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Bicycles are legally “traffic”, in the sense that they must follow traffic rules and be treated as such by other traffic. That means that you have the right to be on any road unless specifically prohibited (like the Interstate). That also means that cars must yield to you and pass you as they would another car. Will they actually do so? Most of the time, yes. It’s those few motorists who are distracted or malicious enough to ignore your right to be in traffic that you have to worry about. Avoid being hit in the first place by knowing your rights but accepting reality. Making yourself VISIBLE and PREDICTABLE will help even the most spaced-out driver see you more often.

Choose your route wisely and use streets with lower speed limits in neighborhoods; drivers are more used to seeing cyclists on streets like these.
Ride with traffic! People do NOT expect to see you coming at them and you are more likely to be hit with killing force in a head-on accident.
Don’t ride on the sidewalk—you are far less visible to people pulling into/out of driveways, parking lots, and side streets and you are a danger to pedestrians. You also do not have the legal right to ride your bicycle on the sidewalk.
The law requires you to have reflectors on the front, back and sides of your bike. To ride at night, you must have a rear-facing red light and a forward-facing white light. Make yourself even more visible with a helmet light which you can point at cars to ensure they see you; add reflective clothing or tape and flashing lights and you will notice that cars give you a wide berth.
Just as lights and reflectors alert drivers to your presence, so does sound. A bell, a horn, a whistle, or even a shouted, “Hey!” is a great way to get attention.
Use your hand-signals. Just like drivers who use their turn signals, you will be more predictable if you point to where you’re going. Make sure cars see your hand signals by grabbing their attention with a little “flare”: waving your arm, motioning dramatically, or tapping the top of your helmet. Eye contact adds emphasis.
Don’t ride on the extreme right of your lane, in the gutter, or on the shoulder. Riding more toward the middle of your lane makes you more visible to people pulling out of side streets, driveways, and parking lots. This practice also lessens the risk of getting hit by the opening driver’s-side door of a parallel-parked car. And it forces drivers to use the other lane instead of trying to “share” the lane as they pass you (i.e., knocking you into the ditch with their side-mirror). Remember, cars legally must treat you as the slow-moving vehicle you are, and wait till there is an opportunity to pass you safely. If this worries you, remember that cars coming from behind can see you much more easily than anyone else.
On that note, don’t ever move left without looking over your shoulder to the left first. That’s where the really quiet cars passing you by mere inches love to hide. Learn to look without swerving.
Never, never pass anything on the right, even cars stopped at a stoplight. If you must pass a slow-moving car, stay directly behind the car until it is safe to pass on the left. If you must pass a bicyclist or pedestrian, say “On your left!” loudly a couple of seconds before you pass them. No one looks behind and to their right before making a right-hand turn, and passengers exiting vehicles at a stoplight have clobbered more than a few impatient cyclists.
It should go without saying that riding helmet-less or listening to your iPod while biking are two of the quickest ways to get hurt. However, judging by the number of people we’ve seen who disregard these common-sense guidelines, we thought we’d better mention them.
Even though you have the legal rights we mention above, it’s sometimes wise to give up those rights for safety’s sake. If you don’t feel comfortable making a turn or crossing a certain busy intersection, hop off your bike and become a pedestrian for a few minutes. Slow down and yield to cars you feel aren’t paying adequate attention. Don’t forget that though you may be right, you might end up being dead right.

Pedestrian Safety

Use sidewalks or paths; if none are available, walk facing traffic on the left side of the road so you can avoid oncoming cars and bikes.
Use crosswalks to cross the street; jaywalking is the cause of most pedestrian accidents.
Make yourself visible with reflective, light-colored clothing and flashing lights. Make sure raingear doesn’t interfere with your ability to be seen.
Check all lanes of traffic before crossing a street—pause at the curb and look left, right, and left again. This will also make drivers aware of your intention to cross the street.
Be aware of being in a driver’s blind spot—a dangerous place to be.