Hi Viz. Do you believe It Helps?

[crickleymal]

I'm with the majority in that I wear Hi Viz during the winter or when it's dark and rainy. I think it does help a bit. Certainly I've seen a few people on the motorway have Oh Shit moments when they've passed me and then though "was that a copper?" (not that I'm wearing anything that could possibly make people mistake me for a copper, just a Hi Viz waistcoat).

Weaving around a bit can help. I think if you ride in a dead straight line, people don't perceive the headlamp as moving. Whereas if you weave a bit the lamp shifts so becomes more noticeable.

[sadlonelygit]

hi viz, blues and 2's and some advanced training and this still happens to you

[maddog04]

a couple of points from my perspective as a fireman/RoSPA tutor/fire bike rider/Biker down tutor

1. the emergency services wear hi viz for a reason......it gets you seen....even the white lid is seen better  (by most of the population and granted there are goons who won't see you no matter how hard you try.......cue my fire engine mobile to a job, all the lights/bells klaxons on the go and the numpty pulls straight out in front of us)

as I ride, and it maybe that I'm more observant than other riders (no insult intended here but advanced riding teaches better observation skills) I tend to notice hi viz wearers early and can adjust to their position whether road users or pedestrians

2. biker down indeed discuss's hi viz and as others have said, its about the background, yellow on yellow/green on green and you have issues

3. weaving.....sounds drastic that word and confuses some but the technique works, not so much a weave but advanced riders will move away from a hazard..... in the case of a car at a junction, by moving away from the nearside/middle of the lane to the outer side then the movement catches the eye especially with headlights on. as for the car being at 90 degrees its the hi viz he's seeing not the reflective bits ergo hi viz is more daylight and the reflective bits are more darkness

try google looming and motion camouflage for better understanding of issues of us being seen by others

4. filtering......If people especially in stationary traffic still use their mirrors then hi viz should be seen but as a lot peeps just sit there waiting to move, then they don't consider looking.....I always bang the hi beam on when filtering and will try and "weave" as much as possible in the space I have to try and gain attention

5. a solicitor once told me that wearing a hi viz vest will automatically get you 80% of the benefit in court should you be hit, a cop once told me that at the scene of an accident, your clothing is duly noted by plod, hence you're all hi vizzed up, white/yellow lid then its hard for the cager to say Smidsy

I ride with it and its been pointed out that hi viz with sleeves is seen more than hi viz without, ie a full jacket as opposed to a vest helps more as sometimes the screen/fairing masks the vest where as the arms seem more prominent,  very pertinent if your hi viz is grubby with road grime and not really that hi viz any more

for those interested, there are different categories of hi viz too, if memory serves the class 1 is the best and is used by emergency workers and motorway workers as its the brightest

[fazersharp]

Has his bike just embedded its self int the car and stayed there.
Answers the question as to "so where did you strike the car"

[maddog04]

was that the accident with Prince Harry and his outriders?

think it was going down as 50/50 car pulled out of a side street but the outrider was overtaking the HRH range rover and T boned the car
HRH driver drives on thinking terrorist plot and leaves bikers to look after each other



google SEG/special escort group see youtube......best of the best but can still come a cropper as seen above

[Frosties]

Maddog, Sharpy - are we saying one of these is the best option then?


http://www.halfords.com/cycling/cycling-...ing-jacket

[fazersharp]

Maddog
Thats what I said in my first post --"It may certainly be helpful in any insurance claims I would of thought."
So that is actually the case then ?
My viz also has arms, and my lid is mainly white.

The problem then with the camoflarge effect - could this be prevented with a multi green,yellow,pink top does such a thing exist     

[fazersharp]

Maddog, Sharpy - are we saying one of these is the best option then?


http://www.halfords.com/cycling/cycling-...ing-jacket

Mine is more like this Picture bellow- so just a small zip at the top and goes over your head - fits nice and tight and goes over the end of my leather sleeves and around my wrists so that it is still easy to get my gloves on. Also fits nice around my neck area. And is longer than my leather jacket and almost forms a seal below.
BUT mine is not water proof, but I dont do rain anyway, but if you get the right size and bearing in mind it is stretchy it could go over your waterproofs

[maddog04]

FS......quite possibly, pink seems to be getting good reports as it stands out from other background colours especially where everyone is in hi viz, so if you're in London pink maybe seen better than another yellow hi viz if its correct that London is swamped with yellow hi viz

its all about contrast

as for your other questions about the 80% etc I can only go on what I was told by an individual and can't quote case law, ditto the sleeves........my mate who is similar qualified as me, once stated that the sleeves were more visible when out with a rider in long sleeves as opposed to vest wearing riders

[fazersharp]

Perhaps with sleeves when approaching a junction instead of weaving you could flap your arms

[mr self destruct]

Open road - yes. Definitely.
City riding - rarely.


