In rec.bicycles.misc Claire Petersky wrote:

Elisa, I've done this too -- while driving in the dark and passing a
pedestrian or a cyclist, made a note of what it is that I see first.
Usually it's some sort of reflective clothing. snip

I have often done this as well. The things I notice most often are
spoke and pedal reflectors. I'm sure that's because of the way they move.
The things I am least likely to notice are dark clothing and fixed
reflectors. I'm not sure I have EVER had my eye caught by one of those
useless front reflectors.
A few weeks back I was riding on one of the darker stretches of my
early morning commute, and suddenly there was a pedestrian in the street
squarely in front of me. He was dressed in dark clothing, crossing away
from the crosswalk. I saw him in time to lean the bike a bit and pass
behind him, but I don't think he even knew I was on the same planet with
him. Most likely he was listening for cars instead of looking for
traffic, in which case he'd have seen my headlights.) I couldn't resist
giving him a friendly toot on my marine air horn. He jumped so much I
could hear the stuff in his backpack go "whoomp."
Of the four main visibility items (brightly colored clothing,
reflective clothing, reflectors, and lights) my definite preference for
night riding is all four, (except that I took off my front reflector to
make room for my headlight).


Bill

--------------------------------------------
| As long as people believe in absurdities |
| they will continue to commit atrocities. |
| --Voltaire |
--------------------------------------------