do hi viz vests/jackets work ?

[Niall McL]

I wear an Altura Night Vision jacket and I'm in the "it can't do any harm" camp.

 

[silverbow]

I wore my hi viz vest for the 1st time yesterday, on the way back from work last night I notched that cars coming towards me dipped their head light a lot earlier then if I didn't wear one anyone else noticed this

Yes, I do. When I'm driving in dark locations I find it easier to locate the position of a cyclist when they are wearing hi-viz, this may account for why they dip the lights earlier.

I have also found that, in general, vehicles give me more space when passing too. I like to think that they recognise that you are doing everything you can, so now they need to do their bit. That of course is just my interpretation!

 

[wafflycat]

Depends what you mean by 'work'

Hi-viz (fluorescents) will not make you more visible at night, you need reflectives for night time.

What they will do is this:- if you are hit by a motor, the driver is denied the excuse of "if only he/she had been wearing..." and having seen a few plod/crime programmes where cyclists have been featured, plod does seem to take it into account when deciding if the cyclist is responsible for his or her demise, irrespective of how bad the driving seems to have been.

 

[srw]

Depends what you mean by 'work'

Hi-viz (fluorescents) will not make you more visible at night, you need reflectives for night time.

Not true in well-lit urban environments where cars use dipped headlights. For those light-coloured clothing (and hi-viz is light) works very well.

Note for the hard of thinking: I do not advocate the use of anything instead of lights. I take it for granted that anyone thinking of riding after dark is thinking of using good-quality lighting.

But of course the OP isn't riding in a well-lit urban environment. In an unlit rural environment cars will tend to be running on full-beam headlights. My best guess is that the reflectives that tend to come with hi-viz are doing their job and alerting cars to his presence.

 

[hackbike 666]

Hi-viz (fluorescents) will not make you more visible at night, you need reflectives for night time.

As opposed to wearing black with no lights you are wrong.

I have seen this with my own eyes to make a judgment including a near comedian wearing black last year who I almost collided with

Next time im cycle commuting in London and almost wipe out someone wearing light clothing I will admit you are right.Till then nitto.

More then once I had incidents with cyclists who appear out of nowhere and are invisible till I am almost on them.

I have already posted on here about my "race" with a work colleague the other night when I glimpsed a cyclist with a very poor back light and all I could see was the light coloured top she was wearing from quite a distance.

 

[col]

I really cant see an argument on this,brighter clothing does help you to be seen,reflectives help too,whats the other option,darker clothing dimmer lights?I think overanalysis of this has taken over to the obvious.

 

[hackbike 666]

col im just saying what I saw the other night about my race.Gods honest truth.

I thought it was my workmate I glimpsed "him" three times when I eventually caught up with it wasn't him. it was a "her".

I was going to have a go at "him" i for having an inadequate rear light for which I could only see when I was close up to offending cyclist.I only clicked afterwards that I could see the light jacket with as I seem to remember no reflective tape from quite a way off but couldn't see cyclists rear light.

Anyway that's neither here nor there,if you don't want to wear Hi-Viz because for what ever excuse it is then that's your choice but don't come on here spouting all sorts of crap when I actually see this stuff with my own eyes.

 

[col]

col im just saying what I saw the other night about my race.Gods honest truth.

I thought it was my workmate I glimpsed "him" three times when I eventually caught up with it wasn't him. it was a "her".

I was going to have a go at "him" i for having an inadequate rear light for which I could only see when I was close up to offending cyclist.I only clicked afterwards that I could see the light jacket with as I seem to remember no reflective tape from quite a way off but couldn't see cyclists rear light.

Anyway that's neither here nor there,if you don't want to wear Hi-Viz because for what ever excuse it is then that's your choice but don't come on here spouting all sorts of crap when I actually see this stuff with my own eyes.

Im agreeing with you,

 

[hackbike 666]

It's more of a fashion thing,perhaps you look more of a nerd with Hi-Viz?

Definitely doesn't look cool does it as opposed to all that spandex lycra business.

 

[swee'pea99]

Yes.

Next!

 

[wafflycat]

Hi-viz (fluorescents) will not make you more visible at night, you need reflectives for night time.

As opposed to wearing black with no lights you are wrong.

I have seen this with my own eyes to make a judgment including a near comedian wearing black last year who I almost collided with

Next time im cycle commuting in London and almost wipe out someone wearing light clothing I will admit you are right.Till then nitto.

More then once I had incidents with cyclists who appear out of nowhere and are invisible till I am almost on them.

I have already posted on here about my "race" with a work colleague the other night when I glimpsed a cyclist with a very poor back light and all I could see was the light coloured top she was wearing from quite a distance.

Perhaps you can show where I stated wearing black & having no lights was the only alternative to fluorescents and reflectives? You can't - because I didn't. Nor did I say or imply that the wearing of high-viz or reflectives is a bad thing. Indeed when I cycle at night I am lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree due to the number of lights & amount of reflectives on self and bike. And I have a few fluorescent tops I wear for daytime cycling. So don't twist what I said.

Fluorescents (high-visibility) require ultraviolet radiation to work - funnily enough, the main source of this, the sun, tends not to be working during hours of darkness. To be seen bright colours are *not* high-viz, fluorescents are. But flourescents do *not* work as high-visibility clothing when worn at night. Reflectives do work during hours of darkness by reflecting back.

By all means wear high viz (fluorescent) at night if you want but don't think it is going to work properly at night - it can't. Reflectives are what work at night. And don't think that non-fluorescent colours are high-viz, because they aren't, they may be bright, but they are not high-viz

 

[Eat MY Dust]

Apparently not. This was on my way home last night and I was wearing one of these Plus I had some very bright lights burning.

All 3 of these drivers were within a half mile of each another.


View: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=V2JQeAICFT0


So, Hi-Viz/reflective material only works if people are switched on, which I'm afraid to say, not all drivers are!

 

[hackbike 666]

Wafflycat how do you know so much about what is effective and what isn't?
Everybody is such an expert on here.EMD we all know that Hi-Viz can be inneffective in certain situations and is no guarentee you have been seen.My occasional episodes with peds now and again,I never take it for granted.

 

[wafflycat]

I see Hackers, that you don't answer my question. Basic physics informs about how fluorescent colours work Hackers, and about reflectives. It doesn't require the brain power of a genius. And guess what, I cycle, drive and walk at night.

 

[aqaleigh]

high vis gear is always a good idea even if its only so you can use it in your defense during a claim for being knocked off - the more lights and high vis the better your claim against a motorist for your new bike