Originally Posted by
mooncountry
My mother -- who does insurance for a living -- sent me an ultra-high-vis vest a few months ago and I in my totally biased, anecdotal opinion, think drivers have been slightly better about giving me room when they pass and not just buzzing me. That said, high visibility does nothing for me when dinguses lay the horn on and tell me to move over and get out of their lane. When I'm all the way in the right lane, just about in the gutter, there's only so much moving over I can do. In those cases, though, I usually just yell something about my legal right to take the whole lane if I want. Not that it helps...
I think hi viz does a very good job, or at least helps out.
For winter commuting I actually have a workwear hi viz jacket with 3M stripes across the chest/back. I hope that instead of people thinking, "Man, I hate cyclists! Let me buzz the jerk not burning fossil fuels!" that they might say, "Man, that guy was filling potholes all day, now he has to ride his bike home. I like that workerman! Let me give him plenty of room. Heck, I should stop and give him a cigarette too!" I really do think the psychology at play might work in my favor. Or, they might even think I'm a bike cop and really ride cautiously around me!
(I've been a manual laborer before.)