Dark cycle users.

[mjr]

That’s a bit of a stupid statement, in many city Centre environments it’s not driver inattention, it’s just that you can be overwhelmed visually by what’s going on around you, dealing with several lanes of traffic, what lane to get into, idiots cutting you up, low sun reflecting on wet road etc etc ,as a cyclist it’s a no brainer to make your self as visible as possible

@YukonBoy never said it was driver inattention, just that the attention span is a problem. I read that as saying it's insufficient for the amount of data to process at the speed they're travelling - basically another way of saying what you did. Of course, one obvious mitigation measure would be to slow the fark down, so drivers have more time to process things, but few motorists seem willing to do that.

Meanwhile, "it’s a no brainer to make your self as visible as possible" is something you can read in several ways. I agree with @YukonBoy that making yourself look like a yellow-edged road sign isn't doing "as visible as possible" in an urban area. I agree with previous posters that how you ride and what you've got on your bike is far more important than what you wear. I also agree that you basically can't force drivers to look at you, so the whole "be seen" shtick is pernicious victim-blaming that should be flamed out of existence.

 

[sheddy]

Motons drive too fast to stop in the the space they can see.

 

[Gunk]

Motons drive too fast to stop in the the space they can see.

Moton?

You must mean “A small plate covering the armpit in armor of the 14th century and later” 😂

 

[glasgowcyclist]

he just vanished from my sight within 100/150m

What's the speed limit on the road in question?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

That’s a bit of a stupid statement, in many city Centre environments it’s not driver inattention, it’s just that you can be overwhelmed visually by what’s going on around you, dealing with several lanes of traffic, what lane to get into, idiots cutting you up, low sun reflecting on wet road etc etc ,as a cyclist it’s a no brainer to make your self as visible as possible

There is low sun reflecting on a wet road ahead. What should the cyclist wear to make themselves as visible as possible? They are now a mile down the road in a forest with a dark wet road and green foliage. What should they wear to be as visible as possible? They are now in a city with several lanes of traffic, with cars close passing and cutting them up, what should they wear to be as visible as possible?

If someone is visually overwhelmed it makes not a blind bit of difference what you wear. There no universal thing you could wear for a single ride to be as visible as possible. Unless it’s really poor weather with heavy rain and or fog a person in everyday clothing is more than visible enough. In poor weather they can put lights on making them more than visible. Lower speed limits would help in busy urban environments so the drivers aren’t overwhelmed due to the speed they are going at, No one else is visually overwhelmed in the same environments because they are travelling at an appropriate speed. Drivers only seem to understand limits and not that they need to slow the fark down if overwhelmed.

 

[DRM]

There is low sun reflecting on a wet road ahead. What should the cyclist wear to make themselves as visible as possible? They are now a mile down the road in a forest with a dark wet road and green foliage. What should they wear to be as visible as possible? They are now in a city with several lanes of traffic, with cars close passing and cutting them up, what should they wear to be as visible as possible?

If someone is visually overwhelmed it makes not a blind bit of difference what you wear. There no universal thing you could wear for a single ride to be as visible as possible. Unless it’s really poor weather with heavy rain and or fog a person in everyday clothing is more than visible enough. In poor weather they can put lights on making them more than visible. Lower speed limits would help in busy urban environments so the drivers aren’t overwhelmed due to the speed they are going at, No one else is visually overwhelmed in the same environments because they are travelling at an appropriate speed. Drivers only seem to understand limits and not that they need to slow the fark down if overwhelmed.

There is a large roundabout near to where I live, it has four lanes, traffic lights on each of the seven exits, most people who know the area go round at normal , not excessive speed, except for the odd idiot, the dangerous ones are the slow, lost ones wandering from lane to lane in a totally panicked state, the overhead gantries have all the direction signs on, so you are supposed to work out where to be whilst watching out for traffic on both sides of you, so speed does not equate to being overwhelmed, the road layout does, so to me , put your lights on, on flash mode, hi vis may just make you be seen from further away, rather than later, that’s a no brainer

 

[Ming the Merciless]

There is a large roundabout near to where I live, it has four lanes, traffic lights on each of the seven exits, most people who know the area go round at normal , not excessive speed, except for the odd idiot, the dangerous ones are the slow, lost ones wandering from lane to lane in a totally panicked state, the overhead gantries have all the direction signs on, so you are supposed to work out where to be whilst watching out for traffic on both sides of you, so speed does not equate to being overwhelmed, the road layout does, so to me , put your lights on, on flash mode, hi vis may just make you be seen from further away, rather than later, that’s a no brainer

It is not a no brainer it’s a decision you’ve made based on no evidence it makes any difference. The only evidence for cyclists wearing hiviz (so far) is that they are more likely to be involved in an accident. Drivers going round at an appropriate speed will pay attention to your presence. Take the lane and avoid lucky rabbit foot approaches.

