A 20-30 second wait may be a small burden for them, but it ensures everyone's safety. This is called Vehicular Cycling . Of course, there is much more to Vehicular Cycling. They create a safe-space zone around the bicycle by riding about 4 ft. away from parked cars, curbs and hazards. The overall risks of injury in bicycle crashes are much less than in car crashes.
Cars crash at much higher speeds and with far greater damaging forces.
They often tangle with tractor-trailers, which are many times larger than cars, just as cars are larger than bikes. Only one-half of one percent of all bicycle crashes requiring medical attention involved a bicyclist, operating lawfully and in daylight, getting hit from behind. At normal cycling speeds on crowded paths, riders run about 3 times more risk of crashing into children, dogs, other cyclists, pylons, debris, or cars at crossings. The extra width lets them relax a bit, and lets motorists pass without waiting. Also, like any other lane of the road, the bicyclist is still operating with traffic.