Do you dress for visibility in the UK?

[Droopy Dick]

is evidence that yellow is the most visible color of all the colors, it is the first color that the human eye notices. But as you say they need to be looking, so when they are looking they will see the rider with the yellow Hi-Viz before they see you......

I'd read that Saturn Yellow was chosen for daylight visibility for the simple reason that it's a colour NOT found in nature, and thus the eye is immediately drawn to it.

 

[Mick_rw]

Did a bit...

Originally Posted by Mick_rw
is evidence that yellow is the most visible color of all the colors, it is the first color that the human eye notices. But as you say they need to be looking, so when they are looking they will see the rider with the yellow Hi-Viz before they see you......

I'd read that Saturn Yellow was chosen for daylight visibility for the simple reason that it's a colour NOT found in nature, and thus the eye is immediately drawn to it.

of research before I posted that statement....Colours this was just one of them.....

 

[Steptoe]

I see many bike accidents where the rider is wearing dayglo/Hi-Vis/Lights on, and it seems to make no difference.

Plus all the close calls regularly posted up on the site where the riders have been fully tango'ed up and still had a near miss.

I don't wear daylglo, or have any lights on during the daytime, and in over 30 years of riding i've had very very very few people pull out in front of me.

If your having frequent "close calls" i'd take a look at your own riding rather than just start wearing a dayglo jacket/extra lights etc.

 

[Mick_rw]

And I bet...

I see many bike accidents where the rider is wearing dayglo/Hi-Vis/Lights on, and it seems to make no difference.

Plus all the close calls regularly posted up on the site where the riders have been fully tango'ed up and still had a near miss.

I don't wear daylglo, or have any lights on during the daytime, and in over 30 years of riding i've had very very very few people pull out in front of me.

If your having frequent "close calls" i'd take a look at your own riding rather than just start wearing a dayglo jacket/extra lights etc.

there is someone out there who has the same experience and has had the encounters you have who wears a dayglo vest, has his lights on, and swears that has what has helped him to survive .....

I sometimes wear a full hi-viz jacket depending on the conditions...I know it's not a blanket of protection, but there must be something in it .... if all the emergency services think it helps, or do they think it's a load of twaddle and wear it because they have to..... I have only 4 years under my belt as a rider, and touch wood, I have so far only had one really close call when filtering on the hogs back....wish I had not said that, next time I ride....

 

[harlequin6]

Blimey .. here we go again .. another heated debate !

I wear all black .. nor for cool reasons , just because thats what the best kit I could afford comes in.

If people feel they don't want to dressed like a telly tubbie .. don't . I have a light at the front and back I'll trust my experience and gut feeling for the rest .. You could still make the bike a bit more visible like my discreet vizzed up panniers.





Actually I believe you can get a reflextive sticky backed material that looks black in normal conditions, I think the "C2" logo on the back of my black schuberth is. That may sooth the fashion polis amongst us.

Whatever

H6

 

[cookie]

...I know it's not a blanket of protection, but there must be something in it .... if all the emergency services think it helps, or do they think it's a load of twaddle and wear it because they have to.....

read post #11

 

[Bigtwin]

I sometimes wear a full hi-viz jacket depending on the conditions...I know it's not a blanket of protection, but there must be something in it ....

What these threads always spend pages pussing around is the bit you have put your finger on in your first line above.

Hi-Viz.

How can being hi-viz - i.e. more visible than not being hi-viz, not be a good thing?

All this stuff about "I knew a bloke called Derek who still high-sided at Coppits whist he had a flashing keyring in his back pocket so it can't work" is utter red-herring stuff.

Is being more visible on a bike a good thing? Obviously.

Will it stop all accidents? Obviously not.

Why? Because visibiliy isn't the be all and end all - drivers still have to look in order to see, and do a load of other sensible things as well, which they don't always do.

 

[Phil Clarke]

I go through phases depending on my level of paranoia, however i spent years riding small bikes wearing all black with no headlights on and I haven't noticed a reduction in people pulling out on me since riding a huge bike with a yelly vest on.

But - i ride much faster on my BM and do a lot more motorway riding. On a motorway I reckon you play every trick in the book. Hi viz aint a subsitiute for observation but it may reduce the chances of having to hit the brakes (or whatever).

Now how about this - a lot of drivers are attuned to looking out of fluro yellow cos they associate that with the police so they catch a glimpse of a hi viz vest and then look more closely to see if its the feds or not - just a thought but I certainly do!

And one more thing I thought of when out on the bike the other week - other road users may perceive a rider with a high viz jacket as being 'sensible' - if you overtake them at speed they are less likely to think 'oh no another maniac' If you were then to have an accident and the Police were looking for witnesses this same driver may be less likely to tell them you were riding too fast? - A bit obscure maybe but it was a long straight road and i needed somthing to occupy my mind.......

