Hi-viz is an idiotic fad

[pritch]

http://www.visordown.com/features/di...fad/24473.html

[slofox]

He's dead right - in the immortal words of Gilbert and Sullivan, "When everyone is somebody, then no-one's anybody."

When everyone wears hi-viz, nobody's visible any more.

[Scuba_Steve]

He's dead right - in the immortal words of Gilbert and Sullivan, "When everyone is somebody, then no-one's anybody."

When everyone wears hi-viz, nobody's visible any more.

yep & like him I see it happening much he same as headlights (he uses helmets as example but I see it more liken to headlights of recent)

[TheDemonLord]

When I get back on my bike, I will be joining the Hi-Viz brigade.

Now I should note I think HiViz will make me look like a member of the village people which is not appealing, however my logic is this:

If I can stack the cards in my favour as much as possible with ensuring that I am seen, then ultimately I will be better for it.

The alternative is for the government to legalise Bike-mountable RPGs, which would I am sure increase the average drivers vigilance for Bikes....

[pritch]

The headlights thing is a good analogy and relevant in other ways. My bike has two headlights, if they can't see those I suspect a Hi-Viz jacket will make fuck-all difference.

[rustyrobot]

When I get back on my bike, I will be joining the Hi-Viz brigade.

Nah - don't waste your time on fluoro hi-viz gear, you'll just blend in with all the cyclists and bored looking dudes holding stop/go signs.

You need to get yourself some EL wire and build a tron suit - that'll make you stick out for sure.

[Scuba_Steve]

Now I should note I think HiViz will make me look like a member of the village people which is not appealing, however my logic is this:

If I can stack the cards in my favour as much as possible with ensuring that I am seen, then ultimately I will be better for it.

To which I would have to ask, then why don't you strap on some tassels & a pink tutu (effectively dress up like a harley rider) that'll get you noticed more than any "hit me I'm here vest" will

[bogan]

If I can stack the cards in my favour as much as possible with ensuring that I am seen, then ultimately I will be better for it.

Factor in complacency though, if a highvis rider gets missed 1 time out of 10,000, compared to a normal vis rider getting missed 1 time out of 1,000; who is going to be more practiced at dealing with the miss?

[HenryDorsetCase]

Hi viz or stealth?

Hi viz or stealth?

Hi Viz or stealth?

What about Hi ViZ AND Stealth?

What I want is a standard woodland camouflage (or DPM) pattern but the colours are Hi Viz Yellow, Hi Viz orange, Hi Viz pink.*

then, make a jacket/trou/posing pouch... then....

....profit.

Its a sure fire winner. I'll need a hundred grand to develop the idea, then another couple hundred k for tooling and manufacture. I should be able to get your jacket to you by the end of 2015.



*yes, just like that scene in DA ALI G MOVIE.

[James Deuce]

Nah - don't waste your time on fluoro hi-viz gear, you'll just blend in with all the cyclists and bored looking dudes holding stop/go signs.

You need to get yourself some EL wire and build a tron suit - that'll make you stick out for sure.

You leave Hitcher out of this!

[Mike.Gayner]

If I can stack the cards in my favour as much as possible with ensuring that I am seen, then ultimately I will be better for it.

You're too bloody right DemonLord, but good luck convincing this lot. KB members live in an alternate universe where they're actually convinced hi-vis works like camouflage and is indeed less visible than dressing up like the road. The cognitive dissonance is mind-blowing.

My personal feeling on it is that if people on bikes are going to complain about not being seen, the least we can do is make ourselves as visible as practical.

[James Deuce]

The headlights thing is a good analogy and relevant in other ways. My bike has two headlights, if they can't see those I suspect a Hi-Viz jacket will make fuck-all difference.

There was study done in NZ in the early '90s that Motorcyclist magazine have been quoting of late that concluded that white helmets were the most visible. I've had no response to the point I made about bike cops in NZ wearing plain white helmets at the time. The same study also concluded that white fairings were at the more visible end of the spectrum. Um. The Police BMWs of the time also had what looked like a plain white fairing when seen in the rearview mirror. It's neither the white helmet, nor the white fairing people were seeing, it was the fuzz, man.

[James Deuce]

You're too bloody right DemonLord, but good luck convincing this lot. KB members live in an alternate universe where they're actually convinced hi-vis works like camouflage and is indeed less visible than dressing up like the road. The cognitive dissonance is mind-blowing.

My personal feeling on it is that if people on bikes are going to complain about not being seen, the least we can do is make ourselves as visible as practical.

A. It makes no practical difference. I've tried wearing Hi-Viz for a couple of years in the past and have worn plain black leather for the last couple of years. My conclusion is that plain black leather is more visible than fluoro green or orange. The lack of near misses at intersections is marked when wearing black leather, because people wearing hi-viz are pussies. In the public eye of course. The only way to practically improve the situation is to wear a white flip-front helmet, ride a bike with a white fairing, and have a pole at the rear of the bike with a lunchbox shaped like a blue police light on top.

B. I don't compain about not being seen. I've investigated the neuroscience behind the phenomenon and have concluded that the only thing that will fix it is training people to look. Your eye to brain connection does not work the way you think it does.

[swbarnett]

If I can stack the cards in my favour as much as possible ..., then ultimately I will be better for it.

Then sell the bike and buy a tank.

[swbarnett]

You're too bloody right DemonLord, but good luck convincing this lot. KB members live in an alternate universe where they're actually convinced hi-vis works like camouflage and is indeed less visible than dressing up like the road. The cognitive dissonance is mind-blowing.

No, most of us are saying that NOTHING is visible to those that don't look. Much better to fit a loud pipe. Sound is not directional.

My personal feeling on it is that if people on bikes are going to complain about not being seen, the least we can do is make ourselves as visible as practical.

The only SMIDSY I've had that resulted in contact (in over 20 year of daily Auckland commuting and open road) was from behind. Good luck seeing a hi-vis vest past a 55L top box. What I did do was add two super bright LED lights to my number plate. The main thing I've done though is being much more aware of what's behind me. I've also stopped being over cautious while cornering over white paint in torrential rain; I only got hit because I was going way too slow.