Originally Posted by Pscyclepath

I'll disagree with the first half of this statement. One of the principles of safe riding is to make yourself as visible as possible to drivers and other travelers. Where you position yourself on the roadway -- being where other drivers are expecting traffic to be, avoiding blind spots, and staying out of the gutter and off the sidewalk. Bright colored clothing helps you stand out from the background and makes you more visible, at night lights and reflective material greatly increase your survivability. If drivers see you and recognize you, all but the murderous psychopaths will avoid you.

As for the psychopaths, you need to be alert to all that's going on around you so that when you need to, you can take evasive action to get out of their way and avoid a collision.