great thread! just wish i had seen it 5 days ago.....Ive been commuting since last april with no issues. i leave my house at 6am for a 5 mile ride. None of my route is really busy, in fact, what isn't through neighborhoods is on roads with good bike lanes. As sunrise has been getting later, my ride has been getting darker. While ive thought about changing my work schedule so i could commute in the light, the early morning ride is kind of nice and there is much less traffic. So last friday, i was pedaling along through the neighborhoods and it happened to be trash day. While i had a headlight it was more focused on the ground for potholes. i didnt even see the trash can (in salt lake they are 3.5 feet high and 2.5 feet around). There is also street parking along this road and the homeowner had placed the trash can way out in the street -beyond where the cars park-so the trash truck could get to it. To make a long story short, i ended up in the er with a "broken shoulder" and "broken elbow". I have surgery on Wednesday for the elbow and the doc says i wont be riding for three months. Needless to say i'm bummed. Not only because i wont be riding for a while but this incident has given fuel to my husband who doesn't think road riding is safe, much less commuting in the dark......

my lesson is while it is IMPERITIVE to make sure you are visible when you are on the road, you also need to be able to SEE where you are going-even when you do the same route and know it well...