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@lpg
Firstly, who are you to decide what mode of transport is 'socially desirable'. You, nor I, are in any position to dictate how people choose to travel. That's a personal choice. Now, the fact that cars are physically more dangerous is mitigated by the fact that we bike riders are unregulated, unlicensed, and uninsured road users. If bicycles were subject to the same laws and regulations are private vehicles, or commercial vehicles, then you may have case. If bikes were forced to do some kind of test, or CBT, to prove their competence on the road, or if they all had 3rd party insurance, and maybe if they had to do a yearly MOT to prove the bikes are roadworthy, and if bikes were equipped with license plates, like all motor vehicles are, then I might start to see where you're coming from.
My road tax point was just to highlight how much more motorists contribute to the economy than we as cyclists do, overall, and how in the whole of the UK they outnumber us by 100 to 1. Try and look at this case through neutral eyes, not the eyes of a cyclist or car driver. Any dickhead can jump on a bike and mix it up with lorries. We have it quite good as cyclists.