Oh and another thing if you get stopped by the police wearing high viz gear they are less inclined to think you are a nutter and may be more inclined to give you some 'advice' rather than a ticket - discuss...

 

[gasman]

Phil: well put ! I especially agree with the last bit. I ride a scooter, and round my bit, the orange bib immediately says I'm not a 15 yr old scooter thief, like most of them are ! I swear there was a kid who looked under 10 on one last week.

Cookie: we must agree to differ. I guess it's partly what you're used to. Round London lots of people wear them, so it doesn't seem so strange. A false sense of security is of course v dangerous, but you can get that from almost anything (eg back protectors!!). Phil's point above is well made - a flash of yellow or orange is starting to mean something to people now. It makes them think bike/workmen/police. It's a bit like those flashing LEDs on bicycles - people know what they are now.

Fanum: with that lot on your bike, I concede - no need for anything else !!

 

[Steptoe]

. It makes them think bike/workmen/police. .

!

While tootling along at any sort of speed, i certainly don't wish to be mistaken for a sedationary/stationary workman.

 

[Steptoe]

Oh and another thing if you get stopped by the police wearing high viz gear they are less inclined to think you are a nutter and may be more inclined to give you some 'advice' rather than a ticket - discuss...

One other thing - if you don't wear Hi-Viz gear, the police can't see you

 

[Invicta Moto]

To answer the original question. No I don't wear Hi-Viz on a day to day basis.

I do wear one on special occasions when I lead a ride-out for the local BMF group, mainly so that the ducklings follow me and not some random rider! Although saying that, on Sunday on the trip to Ypres I left it at home in the garage.

Perhaps I shoud have taken it in case I broke down? Not according to the research the BMF undertook in conjunction with other EU member FIM organisations. No country's riders organisation returned a "Yes" when asked if hi-viz related to motorcycles. Only Germany returned that it was a good idea.

That aside I do have two reflective googly eyes on my topbox....

 

[cookie]

One other thing - if you don't wear Hi-Viz gear, the police can't see you

 

[Fanum]

Is being more visible on a bike a good thing? Obviously.

Let me fix this one for you for why.......

Now how about this - a lot of drivers are attuned to looking out of fluro yellow cos they associate that with slow moving hand cart operators and council sweepers so they catch a glimpse of a hi viz vest and then look more closely to see if its the dustmen or not - just a thought but I certainly do!

It's not as easy as just saying 'obviously'

 

[Bigtwin]

Let me fix this one for you for why.......



It's not as easy as just saying 'obviously'

Nor is it as easy as posting sentances beginning with variations of "as a matter of fact". But that post you've quoted seems fully to support the contention that they attract attention anyway - "and then look more closely"... , so...???

 

[CBFer]

Let me fix this one for you for why.......



It's not as easy as just saying 'obviously'

This has to rank as one of your more bizarre posts. The proposition is that it is "obvious" that being more visible on a bike is a good thing. Is your post intended to challenge that proposition? Are you suggesting that there are times when it is not a good thing to be more visible on a bike? Are you suggesting that there are some occasions when it would be a good thing if a rider was less visible than he might otherwise be?

 

[gasman]

While tootling along at any sort of speed, i certainly don't wish to be mistaken for a sedationary/stationary workman.

Don't you try to avoid them, though? At least give 'em a little swerve !

 

[boxerdog]

Have a quick look at the the Road Vehicle (Lighting) Regs.

Thanks for checking, might leave em on all the time now as well as the High Viz jacket.

I'm with Tesco..'every little helps', certainly can't do any harm other than to my cred annd I don't give a sh8t about that.

 

[Hookster]

This is just what I happen to wear but I do like to ride with lights on. Bike colour probably helps too but as others have said in so many words, if they aint looking, they won't see you.

 

[Droopy Dick]

I

Now how about this - a lot of drivers are attuned to looking out of fluro yellow cos they associate that with the police so they catch a glimpse of a hi viz vest and then look more closely to see if its the feds or not - just a thought but I certainly do!

Having done a couple of spirited bimbles along the M27 this week, one thing attracted my attention.

On one day I was wearing my Shoei X-Spirit with a blue iridium visor. Today I was wearing my white Shoei Synchrotec.

Now I always wear my hi-vis jacket, and my 6000K HIDs are always on. In addition I always have my Micro DEs on.

It was notable that although I could see drivers taking a longer look in their mirror, when I was wearing the fancy hat with the sexy visor many people just carried on. However, when I came roaring up lane 3 with my white Synchrotec it was clear that drivers looked twice and then many more of then quickly indicated left and peeled off into lane 2. I'm assuming that the HIDs flash blue due to the normal movement of the bike also attracts attention.

Of course, if more people did actually keep to the left except when overtaking they wouldn't be having to dive out of the way. But then again, they're often in lane 3 at 65mph because they're overtaking some chump who's doing 55 in lane 2 - whilst lane 1 is empty for three miles <sigh>.