Once a cyclist caught me up and asked if I was OK. I thanked him for his concern and explained that I was just trying out my technical waterproof and breathable layer: not fluorescent but I seem to get noticed. I am certain that motorists have driven very courteously around me, so maybe I’ve done my bit for road peace and harmony.
Hi-viz in daytime is certainly not a legal requirement. You can dress however you want - dress up as Darth Vader, if you want (although I don't imagine that helmet allows for very good visibility).
Hi-viz and/or reflective clothing at night (well, in the dark) is probably sensible, but still not a legal requirement. I think that the onus is on the driver, or the cyclist, to see things in front of him and to not hit them. But if you are dressed as a ninja after dark, in dark clothing and with no reflectives or hi-viz or anything else, then it *is* much harder for people to notice you and (unfortunately) I suspect that that would be taken into consideration if the worst happened.
However, lights and reflectors mounted on the bike *are* a legal requirement at night. Why would you want to ride at night either completely dependent on other people's having lights in order to be seen, or relying on the joys of lamp-posts to see where you're going and void potholes?
Postboxer wrote:Shall we hold a 'national cycle into black cars day'?
Please don't. My car is black. I didn't have much choice, the model I needed for work I had to buy 2nd hand (I can't afford new) and the dealer could only find one in the country, which happened to be black.
Postboxer wrote:I bet, not that I'm recommending it, cycling naked would get you most seen.
It would also get you arrested, as the police worry much more about nudity than road safety, for reasons which escape me. Also, even if you wore a colour that photographed in the right light and PS'd a bit looked a teeny little bit like skin, the ICU would condemn you. If you were a woman, anyway.
Postboxer wrote:I bet, not that I'm recommending it, cycling naked would get you most seen.
It would also get you arrested, as the police worry much more about nudity than road safety, for reasons which escape me. Also, even if you wore a colour that photographed in the right light and PS'd a bit looked a teeny little bit like skin, the ICU would condemn you. If you were a woman, anyway.
Yeah, but the UCI condemn me for riding a comfortable machine anyway
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way.No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse. There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
I never said it was equal responsibility but a cyclist can help themselves and should. We dont live in a perfect world get used to it, you may find in life you have to do things you may not like or agree with, riding in black is your choice, i think its foolish. How long before some insurance scumbag uses it as an excuse in a court case ? M`lud my client complained that the rider was dressed completely in black and was virtually invisible ! You can literally hear them trying it on ! Why give them the chance ? Your hearing is the next best thing to eyes in the back of your head, why would you cover them up ? Doesnt make sense.
Sagwagon wrote:How long before some insurance scumbag uses it as an excuse in a court case ? M`lud my client complained that the rider was dressed completely in black and was virtually invisible ! You can literally hear them trying it on ! Why give them the chance ?
They've always got that chance. They can just as easily complain that the rider was dressed completely in yellow against the low winter sun. Few do because they don't enjoy being laughed at. M'lud my client complained that the house wasn't painted hi-vis yellow...
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Why would you ride without mirrors? Gloves? both of those I'd put way higher on my list of priorities that dressing like a banana with a funny hat.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way.No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse. There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
I dress like a banana with a funny hat, plus wear mitts and have a mirror, plus have "visibility lights". None of this can do any harm, and if it helps, that's good innit?
I'm thinking, these guys really ought to have been dressed in white and/or Hi-Viz:
They'd then probably have been spotted before they froze to death...
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity. Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments... --- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
Mick F wrote:I dress like a banana with a funny hat, plus wear mitts and have a mirror, plus have "visibility lights". None of this can do any harm, and if it helps, that's good innit?
It can do harm... by helping to make cycling look like the sort of activity that is so dangerous it requires special protective clothing. We should join forces with walker safety organisations and reject this assault by motoring intersts.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.