[Closed] Do you- would you wear a hi-viz when on the road,when riding a bike

I started wearing a hi-viz gore windstopper thing for a bit when I was on the trailer bike school run with my daughter.

She said it was embrassing though, so I stopped.

I do in the depths of Winter as I'm commuting every day but don't bother for the rest of the year.

Pah! I spent a fortune on my black catsuit cos they said it'd make me all aerodynamic and stuff. And do you know how difficult to get SPD platform heels? Its not on! 🙁

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stay safe dude - there are LOADS of real idiots out there behind the wheel

brights & LIGHTS 😉

You'll look a cock in Lycra no matter the colour 😀

I don't wear one. Not out of any objections, just can be bothered to buy one. Might pick up a bib/sash or something in a month or 2.

Myself - no. I do have relective tape all over the bike tho

Its an interesting point. Do you wear a helmet? A hi viz is probably more effective in reducing injury by reducing the number of bikes that get driven into. Edinburgh council insist you wear hi viz but leave helmets to choice if cycling on council business.

In winter I carry a hi-viz running tabard in my backpack to throw on if I get caught in fading light or have to ride a particularly dodgy road. Rarely use it but it weighs almost nothing so worth having.

I wear an orange Ground Effect Jersey when out on my road bike, often put the rear light on as well if it si dark or sun is an odd position

[i]Do you wear a helmet?[/i]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, please not the helmet debate again.

I do in winter for the short road stretch back from the pub to the common in the dark.

I also have a bright fluoro montaine velo for the london commute in the evenings.

I wear hi-viz on the road if its dull. Or bright. Not always when its properly dark though.

Reflective tape only works if cars have lights on, which they don't always at dawn/dusk, which is when hi-viz really comes into its own.

Actually quite interesting to see just how bright it is on a bright sunny day too. Driving over Hartside Pass, which I do quite regularly, you see a huge variety of C2Cers with various stages of visibility. Doesn't hurt (literally) to stand out.

what he said FFS TJ let it go.
I dont but i do have reflective tape on the cranks and on the rims

I've got some hi viz stuff. Never ever worn it. I'm afraid I agree with Stuart Maconi's comment on the subject.

"If you want to become invisible on any English street, simply put on a Hi-Viz Tabbard"

I did shove my lights on this morning though. It was light but a bit hazy

Uncle Jezzer. Don't make me come up there! Let that be the last helmet comment please? 😉

Its an interesting point. Do you wear a helmet?

I wear an Altura night vision "yellow" short sleeve, always.

Better to look slightly silly than be dead IMO.

I always ride with flashing LEDS front and back on the road. Even in the middle of summer. It is then car drivers have sunglasses on, making it more difficult to see you in the shade if you are dressed in Ninja black. Also most drivers seem to give you more room if you have flashing lights.

Tried it years ago and found it really really sweaty. I'm sure it's better now but I still don't. However, my panniers are hi viz yellow and the black bike is covered in respro reflective tape and the cateye holy hang grenade is flashing day and night.

High viz for commuting. Have just bought a new waterproof for road riding which is fairly bright - compared to my old black and grey one. My winter road top is bright turquoise!

Depends really .......

Commuting times I usually do as there's more traffic and they seem a bit more aggressive
I have a couple of hi-viz jerseys and a Gore jacket so no hardship really

bright sunny Sunday afternoon, probably not

I always wear a helmet, have hit a few low branches on the bike and it does save your head, also fell off and hit the dam wall at llandegla, while leaning against it and turned round to answer a question, forgot i was clipped in and fell sideways, nasty dent in helmet, but luckily i was ok.

A few years ago, a van pulled right out in front of me, i shouted the usual abuse, the driver stopped, a huge bloke, he said sorry and handed me a brand new hi viz vest, now i carry one at all times.

Do you wear a helmet?

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, please not the helmet debate again.

you look more 'pro' with a helmet now the pro's have to wear one

I wear a hi-viz gilet over whatever else I've got on. Also got reflective tape stuck to my helmet...

Flashing lights for me as well, I use them almost all the time and cars definitely seem to give a wider berth.

I've got a dangly hi viz thing on my rucksack as well but obviously only use that when I'm commuting. The commuter bike has reflective tape on the wheels too which really stands out when caught in car headlights.

Sorry - Not intending to redo the helmet debate - merely giving it at a comparison.

I think hi viz works to some extent but I cannot be bothered with an extra thing to put on. I might buy a hi viz jacket to wear for the winter commute now I am going right thru the town centre at busy times.

