I think the rules of the road everywhere I’ve lived in the US (New Orleans, Los Angeles, Boston, and Seattle) has encouraged cyclists taking a lane rather than riding on the shoulder. I’ve seen more and more bike signs right in the middle of the right lane of traffic, too.
That said once night falls I usually adopt the attitude of “assume cars will try to kill me if they see me” and avoid them as much as possible by keeping to back roads and being extra paranoid when I have to cross major streets, despite having extra lights on my bike.
That said once night falls I usually adopt the attitude of “assume cars will try to kill me if they see me” and avoid them as much as possible by keeping to back roads and being extra paranoid when I have to cross major streets, despite having extra lights on my bike.