Reflective Clothing Psychology - Your Thoughts...

[sasquath]

The side effect of DRL on cars is that drivers look for lights not for objects in the road.
Steady bike light can dissapear on the background of many DRL, you can have bike 10 meters from the junction and it's light will blend with ligths of cars 100 meters back from it - crash ready.
That's a reason for flashing lights on a bike(motor and pedal).

Same applies to rear lights at night, especially for astigmatic drivers.

 

[Alex321]

If we're talking legal requirements then of course that includes rear red and pedal reflectors although tbf I'm not sure that any of the lights I own are technically legal as I don't think they're BS marked (or equivalent whatever).

It does, and very few bikes or clipless pedals come with those now, so technically most serious cyclists will be breaking that law.

All the regulations say about markings for lights is they must have " An approval mark or a British Standard mark ".

Technically, I think a bell or other audible warning device is still legally required too, but only when the bike is first sold, there is no law requiring you to keep the bell on the bike, or to use it. My new bike came without one though, and I can't find one for sale that would fit - almost all of the ones on sale are designed to fit kids bikes, with smaller diameter handlebars.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

It does, and very few bikes or clipless pedals come with those now, so technically most serious cyclists will be breaking that law.

All the regulations say about markings for lights is they must have " An approval mark or a British Standard mark ".

Technically, I think a bell or other audible warning device is still legally required too, but only when the bike is first sold, there is no law requiring you to keep the bell on the bike, or to use it. My new bike came without one though, and I can't find one for sale that would fit - almost all of the ones on sale are designed to fit kids bikes, with smaller diameter handlebars.

A bicycle is legally required to be sold with a bell, however a little known fact is that a bell is a legal requirement in Northern Ireland.

 

[Blue Hills]

Only time I've ever put a high viz vest on is in a long long tunnel - maybe 2 or 3km - otherwise I just make sure I have good rear lights - pretty much always two, sometimes 3.

 

[Mike_P]

+1 for bright pedals/shoes/socks as applicable daynight or night, when driving they beyond lights the one thing I notice more than anything else

 

[DiggyGun]

Legally, you no longer need to have a steady light. That law was changed quite a few years ago

Bike lights don’t just help you to see the road, they also help other road users and pedestrians see you. Using lights and reflectors on your bike at night is a legal requirement. According to the UK’s Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (RVLR), a white light must be showing from the front of your bike and a red light from the rear. The main points of RVLR are as follows:

• Lights and reflectors are required on a pedal cycle only between sunset and sunrise.
• Lights and reflectors are not required when the cycle is stationary or being pushed along the roadside.
• When they are required, the lights and reflectors listed below must be clean and working properly.

Rule 60 of the Highway Code states:

“At night your cycle MUST have white front and red rear lights lit. It MUST also be fitted with a red rear reflector (and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1/10/85). White front reflectors and spoke reflectors will also help you to be seen. Flashing lights are permitted but it is recommended that cyclists who are riding in areas without street lighting use a steady front lamp.”

 

[Deleted User]

Looking at road traffic collision stats, I'd say (in)visibility of motorcyclists is a massive problem that needs addressing.
Daygo won't do it but might make a contribution.

Talking from experience, and a number of collisions, excess speed on the Motorcyclist's part is the main factor coupled with car drivers inability to judge the rate of approach.
Headlights are permanently on with all but the oldest bikes now so I genuinely can't see a bit of hi-viz doing much, opinion only obviously.

 

[cougie uk]

+1 for bright pedals/shoes/socks as applicable daynight or night, when driving they beyond lights the one thing I notice more than anything else

I've never noticed bright socks after dark. Reflective stuff yes but not bright colours.

 

[T4tomo]

the provis stuff is great at night, I have the gilet and when i used to dark commute it what I used and less sweaty that a full jacket. plus I had a strip of 3M reflective tape all round on forks and rear stays and cranks / pedals 9where the didn't have reflectors) so you have side on vision for junctions etc (only really applicable in town/ city commute). also the valve cap lights are great as the move as you are riding. As a car driver, this is the stuff you see.

Stupidly bright flashing lights pointed in fellow cyclists and motorist eyes should be a shooting offence.

 

[Drago]

Stupidly bright flashing lights pointed in fellow cyclists and motorist eyes should be a shooting offence.

A year or so back I encountered a chap that had what appeared to be a WWII searchlight powered by a radioisotope generator. It was night and my retinas felt like they'd done a round with Mike Tyson, as this implausibly powerful thing was aimed right in my face.

The light just oblitereated any realistic view of him and utterly negated any chance i had of properly judging his speed and idrection relative to myself, so I pulled up and waited at the edge of the cycle path - how many blinde motorists would simply just plough on regardless?

I used some very fruity luggage to tell him what a selfish, dangerous idiot he was, but the chump couldn't see oast the fact that he had lights and was therefore an automatic exemplar of safety and consideration. I still get angry thinking about it now.

 

[gcogger]

I tend to use my own experience as a driver to judge what to wear on the bike, based on what helps me notice cyclists and judge their positions. There's no guarantee that everyone's observation works the same as mine, but it's all I've got to go on.
I find reflective items, especially moving ones (e.g. on pedals) really help me notice people when it's properly dark, as do flashing lights. I don't agree that bright colours are pointless in the dark, as things like a bright yellow make it easier to judge distances - you can see the whole person at much greater distances than someone wearing dark colours, as it doesn't take much light to make them visible. Solid lights are also a little better for judging distance than flashing ones.
The more difficult time can be around dawn/dusk when there's some light, but not a great deal and contrast is low. In those cases the reflectors are less helpful, though bright flashing lights do help. Again, I find that something like bright yellow clothing helps me see people better in those conditions, with dark clothing being particularly bad.

I totally agree, though, that a bright light pointed straight into people's eyes makes things far more dangerous.

 

[sasquath]

From driver perspective(from my experience), in a heavy city traffic at night everything above average car lights height is just a noise. Reflective ankle bands or at least contrasting coloured trousers are more visible than flashing backpack, jacket or helmet. On country lanes, especially where full beam might be in use, every reflective bit helps to be seen from miles away.
Also when signalling turns move your arm up and down, movement catches the eye, there is a reason why indicators on cars are flashing, not solid. And in night city wave signaling arm at a height that can be light up by cars light, easier to see than an arm parallel to the road at ~2m above the road. I do(aim to do) a 45 degree swipe up an down.

 

[freiston]

From driver perspective(from my experience), in a heavy city traffic at night everything above average car lights height is just a noise. Reflective ankle bands or at least contrasting coloured trousers are more visible than flashing backpack, jacket or helmet. On country lanes, especially where full beam might be in use, every reflective bit helps to be seen from miles away.
Also when signalling turns move your arm up and down, movement catches the eye, there is a reason why indicators on cars are flashing, not solid. And in night city wave signaling arm at a height that can be light up by cars light, easier to see than an arm parallel to the road at ~2m above the road. I do(aim to do) a 45 degree swipe up an down.

Moving your arm up and down when signalling to move right will make it a signal to slow down or stop

Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/signals-to-other-road-users

 

[C R]

I've never noticed bright socks after dark. Reflective stuff yes but not bright colours.

I got some ankle socks from Aldi that have a reflective spot at the back. My shoes also have reflective stripes, though my pedals don't have reflectors, or any means of adding them.

 

[Mike_P]

I've never noticed bright socks after dark. Reflective stuff yes but not bright colours.

Yes meant reflective when dark but yellow shoes or yellow / bright green socks have the same drivers eye grabbing attention during the day.