From the perspective of a driver who really likes to spot bikes/pedestrians early and leave lots of room:
Reflectors are background noise. They're not any brighter than the rest of the stuff on the road, including lane markers, and are hard to recognize as a bike at a comfortable distance. I'll see the bike, but be very unsettled by how little time there is between recognizing it and having to react. Not useless, but close.
Tail lights are better, but they're still somewhere between a reflector and a single tiny car tail light. Can still blend into the background. Most of the ones on the road are probably garbage.
Light-up running vests like the one below are big, bright, and obvious from far away. First time I saw a jogger wearing one I went home and bought one for myself, and I wear it anytime I'm outside near a road in the dark. It's clearly visible as "large thing - give space" and the dumb lizard half of my brain immediately recognizes it at such. Plenty of time to switch lanes or slow down. No chance of the driver being surprised- by the time they pass they've been slow rolling for a quarter mile trying to get a better look at the bling.
All of the above is even better.
Nothing is going to stop every idiot on their cell phone from being an idiot, but those of us trying to spot the bikes early and leave lots of room appreciate big/bold/obvious.
[https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2](https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2)
Also, glad to hear you're doing fine. Hopefully the police follow through, or the driver was at least shook up enough to learn a lesson.
Dec. 21, 2022, 1:55 p.m. - Hi_Im_Will
From the perspective of a driver who really likes to spot bikes/pedestrians early and leave lots of room: Reflectors are background noise. They're not any brighter than the rest of the stuff on the road, including lane markers, and are hard to recognize as a bike at a comfortable distance. I'll see the bike, but be very unsettled by how little time there is between recognizing it and having to react. Not useless, but close. Tail lights are better, but they're still somewhere between a reflector and a single tiny car tail light. Can still blend into the background. Most of the ones on the road are probably garbage. Light-up running vests like the one below are big, bright, and obvious from far away. First time I saw a jogger wearing one I went home and bought one for myself, and I wear it anytime I'm outside near a road in the dark. It's clearly visible as "large thing - give space" and the dumb lizard half of my brain immediately recognizes it at such. Plenty of time to switch lanes or slow down. No chance of the driver being surprised- by the time they pass they've been slow rolling for a quarter mile trying to get a better look at the bling. All of the above is even better. Nothing is going to stop every idiot on their cell phone from being an idiot, but those of us trying to spot the bikes early and leave lots of room appreciate big/bold/obvious. [https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2](https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2) Also, glad to hear you're doing fine. Hopefully the police follow through, or the driver was at least shook up enough to learn a lesson.