Is there something different about this bike that makes it less visible???

[Reckless]

A Posts

As we ride down a main road, if the circumstances are right like our back drop and the angle of the main road to an approaching side road, we can find our selves riding on a straight line that extends from a fixed point behind us directly into the eye of a waiting driver in a side road ahead. Our bike will appear motionless, and will not appear to increase in size until the very last second. The driver in the side road is searching for movement on the road, objects moving against a background, and when we're on this straight line path, the car driver may quite simply, just not see us.
[/B]

This is a very important observation - having spent 30 odd years flying aeroplanes at very high speed, you quickly come to realise that the greatest danger to you is the object in th ecanopy that is NOT moving. Consequently, they are very hard to detect as there is no relative motion - nothing shifts till it is too late!! Moving your head around to use peripheral vision can help as this detects motion much better than a focussed look.

I must say that I tend to fall into the "treat everyone on the road as an idiot" camp - you are definitely not always right but, having done what you can to mitigate any potential problems, you are in a good position for the day when you are absolutely right! Its your life and bike so take responsibility and defuse potentially dangerous situations - don't rely on the other guy!