visibility

[tgame]

I've just spent four pounds in ordering a yellow hi visibility waistcoat on the web. I've been noticing that a number of cyclists do wear these fluorescent items and have felt that they are very sensible. I would really have preferred a Sam Brown Belt but they were three times the price. Do you people wear something of this sort and if so what?

 

[Ian]

I usually wear a yellow hi-viz vest, it used to be a cheap builders one but I now have a proper cycling one from Decathlon. The difference is that it has a lined front for wind protection, a zip front that that closes right up to the neck, mesh vented sides and a long back that covers the gap that always appears between shirt and trousers. And oh yes, almost forgot, it has the word 'sport' printed on it hence the £15 price tag.

 

[giguana]

I think the best ones are combined shoulder strap and belt that go diagonally across the chest and horizontal on the waist.

 

[Tiberius]

There has been a move in the last few years for certain airfields to require people to wear high vis jackets when walking between their parked aircraft and the booking in place. You get into all sorts of trouble if you don't comply. I have even had some places insist on calling out a special vehicle to take me the 50 yards from the terminal building to the aircraft.

On the other hand, there are airfields where you have to walk across the runway to get to the aircraft, and those are usually the ones that don't apply such nonsense. Instead they expect you to keep your eyes open. I don't have any problems cycling round my local airfield, because that's exactly the way the airfield manager gets about.

Sorry, not quite the same situation. But if you had aviation printed on the hi vis jacket it would be more than £15.

Nick

 

[fishingpaul]

hi vis jackets are well worth buying,they make you much more visible,and that could save your life.

 

[Footie]

I wear a Endura Gridlock Waterproof Jacket that I got from Wiggle.
This question was partly covered before under the title Reflectives

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/1108-reflectives.html
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PS: Be careful wearing hi-vis coats around supermarket car parks - I have been accosted several times by people thinking I collect the trolleys
.

 

[flecc]

I think the most important thing is the largest possible area of one colour, even if it's black.

Someone wearing a motley of broken up various colours can be much less visible in many circumstances where backgrounds can be a riot of colours.

It's a mistake many motorcyclists make wearing multi-coloured race style leathers.

Someone who illustrated this principle well in his earlier race days was Valentino Rossi wearing all over yellow, including bike and helmet. In a race field which was a riot of race leather colours, it was always dead easy to follow Valentino's progress through the pack in long shots, where trying to follow others was much more difficult.

I wear black and dark shades, and have never been knocked off bike or motorbike in over half a century. I've passed a few multi-colours and high-vizzers on the ground with ambulance in attendance though.
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[Jeremy]

Not any point in wearing a hi vis waistcoat on my bike, although I have one for the same reason as Nick - airfield safety nazis...............

Jeremy

 

[Capn_Phil68]

Hi All,

Have a quick read of the 'Theory of big' regarding cyclists and visibility.

The theory of BIG

I wear predominantly dark bike clothing, but use panniers to increase bike size, a bar end mirror, good bright lights and big jackets to increase my road presence.

 

[flecc]

I'd never read the theory of big Capn Phil68, but my strategy is exactly the same as yours.

The original basis of what I say is the mistake of broken up colour areas comes from my army service where there's a name for it it, camouflage.
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[Ian]

There is increasing use of two colour hi-viz vests, ie. yellow/orange.
Apparently the reason is that a common form of colour blindness causes an inability to differentiate between yellow and green and so yellow clothing does not standout from a countryside background.

I don't have any two colour vests but I do have a couple of orange ones as I sometimes have a need to wander close to railway lines where yellow HV clothing is not permitted do to possible confusion with yellow flags.

 

[tgame]

I think the most important thing is the largest possible area of one colour,.

That's an interesting idea that I had never thought of. I can see just how true it is now it's been mentioned. A lot of the camouflage techniques in the war used the principle of broken areas of colour to hide shapes.