I stopped biking to work decades ago because I figured it was only a matter of time before a car whizzing by 2 feet away at 50 mph was going to hit me.
This is why you take the whole lane. Cars are forced to merge like they do around any other stopped or slow traffic, giving you a lot more room than if you allow them to squeeze by in the same lane as you, near where the parked cars are swinging their doors.
