I've been riding to class for the last three years and most of the @#$!! things were my bad - dropping a skinny tire into a gutter, losing grip on a bald tire, et.all - but there has only been one bike-on-car incident where I slightly clipped a car that pulled out of a driveway into my path and scraped my arm along its hood. I do live in a cycling friendly city, though.

So what did I learn? Be a f@#$ing person. Don't run red-lights; I saw a car barely miss a girl who ran every single red light on a stretch of road. Don't ride on sidewalks when you can. I burnt half my pads off when I almost collided with a guy riding full blast down a sidewalk. Check your surroundings - front, back, and sides. Signal. Be ready on the brakes.