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Interesting one for next time a driver says you should cycle in hi-viz.
Interesting one for next time a driver says you should cycle in hi-viz
Unfortunately IME people that "suggest" this sort of thing aren't really open to reasonable debate...
It's usually other cyclists who get the most shirty about hi-vis being necessary, as we'll probably find out in this thread soon enough.
I'll be happy to wear high vis the day they make tarmac gray cars illegal and they all have to be painted lime green.
A driver won't hit a cyclist because of a lack of high vis, they hit them because they can't or won't pay attention.
IME it doesn't matter what colour you wear - I used to wear high-viz many years ago but the wilful blindness of many motorists means it simply doesn't register. Secondly, hi-viz makes you look like a dork / H&S reprobate. I do possess clothing with reflectives which I'll wear for night-riding. How and where you ride makes a bigger difference - in urban traffic where you're moving at the same speed as cars, I'll occupy prime position and only move over when it's safe for them to pass.
I always respond to motorists comments by saying I’m happy to wear hiviz as long as they only drive cars which are painted in statisticaly safe colours... they rarely respond positively!
PPE should be the last line of defence. Can anyone convince me that all that can be done to address the root cause has been done?
Yeah, i think accidents will reduce when drivers stop playing with their phones and actually pay attention to the road.
i mean, why on Earth do drivers need access to Facebook in the bloody car?
It’s usually other cyclists who get the most shirty about hi-vis being necessary, as we’ll probably find out in this thread soon enough.
I would say it is a good idea in certain conditions. I live in an area with a lot of tree covered country lanes and a lot of the road cyclists wear all black. They are putting more faith in a crappy driver seeing them than I would. The sooner they see you the sooner they may register than they need a clear gap to overtake.
They are putting more faith in a crappy driver seeing them than I would.
In my experience, it doesn't make an awful lot of difference even if a crappy driver does see you; crappy driver is crappy driver with very little ability to safely deal with your presence on a bike.
I always think of my brother’s comments after an incident - “I’m over 6ft tall wearing pink and yellow Lycra and you still didn’t see me.....”
Wasn't there a study by a guy who measured if how much room drivers gave you was relative to what you are wearing, and he found hi-viz no difference. Helmets made them drive closer. And the biggest positive difference by a large margin was when he wore a long blonde wig.
I'll carry a copy of that link with me. Maybe get it printed on my jersey (non-hi-viz obvs)
However....
Lack of knowledge on how the law was introduced, the degree of enforcement by the police, and behavioral changes in response to the law makes it difficult to attribute the lack of effect on bicycle crashes
That sliver reflective piping or logos or other additions to clothes are better than high vis in my opinion, as they catch the eye when light hits them.
"Lack of knowledge on how the law was introduced, the degree of enforcement by the police, and behavioral changes in response to the law makes it difficult to attribute the lack of effect on bicycle crashes"
It's probably fair to say though that if there were a sufficient improvement to warrant making it mandatory, it should shine out of the data.
Should all wear this...
No shit.
Next up, we ask: do painted-on bike lanes magically protect people from being minced by texting truck drivers? And do styrofoam hats make any difference when someone parks their Audi on top of you?
Srsly though, whilst I doubt that the people in power will pay any attention, it's good to know that academics are researching this stuff. I would be genuinely interested to know if those snotty yellow CYCLISTS STAY BACK stickers have had any measurable effect on how many of us have been mown down by "professional drivers" since they became de rigueur for any vehicle with a company name on it. Wonder if anyone's looked into that one?
Well, if the stupid "cyclist stay back" stickers made a few cyclists decide to not go up the inside of a vehicle with known blindspot issues, that might be considered a positive result.
The only time I've ever had an argument with a dickhead driver, quoting research into cycle safety was quite far from my mind. It just escalated into a barage of foul language and threats on both sides within seconds..
[i]MoreCashThanDash wrote:[/i]
Well, if the stupid “cyclist stay back” stickers made a few cyclists decide to not go up the inside of a vehicle with known blindspot issues, that might be considered a positive result.
How about if the stupid stickers made a few drivers decide they didn't need to bother driving carefully around cyclists, because clearly it's the cyclists' responsibility to stay out of their way as it says on the sticker?
Oops. I genuinely didn't spot the big red Start Internet Argument button I just pushed there, sorry folks. :/
The ‘cyclists stay back!’ Stickers do have an effect.
Every time I see one, the company or product advertised on the vehicle is added to my ‘do not buy’ list.
I hope there are more people doing this.
[i]mintimperial wrote:[/i]
Oops. I genuinely didn’t spot the big red Start Internet Argument button I just pushed there, sorry folks. :/
This thread is calling out for an argument, not your fault!
The only time I’ve ever had an argument with a dickhead driver, quoting research into cycle safety was quite far from my mind. It just escalated into a barage of foul language and threats on both sides within seconds..
Yep, that happens every time. Drivers tend to get a bit defensive when you point out their poor driving. It doesn't matter what you say to them.
Only last week I was beeped at for being in primary position before a blind bend (I could hear cars coming the other way). I sopped the driver and asked what the problem was and the response "What are you doing riding in the middle of the road, I couldn't overtake"
My questions of "do you really think it was a safe place to overtake?", "did you know it was clear around the bend", "would you have overtaken a car in the same place?" didn't get an answer so guessing if I had rolled out some data and research it may not have added to it.
I did have a bright yellow wind jacket on so at least he saw me....