To see you, first you have to want to be seen.

Back after being busy for a few years - so as a reminder:

The purpose of driving is to transport you and your passengers to your destination safely and efficiently, and to help other drivers do the same. 

One complaint I hear is that "that &*^% driver never saw me."

Then I thought, what are you doing to be seen?

If you are a motorcyclist, you need to drive with your headlight on and be aware that another driver may not see you, especially when coming head on.  The profile of a motorcycle is small compared to a car.  Maybe swerving slightly when coming to an intersection and wearing reflective, bright colored clothing will help.

But what do you do in a car?  If you do not have daylight running lights, or they are not turned on, you can drive with the low beams on.  Park your car in a safe location and walk 200 feet in front and look at your car.  Does it blend in with the surroundings or does it stand out?  That black paint and black grill really looked cool in the showroom, but how does it show up on the road?

If someone pulls out in front of you, how fast were YOU going?  It is hard to judge a car's speed when they are coming directly at you.  If the person is expecting someone to be coming at 30 mph, 60 might not look too different but the closing speed is enormous.

For people who are behind you, are you putting your car in a position where they cannot see around you?  If you see a person slowing down to make a left turn, moving to the right so the person behind you can see the car in front might be the difference in you getting hit. If you are tailgating, even if the person behind you is maintaining a safe distance, you still open yourself up to being rear ended if the first car stops suddenly.

There are other circumstances where you can make yourself better seen.  We will cover them in later posts.