Originally Posted by
Bald Paul
If you know a vehicle is approaching from behind, you can check your mirror to see if they are moving over to safely pass. If it looks like they aren't (or worse yet, you see them on the phone) you at least may have time to decide where you're going to go to avoid getting hit, even if that means a roadside ditch.
Trust me, the ditch is preferable. Garmin Varia radar and my mirror are my friends now.
Do you ride roads while constantly looking back to see what cars are doing behind you? That has to be mentally exhausting and a distraction in its own way.
The Varia is interesting, but for the most part I really dont care what cars are doing behind me. I need to be visible and ride consistent so that they can see me and know when its safe to pass. Im not sure how beneficial it is for me to know that a car is behind me.
The one area where I think I could benefit from a Varia is, ironically enough, low trafficked roads. I sometimes ride in the middle or even left side of gravel roads, if the surface conditions on the right are too poor. I cant hear a car approaching when im on gravel, so the Varia could help me know to move over to one side to allow approaching cars to pass.