Reflective stuff and good lights I have

project

A few years ago, a van pulled right out in front of me, i shouted the usual abuse, the driver stopped, a huge bloke, he said sorry and handed me a brand new hi viz vest, now i carry one at all times.

🙂

Yes, for this time of year I done one of the Endura hi-vis jackets. Fully waterproof, breathable - ideal for the winter commute. For summer, I don't wear one.

Altura Night Vision jacket here in 'how the **** didn't you see me wearing this?' Flouro yellow.

Pedestrians are the worst for not looking in London, closely followed by Addison Lee cars, Post Office vans, London Buses, White Vans, taxis and Boris Bike riders

The only time I've been knocked off was in broad daylight. I was wearing a bright orange top, sporting a bright orange helmet and riding a bright orange bike.

The tediously inevitable "I'm sorry! I didn't see you!" followed. Pretty much all my riding gear is black nowadays. I do tend to believe in being lit up like a christmas tree though. I've normally 3 lights at the back and two at the front

I tend to, but then my road riding is pretty much limited to commuting.

Don't get me started on Addison Lee cars... 👿

Most days for commuting, unless it's sunny, then my High vis jacket is just too hot.
Feel safer with it on, especially as the road I commute on is quite busy and a bit tight in places.

I keep a lightweight orange hi-viz vest in my Brompton bag from autumn to spring for dusk/dark conditions as I tend to ride in my "normal" clothes. As I usually wear dark colours, it gives some chance of being seen.

Have noticed a lot of people in London using them as a substitute for lights, which is idiotic.

Each to their own, but if you cycle on the roads when its dark and you dont wear a hi viz vest or similar IMO your a bell end. If you dont wear a helmet at all, again your a bell end.

Yes, vest over jacket in colder months and one of the karrimor hi viz tops in warmer months.

Reflective stuff and good lights I have

I do think reflective stuff is great, but obviously needs light to hit it to work.

I do believe that a bit of hi-vis is great for making people aware of you on their periphery - a flash of yellow or orange to make them double check - especially at dusk or in overcast conditions when not everyone is running lights.

kingkongsfinger - Member
Each to their own, but if you cycle on the roads when its dark and you dont wear a hi viz vest or similar IMO your a bell end. If you dont wear a helmet at all, again your a bell end.

What he said. (Although becuase I've recieved a warning from the mods this week already, I'd like to state formerly thats the words "bell end" were his and not mine, I am just agreeing to the general sentiment)

😛

Commuting at rush hour esp in dusky or dark defo!!!

Don't get me started on Addison Lee cars

It's quite amazing how much a Galaxy rear door window will flex without breaking when you punch it. I wonder how I know that... 😈

Motorists aren't required to take regularly eye tests by law are they.

Be seen.

Only in winter, got a hi viz gilet from the market for £5 surprisingly good windstopper too 🙂

I commute in normal clothes. I feel like I get a wider berth by passing cars than when I'm on a 'proper' ride in 'cycling' clothes.

jeans + sneaks + shirt = human
lycra + high viz = cyclist

Hasn't research shown that that is very much the case mike?

Regardless of what you wear -cycling towards the Trafford Police station here in Manchester is very dangerous. Idiots rushing for shifts with no regard for speed or safety of others.

I even had it out with one Police officer as to why he undertook me at speed. His attitude changed from arrogance to wishing to move on quietly when it dawned on him what his job was supposed to be.

I wear a hi-viz on my commute. It's on a narrow windy A-road that has lots of dorks in Audis, blonde women driving SUVs and quarry trucks.

And people that insist on driving well over the speed limit.

A guy passed me too close just last night and put an older lady in the ditch.

There are many accidents on this road, some recently involving cyclists.

And the only alternative route is through a town.

So yes, I know it won't protect me, but I'm not giving the bad drivers any more excuses.

I reckon sitting out nice and far on narrow sections of road and is more effective, then they don't try and squeeze past you.

Hasn't research shown that that is very much the case mike?

Is that the research where the cyclist also wore a blond wig?

I wear this

[IMG] [/IMG]

You are a very attractive man.

Edit: is that a camel toe?

When commuting in poor light conditions I didn't wear a high viz mostly because it would be obscured by my backpack but I did have one of the hi-viz back pack covers and a fair amount of reflective material on the bike and always two rear lights one flashing one constant.

