Originally Posted by
jawnn
At 40mph a car moves 880ft in 15 seconds! I was almost ran down by someone in a lizard brain trance on dark winter day. I had flags and even a slow moving vehicle sign on the back of my recumbent trike. They did not see me until I moved to get off the road, then this person swerved around me so hard they almost lost control of the car.
After that I started thinking about how bicycle tail lights are not noticeable at 800 ft in the daylight even if it is foggy. So eventually I got this truck tail light and found a battery pack on Amazon, very cheap. I am thinking about putting an LED light strip on my bike to use at night because this tail light is too bright for night use.
I hooked it up with a LED flasher so they really notice me.
I think the issue is that you're riding a recumbent bike. Most of the ones I've seen are really low to the ground. Add to that fact that most people are not used to seeing these on a regular basis. Even with a flag you're not going to be real visible from the rear AND in certain situations ( like heavy traffic ) traffic might not even be able to see you, period.
If it were me and I had to ride a recumbent I would be thinking about mounting a thin metal pole on the rear of the bike strong enough to support some really bright daytime flashing lights and high enough to get them noticed ( about six feet should do it )
Even with the best solutions you can come up with you are still going to get the occasional jerk-wad.