The Advice “I ride like I’m invisible.”
“You have to assume they don’t see you.”
“I ride so it doesn’t matter if they see me or not.” How often does some variation of this advice come up on Internet forums? Perhaps you’ve heard it in person from a well-meaning and even experienced cyclist. I’ve even see it as official advice from time to time in articles about “bike safety”. Maybe you can tell from the language I’m using that I don’t really agree with it.
Why not?
Let’s take a few variations. “Don’t assume they see you.” That much is fine. There are very few things in life that you should assume without verification, and your visibility to other traffic, especially when on a bicycle, is not one of them. But do you see the difference between that and “Assume they don’t see you”? From that variation, it’s a short jump to “ride like you’re invisible” and “ride so it doesn’t matter if you are seen”, so let’s talk about those…
Source: commuterorlando.com
Ride like you are invisible