Safety Tips for Noobs

• when overtaking a bus, expect peds to walk out in front of you from behind (in front) of the bus.
  
  • when rolling through stopped traffic look for gaps in the line of cars and sidestreets - often cars will be letting each other out directly into your path
    
  • don't follow other cyclists closely - you can't see what they can see, and there's unlikely to be any hand signals
    
  • expect peds to walk out in front of you if they are anywhere near the kerb. they tend to cross using their ears rather than eyes
    
    

to which I'd add -

watch peds near the side of the road, especially near obvious (not necessarily official) crossing points. slow down if it looks like they might cross, even if they ultimately don't.

riding on the outside of traffic is a good way to reduce (not eliminate) the risk of cars turning through a stopped line of cars into your path - but watch out for cars that decide they're going to drive on the wrong side of the road for a hundred yards to get to a turning.

be wary of anyone on a bike who looks like they're inexperienced or drunk - they may well swing out in front of you without looking behind.