Just a note on the "everyone will hate you and try to kill you if you take up the lane" theory. My 500 miles touring on a recumbent trike did not bear this out. If anything, it was nice how I was never crowded over--not once. That included riding down a major highway (went down the whole Salinas valley because Hwy 1 was busy being on fire) for a big chunk of the ride, lots of in-city riding, etc. I felt much safer because I never feared falling over.

As for visibility, I put some orange reflective tape on my front fenders--big visual cue about my vehicle's width. Also got an extra flag so I was running one out of each pipe of my seat frame. I got compliments on my visibility. I also got a lot of "where'd you get that?"

I agree that being a curiosity seems to enhance safety. Others experience may be different of course, but my experience on the trike was that it was at least as safe as a regular bike, if not safer.

But yeah. Slow (though not by that much), heavy, and most of all, freakin' huge. It's broken down in parts in my storage room, waiting for another tour--in the city, for my commute, I use a couple of different diamond-frames.