I actually feel safer in my recumbent in traffic when compared to my road bikes. It really comes down to my mirrors. With my recumbent, I have a mirror mounted to my handlebars. Being a lowracer recumbent, this means my handlebars are less than a foot from my face, and just below face level. So, it doesn't take much to glance over at the mirror to check traffic.

Here's another thing to consider when riding a bent. Almost every uninformed driver assumes you are handicapped. They somehow equate recumbents as bikes for the handicapped. And since none of them want the guilt and shame of hitting a handicapped person, they always seem to give me much more room. And I'm quite OK with that.