I started to read the comments and i lost the will to go on after a while , the same old responses from drivers and as usual they get crushed by the truth and they still come back for more.
Until any government decide to treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves and the police act upon it then we will not see any change.
I felt the same, is it a British trait or a human one to try to lay the blame anywhere but at oneself.
Even from a cyclists point of view, there are no definitive answers. We've all had close calls when using lights and or highviz. Does it mean they are useless...of course not. Will they guarantee your safety...of course not.
Some of the other points...
Do drivers see a cyclist as more competent if he's got lights/highviz, and accordingly pass closer based on those fact...some will, some won't.
Does wearing highviz 'blend' you into the background..in some rare cases (IMO) it could, generally i believe (IMO)its impossible to say it makes you LESS visible. You'd have to be blind not to see it.
The theory of insurance companies reducing compensation because the victim contributed by not wearing a helmet or highviz...does that REALLY exist, or is it a fictional, imaginary, percieved arguement put forward to bolster their bias.
And so on...and so on. There are NO definitive answers, the myriad of possible conditions on the road make it impossible to ensure a driver IS concentrating enough to see you.
Funnily enough, i saw a cyclist the other morning wearing highviz, but no lights. The point at which i actually did see him, the highviz made virtually NO difference, but then it was a dirty highviz. Does that make me think highviz is useless...no. Just in his case, it was a bit pointless. As said somewhere before, (apologies to the contributor) i sometimes wear highviz 'flapping' around, in the belief it makes it a larger visible area. BUT the reflectives are then usually facing behind, so anyone in front will have a smaller chance of seeing it.
Part of me can't even be bothered with this kind of subject because we're all looking for a utopian answer that doesn't exist. And yet, if we all thought like i am thinking right now, nothing would ever improve. Its the blindly blaming everyone else (and sometimes succeeding) that really gets my goat.