[sophacles]

What it accomplishes is this: The car drivers can no longer try to sneak around you when you are in the middle of the road. By taking up the whole lane, you are forcing them to acknowledge you.

Aside from all of this: your intuition is wrong. Please look at the statistics. The only disagreement in the statistics is over how much safer riding in the street is. There is no disagreement over street riding being safer.

I am certain this is a case of perception coupled with confirmation bias, much like those who would prefer to drive than to fly. Find a local cycling club to teach you tips on cycling safely around your metro.

[jrockway]

+1 on this thread.

I've never had a problem driving my bike like a car. Sure, sometimes someone honks at me or yells, but that's what your middle finger is for. As soon as someone is mad enough to yell at you, you know they see you, and you know you're safe. It's the people that don't notice you that will kill you.

(Of course, there is the 1-in-a-million homicidal maniac that just wants to murder something for the fun of it... but that's something that you can't prevent -- bicycle or not.)

[wallflower]

John Forester's "Effective Cycling" is the textbook on riding safely in traffic.

His book has many diagrams explaining many common riding in traffic scenarios.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_Cycling

> Forester summarizes the rules of the road for vehicle operation in five principles:

Use the correct half of the road, and not the sidewalk.

Yield to other traffic as required.

Yield when moving laterally across the road.

Choose the correct lane and position within the lane at intersections and their approaches, based on your destination. For example, a cyclist planning to go straight through an intersection should avoid getting stuck in a right-turn-only lane, where it is easy to get clobbered by a right-turning car; a cyclist in a through-traffic lane may get a few surprised looks but will probably not get hit. Choosing the correct lane and position often involves taking the lane when the lane is not wide enough for a car and a bike side by side. Between intersections move away from the curb based on speed relative to other traffic and effective lane width.