There is no easy step: It requires to "use your brain"

Joseph's reply was brilliant,

I often find myself riding and breaking the rules too, but, yet the goal is to avoid accidents, which is a great point Joseph makes here below...

Although your goals are laudable, I can't help but feel the goal of
getting drivers to be more aware is the tail wagging the dog.

Cyclists have to make room, be more visible. In short, they have to be
proactive about their own safety: expecting drivers to look out for them
is a recipe for disaster.

Driver awareness (or lack thereof) of cyclists (and most other things)
are learned behaviours that turn into habits. If the interaction of
drivers and cyclists are rare owing to the sparsity of cyclists, human
nature will eventually take over and drivers will no longer consider
the existence of cyclists.

Vancouver is better in this regard as cycle commuters are more prevalent,
but we have not achieved a level of awareness as other places where
cycling is the main mode of travel.

This is one of the reasons I don't like residential bike paths: they
shunt cyclists off of to less visible "tourist" routes.

*How to be a better and safer cyclist in one easy step?*

1- Just follow the road rules

Blindly doing this will get you killed. All the mishaps I've been in
had me on the correct side of the law. In retrospect, if not following
the rules would increase my safety, I would do it.

I am not advocating rule breaking: most of them make sense and ought to
be followed. But the goal here is avoiding accidents, and that requires

- a recognition of danger

This comes with experience or a naturally wary nature.
Entering intersections, riding in confined spaces,
riding in poor visibility or marginal traction siutations
should all be warning signals. It is a required element to
exercise ...

- anticipatory skills

If you try to react, it's too late. Eventually, you
will not have enough time. It's better to anticipate
adverse events, and ride accordingly and defensively.

It is perhaps an irony that I sometimes ride aggressively
in traffic, which on the surface, seems contradictory.
But riding aggressively requires me to be aware: I am
actively thinking about possible outcomes and how
to deal with it. I ride aggressively to take (rather
than be given) my proper place, not for the adrenaline rush.

On the flip side, cyclists need to help other road users to be aware of you.

- being predictable.

This, I deem, to be the main advantage of following the rules.
It allows other road users to anticipate what you are going
to do. Not following established rules confuses other road
users, causing them to react in bizarre ways, sometimes to
a cyclist's detriment.

This is also why I like vehicular commuter routes: drivers
are more predictable, unlike residential neighbourhoods where
stop signs are more frequently jumped than respected. This
is weighed against congestion or higher speeds or other factors.

- being visible.

Other road users can't "do the right thing" if you're invisible.
Lights, bells, yells, reflective strips, bright clothing,
lane placement all contribute to helping drivers be aware
of you.

How to be a better and safer cyclist in one easy step? There is no
easy step. It requires an awareness that is not easily explained.
And even then, there are no guarantees. If you want to package it up
into a trite rule, "use your brain". But this is analogous to explaining
how to win an Olympic medal as "run faster than everyone".

Joseph Tam