Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I have seen photos on this forum with people that have a pool noodle that extends several feet into the traffic lane, but that becomes a different kind of hazard, as you have essentially become a portable lane closure and traffic from behind take extra risks to get around you in light traffic, in heavy traffic you could cause some cars to rear end each other. Plus, that also can contribute to road rage which doe nobody any good.
I don't dispute that at all. I've never done the pool noodle myself because in MUPs and bike lanes, that will hinder other cyclists trying to go around me as well as pedestrians getting out of the way.
There is no easy solution. Lights and reflectors are the most effective but you still get that 1% (or so) of motorists who still didn't see you or just don't care. Maybe instead of red taillights, have flashing blue. From far away, blue registers as a service vehicle and motorists will prepare to change lanes. There are too many kinds of red lights. It just confuses drivers for filtering what are real concerns from what is visual noise.