24-01-12, 02:47 AM
I've just remembered something which has been kicking around the back of my mind since this discussion started.
In WWII the Americans had a project called "Yehudi" which involved putting lights on the front of aircraft to camouflage them. Now this may sound ridiculous, but what it meant is that rather that having a dark aeroplane which would show up against a lighter sky, by brightening the silhouette of the aeroplane, it could be made to "disappear" by removing the contrast between the plane and the sky.
As such, this gives a reason why Hi-Viz isn't suitable for all conditions, eg a bright sunny day where the light colour of the Hi-Viz would actually "fade" into the background instead of standing out, making the biker less visible.
In WWII the Americans had a project called "Yehudi" which involved putting lights on the front of aircraft to camouflage them. Now this may sound ridiculous, but what it meant is that rather that having a dark aeroplane which would show up against a lighter sky, by brightening the silhouette of the aeroplane, it could be made to "disappear" by removing the contrast between the plane and the sky.
As such, this gives a reason why Hi-Viz isn't suitable for all conditions, eg a bright sunny day where the light colour of the Hi-Viz would actually "fade" into the background instead of standing out, making the biker less visible.