Hi-viz, does it make a difference in rider visibility?

[swbarnett]

In the interests of being fair minded I thought I should say that I have found one very specific situation where reflective gear (not normal hi-vis) absolutely made a difference. A couple of days ago I was riding in thick fog. Visibility of maybe two bike-lengths. Out of the gloom about double that distance in front of me came the shape of a runner's reflective stripes. I could only see the stripes. Without them I would've been lucky to see them at all. And, yes, I definitely was looking.

[oneofsix]

In the interests of being fair minded I thought I should say that I have found one very specific situation where reflective gear (not normal hi-vis) absolutely made a difference. A couple of days ago I was riding in thick fog. Visibility of maybe two bike-lengths. Out of the gloom about double that distance in front of me came the shape of a runner's reflective stripes. I could only see the stripes. Without them I would've been lucky to see them at all. And, yes, I definitely was looking.

Yeah, runners should have to wear tail and head lights.

[oneofsix]

Why Hi-Viz can't work.

Your eyes may be on the road ahead, but if you're on the phone, punching an address into the GPS or using a voice-activated app to send a text message, there's a disconnect between your eyeballs and your brain.

"Cognitive distraction is something that drivers aren't aware of, so they may go through a red light or a stop sign and be totally unaware they've missed it," said David Strayer, whose research team at the University of Utah conducted a two-year study of the problem.

"They will tell you 'I never saw it' because their brain was focused elsewhere."

Ok, the first line is a stir but I still reckon most of the "didn't see you"s are a case of their eyes saw alright but their brain wasn't there and this backs that up. Therefore it doesn't matter how visible you are they will not "see" you.

[scumdog]

Why Hi-Viz can't work.
Therefore it doesn't matter how visible you are they will not "see" you.

Ya never know, maybe you can't count on it but MAYBE one day it will get you seen and save you from disaster.

[Road kill]

I think it works well when it's one biker wearing it but if it was every biker I believe it would lose most of it's effectivness.

Either way I'm going to take my chances just like I always have.

[oneofsix]

Ya never know, maybe you can't count on it but MAYBE one day it will get you seen and save you from disaster.

Gee I thought the Southern man drank Speights, not Tui.

I think it works well when it's one biker wearing it but if it was every biker I believe it would lose most of it's effectivness.

Either way I'm going to take my chances just like I always have.

IF their brain aint attached to their eyes it don't matter what you wear. If by take your chances you mean you will keep your eyes open and brain on the job then good for you.

[Road kill]

I've never trusted other road users reguardless of what their driving or riding.

If believe people drive and ride with a subconcious threat perception thing going on.

If they see something that does not ring their subconcious threat bell then they simply don't respond.

Different things that they don't see everyday get an instant responce,,IE hi vis the first few times.

After that hi vis gets pushed back to no threat status and becomes ineffective.

Bikers in general are "no threat"

We're dealing with people that drive in front of trains so I just treat them all as if they can't see me and it really doesn't bother me.

Truck,car,bike,,I drive them all with that mind set.

[scumdog]

Gee I thought the Southern man drank Speights, not Tui.

Ya see, down here we don't have 8,000 cars per kilometer jammng up the roads so a hi vis does tend to stand out a bit...

[Rhys]

A new twist

http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/blog...lists-a-target

[granstar]

Saw a dog...re-phrase that, ....Saw a blue flashing light going along the footpath in the dark. Was a dog owner leading a dog with a flashing blue collar, bloody good idea I thought

[Citroenjunkie]

Yup, lets join the orange and yellow brigade, become slaves to new age safety requirements , so we can exercise our freedom of choice,
(do we really have that anymore?)

And let's not forget to wrap our children in cotton wool and protect them from everything, and then if we all cower in our bomb proof shelters and recite mantras the whole world will be accident free and safe!

I will not wear a neon jacket, why not expect the lazy bastards in the cages to actually stop sipping on their soy decaf lattes and texting and actually pay some attention to the world as it floats by!

[fireball]

The second bounce after being hit by a SIDSYM driver still hurts if you are in hi-vis or not.
I don't wear one..... One less thing for the paramedic to cut off.

[superjackal]

I don't see wearing Hi-Viz a violation of freedom of choice, for me its a preservation of my future freedom of choice. Frankly if me wearing Hi-Viz prevents at least one accident in my life time and doesn't force the rest of New Zealand's citizens to pick up the tab, then I'm fine with wearing it. If the studies are correct then there are good reasons to wear Hi-Viz. But no, like with motorcycle helmets (or any safety gear for that matter), people shouldn't be forced to wear them. But on the flip side, those that are stupid enough to not wear safety gear while riding and end up (due to their own error) smashed up, they should ideally be paying for their own medical bills instead of using our tax dollars.

And what if someone caused an accident because you were wearing a Hi-Viz vest? Not outside of the realms of possibilty....?

I'm no libertarian but let people make their own decisions and live with the consequences.

[scumdog]

The second bounce after being hit by a SIDSYM driver still hurts if you are in hi-vis or not.
I don't wear one..... One less thing for the paramedic to cut off.

Likewise why I don't wear a full face helmet...

[Erelyes]

Likewise why I don't wear a full face helmet...

Mmmmm. Makes it a lot easier for them to stem the flow of bleeding from having half your face scraped off.