I agree with the guys who say that you can be "invisible" in any car. There are just too many idiot drivers out there. I will take note that the truck that cut you off my have known that a cop was ahead and tried to slow you down. That's happened to me before on a road trip. We gave each other a thumbs up after the cop passed. You shouldn't worry about truck drivers, as that is their professional jobs, being drivers, and having lots of miles under their belts. Now the soccer mom on her cell phone with McDonalds in the front seat and kids in the back, those are the ones to look out for.

 

Two thoughts to add:

(1) Some months ago I struck on an idea re how to get the attention of a distracted driver. I was being followed from signal to signal by a lady who was looking down at her Blackberry in lap, sometimes getting too close to me, sometimes hanging back. It was driving me nuts as I kept an eye on her in my mirror. So, I honked my horn at nothing in particular, and she looked up and around her trying to figure out what she'd missed. Sort of worked - I hadn't before ever thought of honking at a car behind me.

(2) I am surprised to hear silver is high visibility. In Britain motorcyclists often wear neon yellow high visibility jackets or vests. What would be the equivalent for a car beyond putting on the lights? Remember how some sports cars used to have reverse video branding across the top of the windshield or rear window? Still common on race cars. Perhaps a decal in a contrasting color would make a dull colored car more noticeable, such as in red for a silver car or yellow on a black car. But how to do it without looking too bling and messing with the look of the car. ...

 

I may be jaundiced, but I think the issue is no matter what you drive, a large percentage of the drivers around you won't see you for many reasons. Among them (and in no particular order):

1. Poorly adjusted outside rear view mirrors. They're likely swung too far in and/or too high trying to use them to see down the lanes instead of picking up vehicles that are along side. Especially SUV's--they have mirrors the size of dinner plates, and drivers complain about "blind spots" which really aren't blind if you know how to properly adjust mirrors.
2. Zero awareness of anything that is not right in front of their nose. They look right at the bumper of the car immediately in front of them, and with tunnel vision, they see nothing on the periphery and forget to look when changing lanes.
3. Too busy doing everything but driving their car--texting, eating, reading books, talking on the cell phone ect...
4. Just plain bad drivers.
5. Drivers who back up without looking or only looking in the poorly adjusted mirrors.

All of that said, I have the DRL's activated on my Porsche because I want to be seen or at least maximize my chances of being seen, and I try not to hang out in another vehicle's "blind spot".

And yes, the blessed Saint of Deceleration and good brakes, has saved my car from being crunched.

Finally, there's also the nice car paranoia--it's worse when I'm driving my 67 Corvette, which ironically is almost the same length and height as my 997 and a similar color (997 is Azurro California Blue and Corvette is Marina Blue).

I swear that Corvette is invisible or other drivers are just plain dumb. Here's a hint--I'm driving a 44 year old car. You may not want to pull out directly in front of me, because it does stop like a 44 year old car that's equipped with manual brakes.

 

Another worry: If I hit my brakes hard, I may be rear-ended by a car with lesser brakes (and in a 911 that's expensive.)

 

Very well stated! The AAA and local DMVs should take periodic full page ads hammering those points.

 

Yes. Tailgating is a national epidemic. When someone tailgates me I turn on the emergency blinkers; it usually helps.

 

If the guy in the F150 couldn't see the Italia driver's bright yellow Ferrari t-shirt there is no hope.

Sorry, but I am tempted to chalk that particular accident up to douche karma.

 

Come on! Let people live a little.

 

Wow, just because you don't like the guy's shirt? That's cold...

Personally, I didn't see the Ferrari driver do anything douchey, completely unlike the guy shooting the video that acted like it was perfectly normal to question the guy with the two-week-old totalled Ferrari on video while he was trying to talk on the phone.

 

Chalk it up to petty jealousy on my part (I love the Italia), but something about wearing a Ferrari shirt while driving your Ferrari strikes me as slightly douchey.

My apologies to all Porsche shirt/hat wearers out there! To each their own of course, I'm just exercising my sarcasm a bit, and in general I should not be taken seriously!