Chris Malcolm said:Everyone thinks that if a driver failed to see you there must be
something wrong with his eyes or you need to make yourself more
strikingly visible. Those are the two least likely reasons for someone
not seeing you. The most likely reasons for you not being seen are
that the driver wasn't looking with proper attention or dozed off for
an eye-open microsleep.
A theory sometimes taught to motorcyclists is that car drivers see what
they expect to see, and that they expect to see other large box shaped
objects. The head on visual profile of a (motor) cyclist doesn't look
like what they expect to see.
Quoted message said:So keeping
an eye on things coming from behind does offer at least some
protection. IMHO a damn sight more than trying to make yourself look
conspicuous, which IMHO is a waste of time once you've done the
elementary thing of avoiding camouflaging yourself.
Conspicuity does make a difference in my experience, I ride a big
motorbike which has loads of white plastic and I wear a yellow high viz
vest. I encounter less SMIDSY incidents than other motorcyclists over
here.
My most recent SMIDSY was on the pedal bike, I was going straight ahead
climbing a steep hill, a car approached on a road to the left when I had
moved into the T junction space, the car slowed down virtually coming to
a stop, he then proceeded to turn right onto the road I was on hitting
my rear wheel with the left of his front bumper. I managed to stay on
the bike and bellowed out a "HEY!". He stopped immediately, I got off,
and confronted him. The guy got out, shocked that he hadn't seen me,
said that he had only looked to his left. But that's smack bang where I
was when he hit me. I had passed right in front of him no more than two
meters in front of his nose dressed in a reasonably conspicuous bright
blue and white jersey on a bright blue and white bike, going slowly at
about 8km/h due to the severity of the hill.
--
Membrane