I agree Tom. On my 5 mile commute I hardly have any stop ad go. Most times I only have to stop 3 or 4 times. For me the cleats are pure comfort. On a recumbent you cannot use your body weight to push down on the pedals. All the force has to come from the legs pushing forward. And with one of my knees occasionally flaring up and with cleats I can pull as well which helps my knees tremendously. And a small hill on a recumbent with a 20" rear wheel is feels like a mountain on bike with 700C wheels. At least it does to me when I compare the ride between my two very different bikes. So every one as he or she desires.

Good resources. I commuted for a decade in cold, wet and dreary Oregon weather. It was always about getting as many points of reflection as possible on my bike, especially in terms of lateral or sideways visibility. That included using a helmet light and something to wrap my frame with. I agree that one also has to take into account all of the factors that will cause him/her to slip, i.e. leaves, oil on the roads, etc. So many instances where if I weren't cycling defensively I would have been in trouble with a motorist who probably still couldn't see me on a wet, dark night.