Do we have to use cycle lanes if they're there?

Heading west, I always use the main road through Tavistock Sq. I have lost count the number of times drivers (all forms) take a right into Gordon st without checking their RH side.

I also lost count the amount of time a cyclists crashed into each other there! (as well as almost being run over by car while mindlessly sped though the green path regardless of red, orange, purple, green, pink, light.