Originally Posted by
catonec
I hate to tell you this but the guy who almost hit you just wasnt paying attention. You already have 3 lights on your bike. if he didnt see those, then he wasnt looking at you anyway. dont waste your cash on more plastic swag just ride more offensively.
I don't know the specifics of the incident the OP describes, but I would like to relate my own experience here. I drive my son to the bus stop at 6:30AM, right before I get on my bike for my 12.5 mile bike commute. There are lots of bike commuters in my neighborhood and I assure you that, as one of them, I am very vigilant. I have had 2 near misses with cyclists in the last 3 months. 1 was a guy with no lights at all, we all know that is a bad idea. The 2nd was someone crossing an intersection as I was turning left. A car coming the opposite direction had just passed through the intersection. She had headlights and taillights, but I was looking at her from the side. In the midst of all the other lights from cars, streetlights etc. her headlight was indistinct. I am certain that if she had bright lights in her wheels or along the side of her bike I would have seen her. Remember that drivers confront a very wide dynamic range of illumination, if you have just driven past oncoming headlights and are now in near darkness, it can be easy to miss an oblique or dim light.
FWIW I am now getting illuminated spoke lights and maybe some EL wire for the fork.