Sure they do, especially if you're riding in a bike lane like I am 90% of the time when I'm on the road. It prevents a right hook because cars see you from well back, slow down, and give you the right of way and treat you like a car. I have personally seen what a difference a bright rear light makes. Cars give you much more room when they pass and they slow down and get behind you near intersections. Without a rear light they're much more likely go around you and try to beat you to the intersection increasing the chance of a right hook IME.

I JRA in a small Town .. put Wired hub dynamo lights on the bike, Just never turn them off .

Passing within the lane is only safe if it's a WIDE lane, and I'm talking at least 15-16 feet wide. A standard 10-11 foot lane is NOT safe to share side-by-side with a motor vehicle, ever. That's why I ride lane center or left tire track at all times (except in the rare cases of a wide lane) - it encourages full lane change passing. 99.9% of the time that's what I get.

Of course it depends on the situation. For example, this is perfectly safe in a 11 foot lane:



When there's no room for safe passing, I also prefer to take the lane and make sure they use the other lane to pass me.

Riding in the gutter is not an option for me. No way, no how. Way too many hazards to deal with that close to the curb. 3 feet is the minimum I'll get to the curb, plus min. 2 to 2.5 feet to the left of my tires (2-foot total width of me on bike, plus "wobble" operating space = 4-5 feet total operating width), plus 3 foot minimum required clearance by law, plus about 7 feet total width for most cars mirror-to-mirror. That's about 14.5 to 15 feet.

Also that stripe design pictured is downright stupid. The car cannot operate without either encroaching into the bike lane or hanging out over the center line.

Each to their own. In a street like in the picture, I wouldn't mind moving over like she did to let the cars go past. While on a wider lane if cars are parked to the side of the road, with possibility of pulling in as I approach, I'd take the lane just to be sure I'm away from them and have manouvering space.

The pass in the picture is as safe as it gets IMO. When taking the lane, cars move over to the other lane and pass closer to me than that one in the picture. Sometimes deliberately as close as they can because I've slowed them down.

I try to read the situation and adapt, so that neither I'm in danger, nor are drivers slowed down by my bike more than it's necessary. For the last 30 years, got a habit not to move an inch to the left without checking over my shoulder and that's turned out to be the most important safety habit of all.

There was a study done some years ago by a couple of LAB instructors where they made hundreds of passes through the same stretch of road, starting at the gutter, and moving farther left by 1 foot increments in successive passes. What they found is that when you move just a few feet out from the gutter, motorists still think they can squeeze by and they end up passing you with less clearance. But when you get even farther out, towards the center of the lane, suddenly motorists tend to change lanes to pass because it's clear from much farther back that a lane change is required to safely pass.

I generally ride near the left edge of the green zone shown on the right side of this diagram (a bit farther left than the cyclist shown), 2 1/2 years later and it has worked wonderfully for me:

That's fine in a perfect world. I rode in the north of Italy where there is one meter of nice clean pavement to right side of the driving lane - like extra space. No big kerb, or drain shafts, but one extra meter of nice clean pavement. Like an extra bike lane.

The opposite side is a road I often use where there is a tall kerb right on the edge of the right lane, with lots of potholes and drain holes in the right side of the lane. Those are two extremes.

If I stuck to the right picture style of riding all the time, where I live, a driver would get out of the car to strangle me. Common sense and courtesy go a long way. Where there is room, I'm glad to move to the right side and let the cars go past. In addition to that drivers in my country almost NEVER give you more then one foot of room when passing you, regardless of the position in the lane you take.

Every little bit helps with regard to visibility. Besides, some taillights are bright enough to be highly visible in daylight, like my Dinotte. I also ride on a lot of shaded streets, and my taillights show up very well in the shade, even on sunny days.