Slap-ons around wrists and ankles, decent lights, my Deuterpak rain cover is high vis yellow with reflective logo, and most bike clothing has reflective logos/trims.
So no, never found the need for hi-viz vests especially as my commute is 95% off road and nearly all of my local cycling is riverside path, tow-path, cycle route or bridleway 🙂

I wear a dark blue jacket and have a £2.99 tail light from Tesco.

My brother wears hi-viz everything accentuated by strap on luminous chequered LED flashing ankle/wrist/helmet bands along with most of the Exposure lighting catalogue for front/rear lighting along with front/rear helmet lights and flashing pedals.

We've been knocked off the same number of times. None.

Hi-viz - I wouldn't have thought - makes much difference at night

I don't ever wear any reflective stuff other than the odd bits sewn in as standard - I don't ever ride on the road at night either

I purchased an [url= http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Endura-Laser-Cycling-Gillet_10186.htm ]Endura Laser[/url] gillet for a recent 550 mile road ride. It was fairly comfortable, even on warm days. I didn't have any incidents until the very last day, when it had started to drizzle. I put my grey and black Gore Tex jacket over the gillet (DOH!) and, about 5 miles from the finish, a guy pulled out of his driveway in a huge (normal size for the area) truck. It wouldn't have been so bad but he was towing a ruddy great speedboat so I had to swerve around both of them. I could've sworn he'd seen me as he looked straight at me, plus I had a dayglo cover on my bar bag. He did apologise but said he hadn't seen me. Go figure.

if you cycle on the roads when its dark and you dont wear a hi viz vest or similar IMO your a bell end. If you dont wear a helmet at all, again your a bell end.

but do you ride with a bell?

I'm a big fan of the Continental City Contact Reflex tyres on my commuter.
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Scotchbrite-style reflective sidewall means drivers get excellent side on reflection from you without having to stick reflectors in your spokes (which always look a little bit "special")

Commuting, I wear a hi viz Polaris gilet and flashing LEDs. Son1 wears a hi viz orange Chrome messenger bag 8) and Son2 wears a hi viz gilet, both with flashing LEDs. Both ride on the road. Normal road riding, I don't bother, but I do wear bright colours anyway.

Unfortunately I have failed to locate a good bright hi viz rucksack for Son2. Humps are just something else to lose!

I commute in normal clothes. I feel like I get a wider berth by passing cars than when I'm on a 'proper' ride in 'cycling' clothes

I used to live by that. Camo army jacket and jeans tucked in.

Thing is, grim mornings with moisture and fog on car windows along with stress and tiredness is a bigger killer than 'ooo just spotted that bloke he may punch my face in if I drive too close'. Summer it works- autumn definitely not.

I wear generally bright coloured jerseys (unless all of them are dirty) - with reflective ankle straps over winter - lights & spoke reflectors (the tubular clip on ones) - occasionally a lumo jacket but only when it's baltic cold

I've been hit twice by cars (in 10 years of bike commuting), both times it was a light morning and they pulled out in front of me - i now use lights from september to april (ish!)

I may have to rethink my attire. My new commute seems to bring me in to far closer contact with more idiots in cars.

No harm at all with having the rear lights on all the time and I suppose getting some hi viz will be worthwhile. as I will be riding at dawn and dusk right thru the middle of town.

I'd even suggest using your nightlight for commuting

All my cycling tops/jackets are hi-viz Altura Night Vision. I think hi-viz is most useful in low light conditions (such as my commute home every day at the moment). Probably look like a right knob but I want to give myself every advantage (especially considering the hi-viz option is the same price as the non-spaz option).

Without wishing to poke the hornets' nest too much, I agree with the comments above that being visible (hi-viz, reflectives, good lights) is more important than wearing a helmet (although I do also wear a helmet).

I use my dx light for the "proper winter" when it's dark in the morning and post work - nothing like a flashing monster LED to get cars to move over when filtering! (also gives cars some warning if you are approaching on unlit roads)

(although an old giffer did wave me down last year to say my light was too bright - better too bright than invisible i reckon)

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If it's cold or raining on the commute I'll stick this on. It doesn't look [i]too[/i] bad (better than a yellow bib anyway). Otherwise it's just a normal t-shirt. 90% of my commute is cycle path though so I think the risks are small

(although an old giffer did wave me down last year to say my light was too bright - better too bright than invisible i reckon)

Take light off. Hold it up next to his headlights. Slap him.

Being both a driver and a cyclist, there have been numerous occasions where I have not spotted a cyclist until the last minute, even though they have been wearing hi-viz tops.

