Get a headlight

If you're riding at night, you should absolutely use a front headlight. Even for daytime riding, a bright white light that has a flashing mode can make you more visible to motorists. LED headlights last ten times as long on a set of batteries as old-style lights.

Ride a Straight Line

You might be tempted to ride in the parking lane where there are no parked cars, dipping back into the traffic lane when you encounter a parked car. This puts you at risk for getting nailed from behind. Instead, ride a steady, straight line in the traffic lane.

Don’t move left without looking first

Some motorists like to pass cyclists within mere inches, so moving even a tiny bit to the left unexpectedly could put you in the path of a car. Practice holding a straight line while looking over your shoulder until you can do it perfectly. Most new cyclists tend to move left when they look behind them, which of course can be disastrous.

Avoid Car Doors

Ride far enough to the left that you won't run into any door that's opened unexpectedly. You may be wary about riding so far into the lane that cars can't pass you easily, but you're MUCH more likely to get doored by a parked car if you ride too close to it than you are to get hit from behind by a car which can clearly see you.

Take a Can-Bike safety course

CAN-BIKE Courses teach riding skills, traffic analysis skills, and collision avoidance techniques. (www.bicycle.ns.ca/education/)