> I noticed, when I stopped wearing a helmet, that drivers
> treated me less aggressively. Panniers also help, for some
> reason.
I notice that people who don't wear helmets tend to treat cycling less seriously -- they are the first to blow stop signs and weave through slow traffic; maybe what you're seeing isn't that people are being less aggressive, but that they have become afraid of you and what you might do.
You don't wear a helment; what other dumb, unsafe things are you up to?
/jordan