Wearing Police Hi-Viz jacket?

I have been put in danger riding with and without HiVis and that includes people looking straight at me and then pulling out - if they don't see the headlight they won't see the HiVi. Riding defensively is the only option! Don't rely on a HiVi!
 
just a thought.

i have an illuminated headlight on the front of my bike (well one of them). that bike has a screen that mostly covers whatever jacket i happen to be wearing as viewed from the front.

so...any hi-viz would only really be, even theoretically, visible from the sides and rear. how many bike accidents are caused by the bike not being visible from the sides or rear quarters?

it's not a situation i've ever found myself in, and i'm struggling to think of more than one that i can even remember hearing about.

i have nothing against others wearing hi-viz, apart from the more common it becomes, the more likelihood that some twat, who's never ridden as bike in his life, will make it compulsory for me to wear it too.

i've been riding a few years now, had plenty of offs in the early days, none of which would have been avoided by wearing a neon jacket. i just don't see the point, and really don't wish to wear it.
i bought the bikes i own, in part, because i like the way they look. ditto the clothes i wear. why would i want to look like a road mender FFS?
 
cookie said:
how many bike accidents are caused by the bike not being visible from the sides or rear quarters?
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Well, I've been hit up the back while stationary at a junction, and my mate's had the same at a roundabout... and I've nearly been sideswiped twice by people changing lanes.

But hey, that happens to cars as well; if they can't see a car, what difference will hi-viz on a bike make?

I still wear it on occasions, though. :D
 
It amuses me when regular contributors to the hallowed pages of UKGSer announce that they have fitted a noisy pipe as, 'I want to be heard, it's a safety thing, mate' or installed a loud horn, "As I want to be heard, it's a safety thing, mate' or more and more brighter lights, as they 'I to be seen, it's a safety thing, mate' but then blanche at the very notion of wearing a bit of (cheap) Day-Glo, as it would do nothing for them, mate.
 
The truth is that no matter how many super bright lights we have on, and what ever clothing we choose to wear, we are not seen by most of the traffic around us.
I accept the responsibility for my own safety, and assume that I am invisible.:rob
 
duckspeed said:
The truth is that no matter how many super bright lights we have on, and what ever clothing we choose to wear, we are not seen by most of the traffic around us.
I accept the responsibility for my own safety, and assume that I am invisible.:rob
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So, having assumed that you are invisible (which is not a bad assumption in itself) would it be a good or a bad idea to try to make yourself more visible or less?
 
Wapping said:
Your certainty in these uncertain times is very refreshing.

I am looking at two contrasting pairs of underpants.

I am in a quandary which to chose.

Can you help me please?
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Easy! Wear the ones that make you look good, that won't make your mates laugh at you. Don't consider comfort, cleanliness or any practical considerations - it's all about not looking UNCOOL!

:)
 
Blind Lemon Ade said:
Well, I've been hit up the back while stationary at a junction, and my mate's had the same at a roundabout... and I've nearly been sideswiped twice by people changing lanes.

But hey, that happens to cars as well; if they can't see a car, what difference will hi-viz on a bike make?

I still wear it on occasions, though. :D
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I have a 40 mile a day commute but it's never happened to me (touching wood here!).
Seriously! Cars avoid me like the plague cos they think I'm a copper.
 
gasman said:
Easy! Wear the ones that make you look good, that won't make your mates laugh at you.
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Such a garment has yet to be created ! :D

You either wear the stuff all the time, occasionally as you see fit or NEVER. I don't wear it (wore a vest once due to fog and always carry one) but i don't despise others like some do on here for wearing it. Why some people seem so intent on imposing their personal choices (generally not to wear one ever ...) whilst spouting elsewhere all about personal expression is totally beyond me too Richard :nenau

I get the impression that most who do wear hi-viz (as opposed to reflective piping and the likes ) don't wear it in the belief that it makes them less likely to be involved in an accident, but more as an extra and still ride as if they are wearing black. What is so wrong with that if that is what someone wants to do? Nor is anyone who wears hi-viz saying that those who don't are idiots, uncool etc etc the way some who insist on being Night Rider on 2 wheels do ...... :augie

I really don't get why some of those who wear black get so emotive and all bent out of shape over this issue. Most of those who chose not to wear it are like me and could care less what others do. I think that the clothing thing isn't the issue for that small but very loud minority ......
 
justinguitar said:
The "all black" mega cool dudes are real hard to see, even though I really look out for bikes I've had times where I've not seen them until they've been coming past me...

