Bklyn

Riding to work, I was bumped by a car drifting left with no warning. Actually made leg-to-quarter-panel contact. It was a low-speed situation; I was able to pull away. But then a few blocks later, a cab tried to ride me into the gutter. Then a bus, impatient with a stopped truck in his way, cut me off in the bike lane to get around!
I'm used to being cut off, but not with such frequency. When I pulled level with the bus, I made eye contact and swept my arm out to indicate BIKE lane, numbskull!
And that's when I realized that I wore my hi-viz biking jacket today. First time all season. I nearly blinded myself waving at the busdriver. How could they not see me?

squegeeboo

Dude, wheres that sweet jacket from?

Also, glad to hear you didn't wipe out from the brush

jeff-o

Heh, like moths to a flame, eh?

nick burns

It never fails that I seem to get noticed less when I wear my brighest clothing.

evblazer

maybe they can see you so well now but have a poor estimation of your speed so think they can sqeeze in.. Perhaps the jacket is a perception filter or peoples inability to see things that just make no sense.

TRaffic Jammer

Dress like a ninja ... remove your lights and you will never been messed with again. I've had the same thing happen... lit up like a christmas tree, getting cut off.

ax0n

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_fixation


Not just for two wheels anymore, eh?

jyossarian

It's like walking on a crowded street. If you stare at someone coming towards you, you'll walk right into them. If you stare past them, you'll avoid them. They were staring at your hi-viz jacket and steered right at you.

TRaffic Jammer

^^ My daughter used to do that with this big hedge when she was riding past it going to the bike path on the sidewalk. Sooo focused on avoiding it it seemed to create this weird gravity that sucked her into the hedge. She's 10 now and it doesn't happen anymore.... as for the drivers' excuse...i have no idea.

brainsan

I guess you are right. I had both my 600L and 140R in high frequency blinking mode during the morning commute for the first time today. I guess it is too painful to stare at me. I had 0 cut off and the ones who pass me seem to give me more room than normal. In several cases, instead of squeezing through as usual, they go all the way across the double yellow line to pass. I only get honked at once. I was preparing to stop to wait for a truck to complete its left turn (from opposite direction) in front of me after I got off the Manhattan bridge. I was blocked by the truck but this woman in a large SUV (why always SUV's!!!) honked at me for blocking her. Duh! I have nowhere to go but wait. I looked back and she stared right past me

JoebikerLa

maybe it's something about today. I had several close encounters including someone pulling out in front of me. I wear one of those highway worker high vis reflective, neon yellow vests. No excuse for not seeing me.

BarracksSi

My dad once took a friend of his from work to teach him how to ride a bike (his friend grew up on a hilly street and, somehow, never learned to ride as a kid).

They went to one of the largest parking lots in town, and the guy almost got the hang of balancing & pedaling.

But, he did the same thing as your daughter -- he started focusing on this lone light pole. There wasn't another obstacle within at least fifty yards, but he just rode straight into the thing.

"Turn! Turn!" "I can't!!"

Percist

It's not about the jacket. I wear the same one with little incident.

Take the lane, or at least more of it.

Bklyn

Dead-center isn't taking enough lane? Maybe I could concoct some apparatus to have the cars respect me — add a couple wheels, a steel exoskeleton, some kind of internal-combustion engine, a horn...

jyossarian

Nah, just add those orange flag things that stick out to your bike. Put on two of them to make your bike 5' wide. Also put a reflective triangle on the back.

TRaffic Jammer

^and sharp tungsten steel tips on the end of the little orange flags^... mmm *steel on steel sound*