dark cycle kit!!

[Rob3rt]

yup

Yep. always wear my white shorts if going out in dusky light. (and lights obviously)

LMFAO!

 

[vernon]

There seems to be a lot of hot air here dedicated to opinons and not to facts.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

We need a campaign to get all pedestrians to wear hiviz when crossing the road. It will improve their safety. Then again, seeing as so many get KSI'd whilst walking along on the pavement minding their own business, or when queuing for buses, perhaps hi-viz could be made compulsory for anyone leaving the house? Several in here would vote for it.

 

[Arch]

Waiting to pull out of a side road yesterday evening (on my bike), I spotted an unlit, black dressed cyclist coming along the main (streetlight lit) road. Well, two, really, although one was sitting on the handlebars of his mate's bike.

Strangely, I managed to see them a good 2 or 3 hundred yards away.

I'm not saying that's an ideal strategy, but it's funny how far away it is possible to see an 'invisible' cyclist.

Actually, the thing that I find makes cyclists less visible is being lost among the bright headlights of the cars coming up behind them - even with lights and hi-vis on, the very narrow profile of a cyclist heading towards you can be lost unless you watch for long enough to pick up their motion. I usually come out of the next side road along that main road (where there are more parked cars and roadside trees), and often have to wait for a gap in traffic, and usually see cars first and then while I wait, looking, make out an oncoming cyclist. I suspect most SMIDSY pull outs are down to drivers only glancing, rather than looking for any proper length of time.

Maybe to be really safe, we all need to be much wider. Mmmm, cake.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

There seems to be a lot of hot air here dedicated to opinons and not to facts.

Of course. this is an internet forum not reality. I want facts, I go to work. Mind you, there I usually have to provide the facts.

 

[Rob3rt]

There seems to be a lot of hot air here dedicated to opinons and not to facts.

So you want a fact, here's one for you! ONE SHOULD NEVER WEAR WHITE CYCLING SHORTS!

 

[Arch]

Oh, and hi vis PPE is great, you can do anything in hi-viz and people just assume you are the council..

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Waiting to pull out of a side road yesterday evening (on my bike), I spotted an unlit, black dressed cyclist coming along the main (streetlight lit) road. Well, two, really, although one was sitting on the handlebars of his mate's bike.

Strangely, I managed to see them a good 2 or 3 hundred yards away..

It's almost like you are on the look out for other road users. How strange.

 

[theclaud]

GC funny though it may seem to you the purple rider shows up far more than the dark one.

No she doesn't, and I think it's more a sort of fuchsia. I'm not disputing that in certain conditions a fuschia jacket might show up more than a black one, but not in Greg's avatar. Look at it again. And then look at it another time, but not directly.

 

[bianchi1]

"There were groups in the cycling population who were less likely to use each type of safety equipment, suggesting areas of focus for change. People who tended not to use bike lights or conspicuous clothing were those who cycle less and may have less knowledge about cycling equipment"

From an interesting article:
Personal and trip characteristics associated with safety equipment use by injured adult bicyclists: a cross-sectional study

 

[bianchi1]

"A major trunk color of orange, red, yellow or white resulted in a higher visibility rating for both cyclists and pedestrians


Another interesting article:

The prevalence and reliability of visibility aid and other risk factor data for uninjured cyclists and pedestrians in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

 

[Arch]

"There were groups in the cycling population who were less likely to use each type of safety equipment, suggesting areas of focus for change. People who tended not to use bike lights or conspicuous clothing were those who cycle less and may have less knowledge about cycling equipment"

From an interesting article:
Personal and trip characteristics associated with safety equipment use by injured adult bicyclists: a cross-sectional study

That title is clearly American, and therefore it's probably nonsense....

I agree that there are a section of cyclists who wear black and have no lights and have little knowledge about cycling. They are what some of us like to call POBs - people on bikes, not cyclists. Chavs, etc. Quite often they ride on and off pavements, jump red lights and generally disregard everything around them, on bikes with no brakes.

There are also a lot of people who wear black, but partner it with lights, excellent road craft, superior knowledge of their bikes and abilities, and have well maintained bikes.

You're making the mistake of preaching at the latter, when it's the former who are more dangerous to themselves, and others.

 

[bianchi1]

"Drivers' and observers' detection and recognition improved with visibility aids. For daytime, fluorescent materials in yellow, red and orange colours enhanced detection and recognition. "Biomotion" markings enhanced recognition. Substantial heterogeneity between the trials limits the possibility for meta-analysis. Visibility aids have the potential to improve detection and recognition and would merit further development to gain public acceptance"

And another:

Visibility aids for pedestrians and cyclists: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

 

[Arch]

It's almost like you are on the look out for other road users. How strange.

I learnt to drive about 300 years ago, hence I was taught properly, and do all sorts of old time stuff like looking and thinking and so on....

 

[DRHysted]

And yet when I was lying on the ground in the twilight of dawn earlier this month the car drivers saw both me and my black bike, they all stopped to offer assistance.