Hiviz. Am I a dork?

[rocketman1]

I have taken to wearing a Hiviz (bright greeny yellow) top lately while riding, but my mates think I look a bit of dork.
I don't really care ..............but then do a bit.

I tell what changed my mind; A couple of weeks ago I was coming out of the intersection at Whakamaru, besides the burnt out petrol station and coffee shop,( thousands will know the intersection) turning right towards the Dam.
I was raining hard and I was driving my CAR. I stopped and looked twice both ways and proceeded right, just as I was turning this big black JEEP turned right in front of me. F--K I missed him by inches, but up till then I never saw him at all. He gave me the finger and filthy look (rightly so I suppose).
This didnt worry me, it was my own fault, I could not believe I had not seen him, such a big vehicle.
I started to doubt my own, sanity and eyes for a while afterwards, and stopped and looked about 3 times each way all the home at each corner/ intersection, a bit of an overkill I know.
Two things I thought about immediately was shite! what if I was on my bike, or the Jeep had been a bike.
Reflecting on it driving home, I realize that it was quite dark, raining heavy, about 3pm the Jeep was black, against a dark back ground of pine trees , and it did not have its lights on.
All the things to make it as invisible as possible.

This has made me change my mind to wear a fluoro top, and riding my bike with full lights on.

Am I a Dork?

[unstuck]

Not in my book, you would be a dork if you listened to what your so called mates are saying about you wearing it though.

[Hopeful Bastard]

Yes and no.

Dork for turning in front of Jeep.

Jeep a fucking tosspot for not running lights in such dreadful conditions.

You for having a Hi vis.. Nah. Some of the most experienced riders wear them mate. As for me, I used to wear them.. But my jacket is also Blue, Silver and Black.. So have kinda stopped wearing them. Personal Preference.

[BigAl]

Whatever floats your boat.

More and more riders are wearing hi-vis these days and I wonder whether the law makers will use this fact to add to justification for making them compulsory.

[Hitcher]

Am I a Dork?

If you think that wearing hi vis will make you safer, yes. If you ride with your light on high beam, irritating the shit out of other road users, definitely yes. Buy a car.

[paturoa]

Yes absolutley, a high vis vest will make a smidsy less likely, question is .... 50% safer, 0.5% safer, or 0.0000005% safer. The jury is out and no-one will ever agree.

Some even argue that if everyone wore one, you'd be less safe, but then again the earth is flat.

I think that one of the main reasons that cagers get killed by trucks and trains is that the truck drivers and train "engineers" don't wear their high vis vests.

Personally I believe that being alert, being attentive, being aware do more.

... oh and I already look like a drok anyway, so a Hviz wont make me worse... ?

[Rosso]

I don't usually bother commenting on this type of post, but it struck me as appropriate because today was my first trip over the bridge to Coleman's Suzuki in central Auckland , and I put on my Hi Viz for the first time because it made me feel that little bit more secure and visable .
When I say for the first time , I mean in 7 months of which I spent 6 of on crutches and still have to have surgery to have plates removed.
In the past I used to think that wearing Hi viz was not that cool but now I don't give a shit what other people think , matter of fact I find most of my riding mates are wearing them more especially when riding around the city .
Believe me after what my wife and I have had to suffer after a car driver wiped me out on a roundabout when she failed to give away to her right after stopping , then saying she didn't see me I will do anything too make myself safer on the road and it won't stop me from riding free as long as I can.
Good on you mate,
a fellow " dork" ?????

[Crasherfromwayback]

Of course you're a dork. People cross railway tracks in front of fucking trains and get smashed by them. They're a shitload easier to spot than some dork on a bike with a high vis.

It's because the useless fuckers aren't looking properly. So you have to pay more attention to them, rather than dressing like a dork thinking that'll save your ass.

[DrunkenMistake]

I nearly got swiped at an intersection ages ago, so I started wearing a high vis vest,
Wore it for a month, and I had more near misses in that month than I did without it.

I might start wearing it again during summer as I found when its a calm sunny day you dont really see the outline of a bike very well, never hurts,

I wouldnt worry about what people think its your safety in the end of the day if you think it will save your life, then wear it.

[Berries]

No, you're not a dork if you think it is going to make you less likely to get knocked off. Personally I don't think they make one iota of difference. You've got your headlight on and people will still pull out on you. As has been said, people pull out in front of trains. And so many more cars pull out in front of trucks and other cars than bikes that you have to face the facts.

Your frontal profile is small, you don't take up all the lane like a car, you might be hidden by the roof pillar for a second or two, or a tree. Car drivers have more distractions than riders, comfort, warmth, cell phones, radios, passengers, coffee and biscuits, the dog, the bottle of water, the mince and cheese pie, the girlfriend in the lap etc etc etc. And you're probably traveling a bit faster than a car driver would expect you to be because you are a rufty tufty biker. I don't think it matters what you wear, or whether you have your lights on. You have to ride as if that person you have eye contact with is going to pull out on you, or the car ahead that just stopped is going to pull a u-turn as you go past. Because one day they will.

If you do think that a hi-viz is going to make you more visible and less likely to have someone pull out on you and ride accordingly then what's the point? They will pull out on you anyway. If you rely on other people to do the right thing when you are riding a bike you are pretty much fucked.

So yes, you're a dork. If that answers the question. But at least they'll be able to find the body easier in the dark.

That was a lighthearted response, but riding with your light on full beam will get me putting mine on full beam as well in the hope that I blind you. I don't understand that one at all.

[Roadsafe Nelson]

People will always have opinions.. yours is all that matters however

& those that make the most noise.. usually have the most to learn.....

[Berries]

Nice Mondeo.

Never understood that advert, or any of the Fate ones. Is it promoting twin headlights, or filtering to the front of the queue?

[Hitcher]

and I put on my Hi Viz for the first time because it made me feel that little bit more secure and visable .

It's that delusional thinking that is one of my biggest concerns about high vis apparel. Passive measures, like gear and lights, aren't the solution. Riders need to own their riding, control the space that they occupy, anticipate and plan for the unexpected actions of people driving other vehicles on the road.

[Cloggy]

I don't wear one, and am not planning on wearing one anytime soon.
But I must admit that hi-vis works at getting noticed from a long way out. In my morning commute I do notice motorcyclists many hundreds of metres away in traffic because they are wearing hi-vis. That might improve your safety somewhat if another roaduser has spotted you that far ahead and eventually catches up with you or reaches the spot where you are. They might remember seeing you there earlier.
I don't know if it works the same at short range when another road user pulls out in front of you from a side street or driveway. If they haven't noticed or seen your bright headlight, I think there is little chance of them spotting a hi-vis vest behind that bright headlight.

[Berries]

Riders need to own their riding, control the space that they occupy, anticipate and plan for the unexpected actions of people driving other vehicles on the road.

Motorcyclists Own The Options. Someone should use that phrase.