I didn’t use to wear any Hi-Vis, but since I come home from work at night and they took the lights down on the A40 from Paddington - Ealing I’ve started wearing one of the wider yellow H-Belts. I suppose I felt that anything was better than nothing to help others see me in the dark and it also gives me the choice of taking it off when I’m not on the bike; so not to look like I’ve just done a shift on the train tracks.
The main bit of the article that got me thinking was…
*"One major issue is that the brain works by subconsciously recognising a pattern and flagging the conscious, decision making mind to sit up and pay attention. This means two things. The brain has to be “tuned” to the shape of a bike and rider. And by using different coloured vests and daytime lights, it has the effect of adding extra “edges” to the shape and breaking it down into smaller shapes that are NOT meaningful.
Just like you can see a bit of plastic lying on the floor and only when you have thrown it away do you realise that it was the battery cover off the TV controller, because taken out of context with the complete unit it was unrecognisable, so the unconscious mind simply never flags the splashes of light and patches of colour as a motorcycle plus rider. This technique has been known about for years as a way of hiding something in plain view - it’s called dazzle camouflage and was very successfully used to break up the outlines of ships on the horizon and buildings and docks from the air."*
What do you folks think? Is Hi-Vis/DRL of any benefit - what have your experiences been?
I consider it useful in limited visibility, raining, fog, snow, sleet, and of course darkness. Maybe in daylite, even.
Have you seen the vests that actually LIGHT UP? There are vests that use batteries, and have patches of Hi-Vis yellow that are actually SELF-LIT, either flashing or non-flashing. There are other vests that are lit by LEDs, but these things are something different.
All you can do is make yourself seen, and if they fail to interpret you as a hazard, you need to get away from there. People will interpret you as too small for them to notice, of no concern to them, In other words NOT A Threat. You can’t help that. So, Be Seen, make a lot of noise (horns are useful at high volumes, just don’t expect the factory horn to do anything useful.)
I have always used a hi vis H belt. But really find it annoying, it digs in and rides up, so was looking into getting a Hi Vis jacket. However someone sent me an email with this link:
Looks good, and should be comfy. As for the standard horn, that was the first thing I changed on the bike. Nice 130dB job, scares drivers and wakes the dead.
I feel if other road users can’t see a 165kg bike with a bight red light coming from its rear along with a 6ft4" tall man sitting on it, I don’t see how a Hi-Vis vest will make much of a difference.
Plus the only people I ever see wearing them always look like they have no confidence in their own riding ability
To top all of that I al least wanna look good if im stuck in A&E :hehe:
Fair point, but from my experience I can say that people do notice me more when wearing hi viz, and I’d take the POV that if it increases my changes of being spotted (or even confused for a copper) by even a tiny amount, then why NOT wear it
Like police bikers? Come on man, that is such a subjective comment. Is there anything to back that up?
That’s the real reason. Good on you for being so honest
“I thought only slow, middle-aged riders or those who work for the state wore these things.”
Sounds like you are talking about me!
I don’t want to sound like we are forming an X9 250 posse but the facts are that middle aged state employed riders using hi-viz are very low down in the accident statistics.
Don’t know about the hi-viz, but I do I know that on the dark misty winter mornings we’ve been having recently the reflective stripes on other riders make them more noticeable. So, I wear one when I think the conditions require it, but more for the stripes than that horrible yellow. :sick:
Well Giuliano can answer for himself, but personally half the reason I wear Hi Viz is so that the dithering jessies taking their “just out of the garage for summer, ooooh-are the tyres hot enough for me to be able to brake yet” sports bikes round gentle bends in twenty steps at 5mph time to see me and GET OUT OF MY WAY ;)
In the past I have found an H belt excellent for clearing the road ahead on the motorway. Guess in the rear view mirror it looks like a copper cos it would always work.
I don’t wear one through choice…but I can’t give any rational reason why…
However I have contemplated recently (usually as I’m having a near death experience on the way to work) whether anyone has tried to reduce the amount of compensation paid out to a motorcyclist after an accident due to them not wearing a hi-vis, citing the advice given in the highway code…
86Daylight riding. Make yourself as visible as possible from the side as well as the front and rear. You could wear a light or brightly coloured helmet and fluorescent clothing or strips. Dipped headlights, even in good daylight, may also make you more conspicuous. However, be aware that other vehicle drivers may still not have seen you, or judged your distance or speed correctly, especially at junctions.
i have done, but i found it made sod all diffrence, if they cant see my twin headlights wich are huge! and very bright!, and they can’t hear my end can, then a hi-viz isnt going to make much diffrence.:w00t:
I’ve not noticed a difference in hi-vis for me and must admit I’ve not bothered with it for a while (figure that my lights and bright green bike, and the noise should do the trick), BUT I have noticed that I definitely see cyclists better with some sort of hi-viz, definitely see other bikers better with their lights on.
Plus you don’t need people to recognise you as “motorbike” immediately - the point is that when you’re just outside their main field of vision you want them to see something moving out of the corner of their eye, so they turn and check and then see that it’s a motorbike.
If they’re not looking at all or checking mirrors it doesn’t matter what you do.
