Unfortunately, letting the assholes win breeds a world full of assholes. I don't want to die and I'm not going to assert my right of way and risk my life, but, the laws need to be enforced else we get lawlessness and a world of whoever is most aggressive wins.
The nice thing about traffic is that safe driving can be enforced with proper infrastructure where unsafe driving feels unsafe. And that has the benefit of both forcing drivers to drive safely and keeping cyclists and pedestrians alive (since they no longer interact with drivers or only do it in ways that are better for everyone).
Not Just Bikes is a great YouTube channel explaining a lot of those concepts, usually by example in the Netherlands. Whereas in North America you have basically motorways going through residential and commercial landuse areas, which feel like, well, motorways and invite driving fast.
