The only outfit associated with a significant change in mean passing proximities was the **police/video-recording jacket. **
Notably, whilst some outfits seemed to discourage motorists from passing within 1 metre of the rider, approximately 1-2% of overtakes came within 50 cm no matter what outfit was worn. This suggests there is little riders can do, by altering their appearance, to prevent the very closest overtakes
This is quite discouraging, but it seems to ring true in my experience. I’ve had quite a few drivers, who have come close to hitting me (even while walking at a crosswalk), claim that they “didn’t see me” while I wore high-viz everything and had lights to further improve visibility.
How do we, as cyclists, even deal with “driver blindness”?
Whether it’s legal or not is less of an issue, since I don’t think anyone should be riding on sidewalks on a regular basis.
It comes down to safety. I think most people will naturally choose a sidewalk when no other safe options are presented, regardless of whether it’s legal or not. This should be a red flag to city planners that the cycling infrastructure is sorely lacking!