In most places in the U.S., bikers do have the same rights as cars, and alot of drivers don't seem to understand that. However, there are still more bikers that don't understand the rules. I used to live in Tempe Arizona, which is a college town with an unusually large number of bicylists. I read some statistics published by the city on accidents and an astonishing 85% of all car-bicycle accidents were the fault of the bicylist.