I’d argue that riding in the middle of the road is an assertive move, not an aggressive one and it really should only be done under specific circumstances, say for example when a right hand turn is round the next blind bend. But I wouldn’t agree it makes you more visible normally, it certainly makes you more annoying. I very much doubt cyclists are constantly being knocked off their bikes riding along a straight road, my experience tells me it’s junctions where you have to watch out for ****.
mintimperial, try this site.http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/cycling/stats-uk/. He’s not an authorative source but he does reference where he gets the stats from.
Again, my own experience tells me than in particular, in the last five years, driver attitudes to cyclists have improved dramatically. Yes there’s still the occasional idiot but on the whole, more room, more sense, less stupid overtaking before junctions, less looking you right in the eye and pulling out. And the more people ride bikes, the more chance a driver will know someone who cycles and I expect conversations with those people changes their attitudes.
One guy across the road hated cyclists, hated them. And he let me know about it too. But gentle explanations, little comments, exposure to an opposing viewpoint rather than his sycophantic mates definately turned that around. I doubt you’ll see him on a critical mass ride any time soon but he has admitted that there is a place for bikes on our roads.
At least if he comes across a cyclist meandering along in the middle of the road for no apparent reason, he might actually stop to think about the circumstances rather than blindly flooring it past and filling up his jug of hate.
Without that awareness and education he’s never going to understand it.