Calgary-More downtime. Heading east tomorrow

Thought I'd expand on my flippant pink helmet remark from the last post.
I wear one for visibility and for fun. I've found motorists are perhaps more deferential, but recently heard another woman's unpleasant pink helmet experience.
Our friend Ruth has ridden all her life and owns a Honda 1300 VTX. I know her to be a responsible and experienced rider.
She warned me not to wear my pink helmet "in the city" aka Vancouver as she had been forced off the road during a merge on Hwy #1, her bike knocked down. Her perception was that she had been targeted.
When we made our recent stop in Vancouver, I was riding abit behind Grant having lost him at a left hand turn. I was riding in the A position near the center line on a two lane road down a steep hill approaching a busy intersection. I was doing the speed limit but no more and was passed on the inside by a motorist who used an opening in the curb lane resident parking to get by. It was unexpected, unnecessary & dangerous. In any case, the driver was an idiot, his car in a state of disrepair. Perhaps he would have done the same manoeuvre if I had been wearing my white helmet. Being an old girl, I try and always ride defensively.
Gib and I are big on visibility. He wears a fluorescent orange jacket that our friends say shows up on Google Earth. My jacket is white with reflective detailing.
They both have removable waterproof liners so they are comfortably cool in hot weather while still offering armoured protection.
Gone are the days of our youth when we rode around in tank tops and flip flops!