Originally Posted by
steelbikeguy
can't hurt... unless you get the drivers wondering what you are and end up driving into you as they just stare at you.
only partly kidding... I've had people do that when I've been riding a recumbent. I think the term is "target fixation". I had to give them a signal to get back on their side of the road.
I've also had a teenage kid nearly run me over as he stared at my tail light one night. <sigh> He hit my pannier and came back to check on me.
Be visible, and keep a close eye on the idiots around you.
Steve in Peoria
(target fixation is what killed Lieutenant Murphy in my squadron in the Marines. He pulled up too late on a bombing run and flew into the ground)
My house is on a cut through street of the subdivision. It sits in a slight bend and hill section of the street. Cars/drivers routinely ignore the 25mph posted speed and get faster during off hours. During the holiday season, I wrap my mailbox/post in Christmas lights. Because of the bend, the lighted mailbox/post appears to be in the middle of the road from either direction. Cars approaching immediately slow down when the get within a couple hundred yards. When the lights aren't there, the speeds go back up. I've thought about installing something permanent, but haven't yet.