Sandra, you are not alone!
I was hit from behind on a road at night (when lit up like a xmas tree) by a driver who claimed he hadn't seen me. I was also nervous getting back on the road. While you often hear the advice "just get back on the bike" I don't think it's quite simple. Being hit really drives home the point that ultimately, on a bicycle, you are horribly exposed -something you have to accept.
So what did I do? I changed my route to avoid the road I got hit on -it was a road that I recognized wasn't a "good" road to cycle on, but 30+ years of incident free cycling and complacency got the better of me, and I thought I knew how to cycle to avoid anything (note here, it doesn't matter how much Cyclecraft you read, or how well you cycle, you do not have a magic invisible shield around you. Cycling well
only reduces the chances to being hit). As it so happens, the new route was the best thing I ever did -I didn't even know I could cut across some woods and get in some off road stuff in on the way to work, as well as avoid this nasty bit of road. My commute is so much nicer and more enjoyable now....
It may be the RAB you refer to is pretty safe -though visibility at night in the rain would certainly be a cause of concern for me! As other people have said, you seem to have the following options (aside from reassessing whether you did anything wrong or if you could have done something better):
- keep on doing what you are doing and see if you get more comfortable
- walk around a hazard or simply wait until there is no traffic to be seen to cycle through (absolutely no shame in doing that)
- change your behaviour for the conditions (i.e. cycle the RAB in daylight, but not at night in the rain, or take the car/bus/whatever if you know it will be dark and raining -admittedly not always practical)
- find an alternative route if you can
Of course, you should also reassess your visibility as well (do you need better lights? Hi-viz? More reflectors? How well visible is your side profile?) or potentially consider an Airzounds as has been previously mentioned.
Sandra, good luck, it's not easy -but the good news is usually you can find a solution that makes you comfortable and as safe as you can be.