Long, long ago, the way cars used the road was different. People would walk wherever they damn pleased--sightlessly, drunkenly, normally, whatever--and car drivers avoided them. It was a feature of riding a bike that anticipating where a car might end up next was function of knowing where pedestrians where rather than sighting painted lines upon the road. Cars veered and wobbled and shot around everywhere, but there was system to their lunacy and it was relatively easy to pick up.
These days the worst of those habits persist, such as driving on the wrong side of the road because it's easier than making a u-turn, but swerving around people has been replaced by honking. The cars too move faster and are more numerous.
I believe that in these patterns of road use we can see the future.