I think they make sense in cities and towns where there is a clear contrast between the colour and the back-drop, but when you are out on country lanes their effectiveness is diminished somewhat by the dappled lighting and the colours of the back-drop (the yellow ones at least).

And at night... well, only the reflective part is effective and most jackets, hi-viz or not, come with reflective parts on them.

As a result, I feel lights are far more important that hi-viz clothing.

if you cycle on the roads when its dark and you dont wear a hi viz vest or similar IMO your a bell end. If you dont wear a helmet at all, again your a bell end.

Hi viz (yellow or orange) or a jacket with reflective bits. but most important is a flashing LED on the back of my lid and a constant one on the bike.

flasher high up to get their attention constant to give them something steady and vizible to gauge distance from...

I haven't got any hi-viz. Tend to wear red for commuting (hides the blood). Can't believe it makes any difference to drivers seeing you or not, or how they react when they have seen you. Just makes the wearer feel a bit safer.
(I have got reflective patches on my backpack to make me feel a bit safer.)

Well when its frosty and cold/gloomy and dark I almost reversed into a cyclist. I was utterly shocked and apologised. She was dressed in typical Endura bike kit and I mentioned 'the tones' blended in with the greys/browns and blacks around.

In no way did it detract from the fact that I didn't see her.

Throughout summer no. Commuting through the other 11 months of the year I have a high vis wind proof and gillet. Although when it gets really cold and I need a warmer jcaket it isn't high vis. Commuting is different to road biking though as the roads are busier and the level of activity lower. Commuting bike has all the legal reflectors and a few extra ones. Also plenty of lights normally a couple front and back one flashing one more powerful steady.

Out on the road bike proper I don't wear high vis as I don't own the kit. I do still carry the high vis gillet or windproof because if I'm wearing those then chances are the weather has detriorated or it is early/late in the day. Will carry lights if I know it will be dark at any point and will often have a small rear light in my pocket in case the weather is bad for other rides. No reflectors!

I do worry where all this is heading. It will be soon the case that you could be knocked off through no fault of your own and then get blamed for
- not using a cycle lane
- not wearing a helmet
- not wearing high-viz
argh!

For commuting when it's dark for the entire commute I do, lots of lights and reflective bands on wrist/ankles too.

What really worries me in autumn and spring is when you get low sun. Came round a corner monday morning and was almost blinded by the sun shining right in my eyes, reflected off the wet road I could hardly see a thing. Was bricking it about cars behind not seeing me the full length of the road (half mile or so) Scary.

HI viz is a decent idea but I'm also worried about in future a cyclist having no lights, no hi viz and no *head garment that must not be named* absolves motorists of driving over them.

Road positioning is also important for avoiding a [b]S[/b]orry [b]M[/b]ate [b]I[/b] [b]D[/b]idn't [b]S[/b]ee [b]Y[/b]ou. More so than high-viz, I'd say. I see loads of commuters riding in the gutter when they should be taking the lane.

But, SMIDSY should lead to a driving without due care and attention conviction, rather than being used as a defence. Unless the cyclist was riding without lights at night, if a driver didn't see them, they didn't look properly.

Did you have your glasses on Hora?

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My commuting jacket is bright ornage, but sometimes when the weather is really horrible or it is unusually dark in the early evening I throw on a hi viz vest, it attracts quite a bit of attention as it says "AMBULANCE" on the back and is covered in reflective stripes, but anything extra I can put on in Bradford is good.

Hi viz kit is a suplimentary measure nothing more. it's a passive means of making you "more vizible" it relies on having a light source (head lights) reflect off it.

Active illumination (lights) are the best means by which to get yourself seen in poor/zero light conditions.... End of.

If it's looking dusky or is dark then I have plenty of lights, wear a sam brown belt and have straps around my arms. In proper winter I have a police surplus jacket which you can see from the moon and makes everyone think I'm a policeman, except I'm going quickly and follow the rules.

Hi viz kit is a suplimentary measure nothing more. it's a passive means of making you "more vizible" it relies on having a light source (head lights) reflect off it.

High Viz doesn't rely on a light source.

On a high-viz waistcoat, the green or orange parts are always high viz. It's only the reflective parts that rely on a light source.

always high viz

But they aren't always highly visible.

It does make a difference in your PI claim tho' if you are hit - not wearing hi viz or bright colours can be considered contributary negligence. It certainly helped in mine.

Commuting bike has all the legal reflectors and a few extra ones.

Including the amber pedal reflectors? I can't quite figure out how to attach them to egg-beaters. 🙂