most. But just as is the case when motorists are stuck behind someone going only 70 miles per hour on the freeway, there is occasionally a feeling of frustration — a frustration born from not being as free to zoom around as fast (or as slow) as we'd like.

Bicyclists, coincidentally, are out on the roads seeking that same freedom — they just do it on two wheels while wearing brightly colored lycra.

A common refrain from motorists annoyed with close calls on the road involving bicyclists is the frequent scoffing at the laws of the road shown — and, again, they have a valid point.

Stop signs are frequently rolled through — kind of the way a lot of cars do. Lanes are changed without clear signaling — kind of like too many local motorists do.

I'm an avid cyclist. I stop at every stoplight and try to do the same at stop signs. But I admit to scanning the streets around me and rolling through an intersection if I know I'm not putting myself in danger.

I'll be the first to admit many bike vs. car accidents are not the fault of the motorist — though quite often they, in fact, are.

But seeing someone out there running a red light or failing to signal when changing lanes in a car doesn't give anyone the right to throw things out the window at them any more than it does to a cyclist.

When a cyclist impedes traffic, there are generally three reasons to do so:

1. A bicycle has every right to ride in the middle of the lane, so the sense of entitlement rules; 2. Doing so is sometimes the safest option when shoulders are littered with hazards and debris; 3. The cyclist is oblivious to the world around him or her possibly because of an iPod stuck in their ear.

When a motorist tries to run a bicycle into the curb, though, there is pretty much one reason — the motorist is a jerk with entitlement issues.

Whatever the case, virtually all roads shared by cyclists and motorists are intended to be shared civilly.

Would you run over a person who was walking in the street or throw things at that person? Then why do the same thing to someone on a bicycle? Are you really in that big of a hurry?

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E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com