Visibility: why are do so many riders in black

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Bicycler
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Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: Visibility: why are do so many riders in black

Post by Bicycler »

mjr wrote:OK, if you're going to play dictionary lawyer, can we agree that no-one has much complaint about having some reflectors/reflectives on the bike and/or rider, but fluorescent clothing is obnoxious and makes riders look like detained terrorists? :twisted:

I had no desire to be unnecessarily pedantic but it does help if we are all talking about the same thing. When I think hi-vis it is definitely highlighter pen colours with reflective stripes.

And yes we agree :D I don't tend to buy the stuff because it is only useful on the bike. No-one would be seen dead in it elsewhere and that's a problem if you are riding to somewhere rather than just going out for a ride.
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mjr
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Re: Visibility: why are do so many riders in black

Post by mjr »

One of the key problems is that too many riders ARE seen dead in it, yet the calls to wear yellow against low winter sun remain as loud as ever.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Visibility: why are do so many riders in black

Post by [XAP]Bob »

mjr wrote:One of the key problems is that too many riders ARE seen dead in it, yet the calls to wear yellow against low winter sun remain as loud as ever.


Very few riders are seen dead in anything - and the vast majority of those wouldn't have their situation changed by a change in any sort of clothing. Drivers, particularly of large vehicles, not looking where they are going aren't affected by the clothing worn by people in their way.
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AlaninWales
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Re: Visibility: why are do so many riders in black

Post by AlaninWales »

Last night, driving a windy country lane in the wet, I came across a car 'parked' across my lane with the bonnet in the hedge. I'm unsure whether I noticed the obstruction or the blue lights of the police car the other side of it first; but it was as I came to an unhurried halt that I noticed the policeman two car lengths ahead of me, wearing 'hi-viz' and directing traffic (me) around the obstruction. The yellow vest was not particularly visible against the background light and the reflectives only when he walked into my headlamp beam. His reliance on his 'hi-viz' jacket was worrying: Without it I feel sure he would have been using a torch to signal.

I have worn hi-voz (because it is expected of me) and had plenty of drivers claim not to have seen me. OTOH they claimed not to have seen the multiple lights either ...
reohn2
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Re: Visibility: why are do so many riders in black

Post by reohn2 »

I wonder what excuse this driver will give:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-30003531

As Chris Boardman has said on numerous occasions(paraphrase)''if someone is walking the streets with a shotgun,you don't issue body armour to the general public!''

May I once again refer to the Rhyl incident,where the driver walked away with a fine of less than £200+points,after driving his vehicle with numerous defects,defects which meant he shouldn't even have been driving it on the road,into a group of cyclists killing four and maiming two others.
With that kind of punishment I'm mildly surprise murdering vulnerable road users isn't a sport!
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Postboxer
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Re: Visibility: why are do so many riders in black

Post by Postboxer »

I wonder what excuse this driver will give:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-30003531


That's tragic, especially as the mother had raised concerns before the accident, I hope that doesn't detract blame from the driver if it was their fault, rather than blaming the fact that there wasn't a bus for them to take. It should be safe to walk along roads without being hit by dangerous drivers.
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