In one of my many “surfing the web” moments, I discovered a really great website. One you should visit. It is http://BicycleSafe.com, and is put together by to Michael Bluejay of Austin, Texas. Visit iit sometime. Michael covers Bicycle Safety from a little different perspective than most. I find it very interesting. The following is adapted from one of the topics found on that website.
Ride as if you were invisible.
It's often helpful to ride in such a way that motorists won't hit you even if they don't see you. Don’t try to BE invisible, try to make it irrelevant whether cars see you or not. If you ride in such a way that a car has to see you to take action to avoid hitting you, such as by their slowing down or changing lanes, then that means they will definitely hit you if they don't see you. But if you stay out of their way, then you won't get hit even if they didn't notice you were there.
On very fast roads cars have less time to see you because they're approaching so fast. Of course, you should avoid fast roads in the first place if at all possible, unless there's plenty of room for a car and a bike side by side. And if there IS such room, then on fast roadways, you can practice invisibility by riding to the extreme right. If you're far enough right that you're not in the part of the lane the cars are in, then they'll zoom by and won't hit you, even if they never saw you.
Here's another example: It's a good idea to signal a left turn, but it's a better idea to make your left turn at a time or place where there aren't cars behind you that could hit you while you're stopped and waiting to make that turn. You can hang out in the middle of the street, stopped, with your left arm out, waiting to make your turn, but you're counting on cars behind you to see you and stop. If they don't see you, you're in trouble.
Naturally we don't advocate running red lights, but if you're the kind of person who does, then apply the invisibility principle when deciding on whether to run a particular light: Could any cross traffic possibly hit me if I were invisible? If yes, then absolutely don't do it. Never make a car have to slow down to avoid hitting you (red light or not). Remember, the more you rely on cars to see you to avoid hitting you, the more chances they'll have to actually do so.
Remember, you're not trying to BE invisible, you're just riding with the assumption that cars can't see you. Of course, you certainly want them to see you, and you should help them with that. That's why you'll wave to motorists whom you think might be about to pull out in front of you, and why you'll be lit up like a Christmas tree at night (front and rear lights).
Remember that in many cases you'll need to take the lane, in which case you're counting on motorists to see you.