Oh dear! A lot of emotive defensiveness here. Perhaps the OP might have been worded better - I really don't think he/she was apportioning anything like equal blame or 'blaming the victim' (thus we get the Pavlovian response of short skirt = rape false equivalence).
Also I think banning clothing or making clothing compulsory is a bit much, if well-intentioned.
That said, cycle safety is not a zero-sum political game. Any cyclist involved in an accident in similar circumstances to the OP can contribute significantly to the fact by not_being_seen_as_well_as_they_might_have_done_had_they_chosen_a_less_modish_outfit. You can be seen better with bright clothing -- that is an incontrovertible fact. And here sadly. gentlemen (and I suspect it is, mostly men who are excercised on this issue) is where the source of a large part of defensiveness on this matter lies: it's the pass where one fellow has thrown 250-plus quid for a designer outfit (prob designed by a non-cyclist) in 'urban' (i.e. dark) colours and it's going to be worn (and black is both mysterious
and slimming) come hell or high water. It's the equivalent of the black coupe for visibility and the inadequate man's vanity boost. You dress for cycling, first and foremostly, according to practical safety considerations; fashion sense should come way behind.
For entertainment, some vacuity which was posted up-thread:
[i
I don't own any Hi-viz clothing. I think it looks absolutely daft.
Irrefutable argument, Rita.
Road position and effective bike lights are much better at making other road users aware that you are there.
No, they can contribute to overall safety. Saying they are 'much better' is a fallacious or non-statement which will hardly serve to bolster any anti-HV clothing manifesto. As for 'road position?' What does that even mean?
Most of my cycle clothing is dark, and I ride my bike to uni and back in normal clothes, and I never have a problem being seen
You go to university?
- because I ride where people will see me / my lights
That's the answer! We must 'ride where people can see us'. A special elevated cyclepath perhaps (being trialled in N.London) for diehard fops whose stylish edginess is expressed in their dark gear and Gok Wan frames.
(1 flashing / 1 solid, front and rear - sometimes even with flashing light on the helmet too - pretty hard to miss if you ask me!)
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We will wear rotating lights on our heads if it will preserve our right to wear the ninja outfit (highlighted with jaunty charcoal sections).