Hard to read about the dangerous conditions you are forced to ride in. Reminds me why I quit riding a bike in the US after 1976 (High School).
Here in Germany, the speed limit in neighborhoods is...drum roll....EIGHTEEN MILES PER HOUR (30 kmh). And they enforce it RIGHTEOUSLY! Retired cops get special permission to sit around with camera-equipped speed guns. My wife has gotten a couple tickets for going two km over the speed limit!!
Main roads in town are only 50khm (30 mph), but almost all the main roads (as well as most of the highways) have bike paths. I was walking my dogs this morning and saw a group of bikers on a bike path that runs parallel to a corn field between two major roads. I counted 35 people, all easily over 40 years old riding together. The first time an asshole in a car did something like you guys have to deal with all the time, they would be stripped of their license and have their car impounded. Driving is considered a HUGE (and fairly expensive) privilege here. I have a friend who is thirty and works at a good job. He has a nice apartment and plenty of guy toys. He does not own a car.
The biggest challenge for me when riding is getting used to the fact that the cars will actually yield in nearly all situations to a bike. It is freakish to an American, believe me, but in addition to all the old people riding bikes, there are a gazillion kids riding around as well. From what I am able to understand, any accident with a car and a bike is automatically the fault of the CAR driver.
I am a lot more nervous when I drive our Mercedes than when I drive my moped, because of all the bike and foot traffic you have to watch out for makes driving a car a nightmare.
I would never consider moped travel in the US, with the exception of maybe one or two of the more urban cities that have adopted a strong bike culture. I would get my thrills in the US by doing a safer sport than moped riding, like parachute jumping or hang gliding. Enjoy.
Enjoy.