French bikers forced to wear hi-viz clothing from 2013

[Swoop]

Forgive me if I've misunderstood but aren't you the one advocating a sedate riding style?

He is more of a "time and place" sort of guy.
Unfortunately with the amount of demerits he had accumulated, he appeared to be quite good at doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, in the vicinity of a policeman.

Possibly even doing these things in a public place, giving bikers a bad name by doing so.

[Dadpole]

This 150cm3 debate is academic I suspect. In NZ I expect TPTB to push Hi-vis jackets as there is already a standard existing, rather than come up with any new standards for bike jackets.

[BMWST?]

Perhaps you missed the bit about 'most cordura gear has this already' ?
It doesn't. What it does often have is reflective piping on some seams. Piping is not 1cm wide. YT's Orina brand jacket has as much or more piping as I've ever seen on any cordura, and it's approx .25cm wide.
Incidentally, I'm reasonably average at 180cm tall and I have a cuff-to-cuff span of 145cm...

i did miss the bit you mention.....I was thinking fingertip to fingertip

[ukusa]

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/Ne...n-hi-vis-demo/

this from mid 2011 shows protests mean fuckall.

I await the day when all bikes also need to be painted in day-glo colours

[Katman]

Unfortunately with the amount of demerits he had accumulated, he appeared to be quite good at doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, in the vicinity of a policeman.

Three months to go - and counting.

[scracha]

No - it isn't.
150cm2 is a strip 1.5m long by 1cm wide. Or 'compressed' to another shape, it's 15cm by 10cm (6" x 4")

Oh ffs, it's like being on kiwifuckingpedantic.co.nz Ok...you average lardy arsed male kiwi biker is probably about 38" around the waist, this giving a 1.57cm thick strip.

Yay...I can do primary school maths.


Back on topic.....does it say the 150cm strip has to be worn on the OUTSIDE of your other gear? Maybe I should start selling reflective underpants.

[pete376403]

See post 27. Incidentally all this reflectivity didn't stop a van turning across the fron of the guy in the photo, breaking a leg and writing off his R1. Headlight on (hard wired) too.

[MSTRS:Me]

Oh ffs, it's like being on kiwifuckingpedantic.co.nz Ok...you average lardy arsed male kiwi biker is probably about 38" around the waist, this giving a 1.57cm thick strip.

Yay...I can do primary school maths.


Back on topic.....does it say the 150cm strip has to be worn on the OUTSIDE of your other gear? Maybe I should start selling reflective underpants.

Bad mood, Jummay? Someone steal your haggis?
What the decree says is...

The decree provides that drivers and passengers of motorized two-wheelers (2WD) of more than 125 cm3 from 1st January 2013 must wear a retro-reflecting device with a total surface area of at least 150 cm ². The reflective device must also correspond either to French standards or other standards to ensure an equivalent level of safety. These standards are not published, although the characteristics are to be established by order of the Minister for Road Safety.

If the reflective device is not built into the original garment, it can be superimposed (we assume fitted/worn) by any means.

The device must be worn on the upper body, with the exception of the helmet, from the belt line of the shoulders, so as to be visible to other road users.

It must be worn when the vehicle is running or when the vehicle is being fixed on the roadway, or as the result of an emergency stop.

I don't have the actual French law, just what Right to Ride EU is saying about it.
It would seem that the French govt is concerned about night-time visibility by enacting this law. But, just like here, it will be just another imposition on riders, and a waste of time. The French already have to have reflective panels on their helmets (4 of them), and if they are so effective where's the need to go further?

The term 'retro-reflective' simply means that if a light is directed at it, it will reflect that light by appearing to light up itself. There is no mention of a specific colour, or that it must be day-glo, etc. Most reflective panels/piping are a dull greyish colour? Certainly are on the cordura gear we have, and running shoes, that sort of thing. Not exactly intrusive, visually.

AFAIK the process is the same as reflective sign vinyl (known as Engineering grade)...a layer of colour, covered with powdered glass and all sealed under a clear layer. Cop cars are covered in the stuff. Any colour is possible, including black (although it is more a very dark charcoal, and when it 'lights up', it is as a whitish glow. Other colours tend to reflect in whatever colour they are.