Hi Viz?

[Voltaire]

I work in East Tamaki, lots of the car drivers are already wearing Hi Viz..... I might not bother wearing mine any more and just rely on really loud exhaust and get a seibel horn.
At my work I do all the EH and S permits, risk assessments etc. I suspect that by me doing all this its dumbing down the contractors as they are treated like idiots who don't have a clue.

[v-twinsuzi]

I think that a huge part of the visibility issue for motorcycles and bicycles is that cagers "see" them but, because their consciousness is looking for another cage type vehicle, motorcycles and bicycles don't register in their brain.

However, because in NZ, there is such a huge number of people wearing Hi-viz ie joggers, cyclists, truckdrivers, roadworkers, Mum's pushing prams,volunteers at events, motorcyclists and so on, that Hi-viz IS penetrating into drivers consciousness. They may not recognize immediately what is in Hi-viz, but they register something, and hopefully take appropriate action.

Still not sure about not seeing trains though

Just my 2 cents worth !!

[Erelyes]

I might not bother wearing mine any more and just rely on really loud exhaust and get a seibel horn.

Rely on your wits instead. Many people drive who are deaf either fullrange or tonally (my mother-in-law can't hear seagulls).

[bsasuper]

Why don't they just paint all vehicles hi viz?

[Hitcher]

Why don't they just paint all vehicles hi viz?

Because then they'd all look the same and there'd be no point of difference. It's a bit like cars driving with headlights on during daylight, diluting the effect that motorcycles had when that was our exclusive brand, well us and tuggers in cars and Volvo owners who thought they were being clever.

[MIXONE]

I wore hv when commuting into the Welly cbd on a daily basis.Also have loud exhausts,bright headlight and a multi coloured helmet.Anything for an edge but I still got cut up on a regular basis.They can't see you if they aren't looking!
Now I don't ride into the cbd the hv is collecting dust in the back of my cupboard.

[scumdog]

I see a problem with your comparison.

Seatbelts demonstrably reduce the chances of you fucking yourself up in a crash; q.v. recent Nurburgring thread, cf. modern vs historical crash vid in that thread.

One could thus argue that there can be no 'false' sense of security with a seatbelt. It offers security, fullstop.

Whereas hi-vis does two tenths of fuckall in terms of protecting the rider (e.g. abrasion or impact resistance) and instead relies on supposedly making the rider more visible (which is unproven).

Oooh! 7 days is on.

Believe it or not that was the argument put forwards against wearing seatbelts when the law making them mandatory came in way back..."they'll all think they're invincible now and drive like idiots" (pfft. like they need a reason to drive like idiots?)

[chasio]

And the poll on the Harold webshite doesn't even have bikes/scooters as an option for preferred mode of transport.

Because surely NO-ONE could actually PREFER motorcycles.

[Angel_of_Metal]

Meh, just like riding motorbikes/scooters, bicycle riders need to just start going with the assumption that nobody has seen them, and everyone else on the road is trying to kill them. Take the onus for avoiding potential accidents regardless of who may be at fault. It's not hard, and will probably do a far better job than shiny clothes

[pritch]

But it MIGHT, just might give you an edge...

Might not too! That same coroner used to think that. In a previous decision he said that cyclists should have been wearing hi viz.

Now he's a bit older, hopefully just a bit wiser, has seen a few more cases, and has done an about turn. Nice to see that at least one legal professional doesn't rigidly adhere to an entrenched position despite evidence to the contrary.

[caspernz]

Sorta like wearing seatbelts does to car drivers?

What? -
It doesn't?

Well neither does Hi-Vis.

But it MIGHT, just might give you an edge...

This has gotta be the most sensible thing I've read so far today. In most cases the seatbelt makes a positive contribution to safety, yet there are some where it's a negative...

Hiviz on motorcycles is much the same, it may be hard to prove it helps or hinders, personal experience suggests I'm more visible in hiviz so I'll wear it. I actually thought I'd extend that theme to the whole bike though...

[rastuscat]

This is a discussion with bugger all chance of an agreed outcome.

I wear an hv helmet. Sticks out like dogs nuts. Plenty of positive feedback on it.

I dont care if others dont agree with hv. Their call entirely.

Just dont make it compulsory. The answer is in having contrasting colours, textures and patterns, all good clues to a seeing eye. Yellow or orange can provide that, but not exclusively so. Black leather jacket with white sleeves is good too. Harley orange looks cool too. Contrast is the key, citizens.

Pffft.

[Blackbird]

This is a discussion with bugger all chance of an agreed outcome.
Pffft.

A pointless discussion too in most respects. Most of those those opposed to wearing a hi-viz will continue not to wear one and those who think it might help, even in a small way will continue to wear one. A less debatable outcome is increasing your personal road skills..... everyone knows it reduces the risk of coming to harm but how many actually do something about it on a regular basis?

[skinman]

Appearance seems to make a big difference. When I rode a black loud cruiser & wore a black leather jacket & seemed to be very visible, stange as by the gubbermants logic & should have been totally invisible.
Now I ride a bike which to the average cages eye looks enough like a cop to cause a second look, works well.
So the key to being visible seem to be look like a threat either to their health or wallet not so much about hivis or not

[rastuscat]

Yes. I ride a Popo bike and get noticed. My personal ride is a civilian version of the work bike, I wear a yellow helmet and people seem to see me like I wuz working.

Still, any day its my actions that make me safer. I own the solutions. Well, most of them.