if the drivers could get away with jumping red lights, speeding etc etc they would

cyclists can get away with a lot more than a driver can and its quite obvious why.. i mean as a cyclist you're in control of a 15kg peace of steel and a simple slip on the front can cause a bad injury..
as a driver you're responsible for a couple of tones of metal that can go fast, kill people inside and outside.
but obviously the fact is that you're surrounded by a metal shell makes you fell more safe and by so people do stupid speeds, kill them selves or even people inside the car and outside, driving a car on its own is a huge responsibility while a bicycle is not something that can kill and if it does its a rare case.
if a cyclists was to collide with a car the chance of driver getting injured is REALLY low.. while a cyclist can be dead, its one of the things drivers forget when they "play around" on the road and try to scare those "dumb cyclists" is that they can kill them in seconds..