And when it comes to SMIDSY, not sure it helps very much. Swerving before intersections is a lot more effective.

I agree with you there, if I see a car poking out of a side street I'll move side to side within the lane as the human eye notices movement far more than colour.


As for wearing hi-vis, I never ride without it, for two main reasons. Firstly, the insurance issue as already stated earlier in the thread. Secondly, for my wife's peace of mind.
I personally don't give a fuck about what I look like, so don't care if I'm looked down on by other bikers for wearing it. If I have to wear a pink tutu and bunny ears to stop my wife shitting herself every time I get on the bike, that's what I'll wear.  :lol

[darrsi]

Maddog
Thats what I said in my first post --"It may certainly be helpful in any insurance claims I would of thought."
So that is actually the case then ?
My viz also has arms, and my lid is mainly white.

The problem then with the camoflarge effect - could this be prevented with a multi green,yellow,pink top does such a thing exist   

There you go fella.  :thumbup 


You'll look fabulous.  :lol

[NorthWestern]

I don't use one personally.  I have never been convinced they would do any good although agree that they certainly won't do any harm.


Over the last few years I have seen 3 motorcycle accidents happen in front of me, two of those had hi-vis vests - I am not saying your more likely to have an accident in one, just the way it turned out in this case.  All these accidents involved a junction, either excessive speed or the riders being badly positioned approaching it (riding near the white line quite close to the car in front).  In positions like that any car wanting to pull out of the junction just can't see the bike, more of a Sorry Mate I Couldn't See You.


My opinion is you see the lights, hard reflections off the helmet etc well before the hi-vis vest especially in the dark, in fact oncoming bikes the headlight halo effects obscures all until they are quite close.  I find even the large police range rovers covered in high vis yellow are not really more visible than other cars, just more distinctive.  Traffic police wear hi-vis but this is more to do with them frequently having to be roadside on foot, even the ones in cars wear hi-vis jackets due to this.


Not sure about the insurance thing but I have only ever heard of police asking if the bikes had the light on, not what they were wearing. 

[darrsi]

I've got:


Reflective Arai stickers on both sides of my fairing, plus front/back of crash helmet
Reflective tape around the sides and back of the top box
Hi-Vis waistcoat
LED tail light that also indicates (as well as original indicators)
LED strip lights on the sides of the fairing, which are connected to the original indicators as well.
Twin headlight mod has been done
Very loud air horn
And a beeping indicator for the benefit of people that kept walking out in front of me as i turned into my road of an evening after work. I found that the air horn used to make them jump.


If you can't hear or see me then all i can say is you must be a Pinball Wizard.

 


It's an old photo but it's not all as bad as it sounds, and all comes to life at night.

[NorthWestern]

I do find that bikes with two lights like fazers are easier to judge/pick out than those with a single light.

[darrsi]

I do find that bikes with two lights like fazers are easier to judge/pick out than those with a single light.

Worst thing i keep seeing recently, at night when it's raining as well so it was poor visibility too, is cars with only one headlight working coming towards you, so they can actually be mistaken for a bike.

[Oldgit]

definitely NO on this one, if they cant see 2 friggin front headlamp lights on what can some of them see?????????

[fazersharp]

There you go fella.  :thumbup 


You'll look fabulous.  :lol

[img height=314 width=304]http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=18941.0;attach=22436;image[/img]
That would just trigger an epileptic fit in the driver looking at me

[hotmetal]

I have an orange one from Arco. It's for trackside workers and is orange day glo with 2 big reflective stripes. It is made of 2 halves - front and back- with heavy duty poppers across the shoulders and down the sides. The idea is that if you catch it on anything it will separate rather than snagging. Designed with passing trains in mind but could apply to traffic/filtering.

I used to have a waterproof yellow jacket with arms. Was great but I found that the arms bulked the suit out so that I struggled to see past my own arms in the mirrors.

[fazersharp]

I used to have a waterproof yellow jacket with arms. Was great but I found that the arms bulked the suit out so that I struggled to see past my own arms in the mirrors.

That's the beauty of mine as it is a stretch tight fit - and cheep enough too