Perhaps we should have a new acronym: WABIAFT? Wearing All Black Is Asking For Trouble?

.
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Bury_Dave said:
I really don't get why some of those who wear black get so emotive and all bent out of shape over this issue. .....
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Perhaps by the remarks in the opening post. :nenau
 
Quite a funny thread really:

A perfectly sensible question posed; a brief anecdote about a near miss on a rainy evening avoided by a glance over the shoulder; an admission that it would have been Mr Guitar’s fault had it resulted in a shunt and an indication of open-mindedness and a desire to learn from others.

And at the other end of the extreme (some funny wind ups and rants not counted) we have apoplexic self-righteous indignation from those who have never ever ever made a mistake on the road; who have reached roadcraft nirvana and for whom the learning process appears to be over.

Perhaps the thread should go on to discuss road rage, and those most prone to it … just a thought….

Live and let live – I, for the record, don’t wear high vis, but am quite relaxed about those that do.
 
Steptoe said:
Perhaps by the remarks in the opening post. :nenau
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As a black clad rider, I didn't feel 'inflamed' in the slightest :D

Maybe that's coz I'm laid-back and not a short-fuse type. Life is too short to get bent out of shape over some remark posted on the internet in a forum like this by someone I've not met and am unlikely to meet about something that doesn't affect me in the slightest....... :nenau
 
Bury_Dave said:
As a black clad rider, I didn't feel 'inflamed' in the slightest :D

Maybe that's coz I'm laid-back and not a short-fuse type. Life is too short to get bent out of shape over some remark posted on the internet in a forum like this by someone I've not met and am unlikely to meet about something that doesn't affect me in the slightest....... :nenau
Click to expand...

:thumb2
 
Should you care ...

... to read this thread from the beginning (no easy thing) you'll see that my invective was directed not at those who choose to wear Hi-Viz, about which I am quite ambivalent; but at wannabees to whom my stance (expressed below) remains unaltered :mad:

oblertone said:
Should you wish to dress up as a Police Officer with a white bike, helmet, hi-vis etc and ride about enforcing your own 'zone', then my personal view is that you should be placed under a cathedral door and be crushed by having large rocks placed thereon; no offence :blast
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That being said, the OP's proposition that all should wear Hi-Viz so he can see them whilst performing manoeuvres remains breathtaking arrogance :eek
 
oblertone said:
... to read this thread from the beginning (no easy thing) you'll see that my invective was directed not at those who choose to wear Hi-Viz, about which I am quite ambivalent; but at wannabees to whom my stance (expressed below) remains unaltered :mad:
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I agree with that dislike of wannabes. Much as you get the collectors of military things or airsoft Walter Mitty's and reenactors / living history buffs who spout all kinds of nonsense with an authority that hasn't come from walking the walk and talking the talk ......



oblertone said:
That being said, the OP's proposition that all should wear Hi-Viz so he can see them whilst performing manoeuvres remains breathtaking arrogance :eek
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I think pretty much every person i know who doesn't ride a bike thinks we riders should be clad in all hi-viz ........ until they go for a ride on the back of my bike and they see what the real risks are from a rider's perspective.

If a driver can't see my headlight then i don't think hi-viz will save me ! That's my personal rationale. But I don't feel the need to get all loud and arm waving towards those who have made a different choice to me.

I don't think the OP was showing breathtaking arrogance - more like fear of doing something that might cause injury or death to someone else and trying to find ways to offset his personal responsibility .......
 
we have areas at work where wearing high viz is dangerous because you blend into the background at certain times of the year
 
Bury_Dave said:
about something that doesn't affect me in the slightest....... :nenau
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Ahh, But if those who keep insisting that hi-vis is the panacea of motorcycle safety keep up their vociferous bleating then it's highly likely it will end up affecting you by compulsion.
 
Just got my car back from the paint shop - had it painted in hi-viz yellow to make sure I dont ever ever have an accident because someone is a sh1te driver and causes one.

It looks sh1t.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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