 

[DRM]

Well I know for a fact that when I’m driving a cyclist in bright clothing can be seen further away, than one in ninja black, note I’m not saying I don’t notice ninjas, just the brighter clothed rider is seen further away, therefore it stands to reason that as a driver you can start to deal with the cyclist you’re approaching sooner rather than later.

 

[DCBassman]

Well I know for a fact that when I’m driving a cyclist in bright clothing can be seen further away, than one in ninja black, note I’m not saying I don’t notice ninjas, just the brighter clothed rider is seen further away, therefore it stands to reason that as a driver you can start to deal with the cyclist you’re approaching sooner rather than later.

But that's because YOU are paying attention.
What you are wearing absolutely cannot make someone pay attention. They either are, or are not. There is no make.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Well I know for a fact that when I’m driving a cyclist in bright clothing can be seen further away, than one in ninja black, note I’m not saying I don’t notice ninjas, just the brighter clothed rider is seen further away, therefore it stands to reason that as a driver you can start to deal with the cyclist you’re approaching sooner rather than later.

If they are further away you are not going to hit them anyway are you? It’s the ones closer to you that you need to pay attention to. In typical daylight conditions you can see a person on a bike or pedestrian at least 400m away. If you are paying attention to someone 1 mile away because hiviz enables that, then that’s your problem. Pay attention to what’s in front of you not something brighter but further away you couldn’t possibly hit unless you fired an exocet.

 

[DRM]

If they are further away you are not going to hit them anyway are you? It’s the ones closer to you that you need to pay attention to. In typical daylight conditions you can see a person on a bike or pedestrian at least 400m away. If you are paying attention to someone 1 mile away because hiviz enables that, then that’s your problem. Pay attention to what’s in front of you not something brighter but further away you couldn’t possibly hit unless you fired an exocet.

You don’t get it do you, if you notice a cyclist sooner, you can have longer to asses what else is going on around you, can you get past safely, or do I wait a little, are there parked vehicles or road works ahead, what road furniture is there, is there on coming traffic, is there another cyclist coming in the opposite direction that some muppet will blithely pass without a care in the world, how quickly are they riding, do they look like they are experienced or nervous etc etc etc, and yes I do also look for what’s happening nearer as well, why do you think police advanced drivers are trained to give a commentary of what’s going on around them while they are being driver trained, so that the instructor knows that they are paying attention, as I said I do not understand why being able to see someone sooner is so wrong, who the hell is worrying about what’s going on 1 mile away, I’m not talking about that, and mostly in Britain it’s rarely perfect light conditions.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

What you are wearing absolutely cannot make someone pay attention. They either are, or are not. There is no make.

Well said, Yoda!

 

[mjr]

You don’t get it do you, if you notice a cyclist sooner, you can have longer to asses what else is going on around you,

You don't get it, do you? I might use the time like that. You might. We're not the drivers who need to change because we avoid even ninjas. Kenny won't use the time like that. He's got the memory of a farking goldfish and will have forgotten about the cyclists by the time he reaches them. That's still better than Jemima Ondafone who hit a walker because she was distracted by cyclists a mile away usurping attention when she finally looked up out the big window instead of the little black mirror.

 

[classic33]

You don't get it, do you? I might use the time like that. You might. We're not the drivers who need to change because we avoid even ninjas. Kenny won't use the time like that. He's got the memory of a farking goldfish and will have forgotten about the cyclists by the time he reaches them. That's still better than Jemima Ondafone who hit a walker because she was distracted by cyclists a mile away usurping attention when she finally looked up out the big window instead of the little black mirror.

If their attention is elsewhere, or lacking, then they'll never see anything.

Even that big lorry with the large sign on the rear, clearly showing you've to pass on the right hand side. It's only travelling slow/stationary because it's being used to do a job.

Edited so they now reads they'll

 

[DRM]

Well said, Yoda!

I never said that the colour of an an item of clothing makes someone else pay attention, a bright colour makes it easier to see from a bit further away, forewarned is forearmed