Dealing with homicidal drivers I do a 35km return commute into a big city. Almost daily, someone tries to run me over. 

Just in the past month I've experienced the following:


I filter to the front of the traffic, wait at the front of the bike lane, and the car behind me who is not blocked at all, because i'm a meter over to the left into the bike lane, makes a sharp turn into my lane to deliberately drive into the back of my bicycle, while the lights are still red. I have to do an emergency takeoff and left turn through the red into a side street to get away.
cycling along a major road in the bike lane at night with bright flashing lights at the front of my bike and red light at the rear. I ride past a side street where someone is waiting to turn right, and as I'm directly in front of his car, he slams on the gas and pulls out, narrowly avoiding cleaning me up.
Going through a roundabout, in the middle of the lane, lights on, broad daylight. Following about 20m behind the car in front of me. Again, go past a side street, and the driver pulls out at full speed just as i'm going past him. Only narrowly avoid getting run over because I scream out some sort of profanity at a voice breaking volume and he backs off slightly. 


How do you deal with attempts on your life by people who are more focussed on eating their macdonalds and throwing their cigarette butts out the window than the safety of other road users?
In many cities, doing a 35 km (22 mi) commute will take you through parts of the city with different socioeconomic levels and different driver behaviors.

Cyclist behavior that works well in one part of the city can lead to road rage in another place. It's valuable to recognize this and adapt your approach at different parts of your commute.

Some years ago, my commute took me through some quiet streets of a well-to-do suburb of mostly older residents. It took a few interactions, where a driver would look right at me and then apparently try to run me down, for me to realize that they simply didn't see me. They were looking for cars. It's like These are not the 'Droids you're looking for. They are looking for cars, not bikes.

Knowing the area you're riding from, I would describe it (for other readers) as rural / urban interface. There are new developments, and little infrastructure. Roads become congested early, and stay congested late. It's also Winter here now, so it's often only half-light or dark when commuting. Because of the ongoing development there is a higher than usual number of tradesmen (tradies) driving utes (pickups for US readers) and commercial vehicles. Their focus is on getting to their current job. It's not an area where I would choose to ride.

So, either recognize the local conditions and adapt to them in a safe way, or find another route. Another route may not seem practical, but on a 35km commute, a safer route that involves a 3km detour will not be much slower (it may even be quicker), and could save you hospital time in the future. You could maybe drive a short distance to the start of your safer route.

Another change you could make is to use a helmet-mounted light. They shine where you look. So when you look, the drivers are more likely to notice you. Be careful not to get one that's too bright though. If you dazzle the driver then they actually can't see you.