Originally Posted by
Machka
Which brings up a good point. Reflective gear should be plastered across your butt. We tend to wear reflective and bright vests in dim or dark situations, but they don't really do much good because we're leaning forward on the bicycle and headlights aren't going to light them up very much.
At a longer range, elevated reflective gear does make some sense -- it's visible in the upper spread of headlight beams, visible over lower cars, visible despite changes in grade that might obstruct your tail light or fenders.
But up close, more-elevated reflective gear is outside its effective angle. Compare the reflective backpack flap and helmet trim in these two photos -- the first at about 120 foot range, the second at about 30 foot range.
Conspicuity 3 by
joshua_putnam, on Flickr
Rainy Day Conspicuity - Rear by
joshua_putnam, on Flickr