Some people use reflective tapes etc. on their pedals or legs at night so they can be identified as a bike on the road to avoid being hit by cars. My question is, what if your reflective stuffs or lights etc just make you look like some moving objects, doesn't have to be recognized as a bike--for example some drivers may think, from distance, that you are a car... Wouldn't that be better? If they think you are a car, they will even be more careful not to hit you and will give you more room . On the other hand, some evil drivers deliberately try and hit cyclists out of hatred or whatever. So identifying yourself as a cyclist on the road among the cars may not do good (comparing to being mistaken as a motor vehicle, that is).

Thoughts and comments?

I'm not sure whether you're serious or not, but how exactly do you plan to make a bicycle look like a car, at any time? Consider the size difference for a start.

I don't "plan" to look like a car, but if I don't use a light or reflective band on wheels or pedals, what drives will see from distance will be some moving object (the light is moving). In distance they can't tell if it's a bike or a car. I was just wondering if some people want to be identified especially as a bike as opposed to a car (rather than opposed to, say a still object with a light).

I don't care if they mistake me for their aunt Shirley; as long as they see me. That is why I light myself up like a Christmas tree. Assuming that they're not a sociopath, it should trigger some sort of being-careful type response.

+1

I'm on team Christmas tree.

And as soon as they get close to you, they'll realise your on a bicycle and just do whatever they were going to do anyway. With that in mind, I'll settle for just being seen, like the others in this thread.

I want to be identified as a bike so that drivers know that I'm not going to be going 30mph+ and therefore they should slow down. Doesn't always work, but it is a start. +1 for just wanting to be noticed too.

If they think the moving light is a car then they're likely to also think that I'm farther away than I really am - and probably moving at about the same speed that they are. And if they think I'm some other kind of light, say on a road sign or business, then they'd expect it to be off the edge of the road.

Either way they wouldn't prepare for the need to pass me at a safe distance. So I'd rather have following drivers know in advance that there's a bike up ahead and not be surprised at the last moment.

I want to look like a tractor trailer rig.

The brain will try to make sense of the signals it gets from the eyes. The sooner this happens, the quicker the brain can decide on the correct action. To delay this process is not a good idea.

I wanna be an UFO

+1 lol

As much visibility as possible, and I would like to be seen as a slow moving object from as far away as possible. Blinking lights front and back, and a construction worker vest do the trick for me.

There are ways....

Well stated. For example, if I'm riding south on Highway 195 out of Spokane, I soon arrive at the Cheney-Spokane Road exit. Half the traffic wants to take the exit. The other half wants to go straight, and so do I. They're going 55mph+, so I want them to get the right idea from as far away as practical, so they have time to plan ahead. Especially when it's wet, snowy or icy.

My adage is to be as visible as possible and assume nobody sees you.

I'm still running an old-school HID light, which cannot be easily flicked on and off like the LED headlights today.

Last night on the way home this became a minor issue, as I needed to turn left in a quiet residential street. A car at stop sign was emerging from this same street intending to turn left. If I could have just flicked the light off and gone stealth, she would never have noticed me and pulled out, and I could quietly gone behind her and flicked the light back on.

But instead, she sees my HID moto-wanna-be light and hits the brakes, then I have to turn across her path in front of her while she slowly rolls forward (they all do that) since there is no way in hell she could see my arm signals behind the beam at night.

It wasn't dangerous, but it was not my preference either.

That is all.

The only surefire way to get people to slow down would be flashing red and blue lights on the back of your bike, which is almost certainly illegal everywhere.

In such cases I get stubborn. If they have the right of way, they'd better take it or we will both be waiting for a long time. I will not tolerate such "Nanny Driving" from motorists.

Sweet, I could haul those college kids to the HS classrooms for work in this. LOL I would even get paid mileage. To the bike cave!!!

She didn't have ROW, as I had no stop sign. The situation you describe is also common, though.

If you must jump to such cynical conclusions, consider how wearing lights, reflectors, bright colors, etc. will look to the jury & judge at the hypothetical evil motorist's trial.
Making yourself visible also makes you more visible to possible witnesses of the deliberate act.

Meh. Three of the last four times a car has made contact with me were deliberate run-me-off-the-road types. Not serious enough to be called "getting hit by a car" really, but not accidental.

I've also had a hostile motorist tell me that all my reflective tape and lights "proved" I set out intending to "block a lane".

But these guys were quacks. I think the majority of motorist interactions benefit heavily from increased visibility.