High viz jackets

[michael Bloxham]

Gore produce a cycling jacket now in a military camo pattern, is any one brave another to buy one to provide some feedback?

[UrbanManc]

.

However, for truly dire conditions I *do* have one of those custom-printed high viz vests with 'DEAF' in blue police-style lettering across the back. It makes a dramatic difference but of course, we can't all get away with doing that!

Why don't you go the whole hog and have one printed with 'Blind' across the back.

[allen-uk]

Okay, two strands here.

One, the "I'm a freeborn man and I'll wear what I like" brigade who seem to bristle with hostility whenever talk veers to legislation (although laws are apparently fine for some road users), and who apparently are bored by previous threads about RLJ (red-light jumping, I presume), even though some of weren't around then. (Oh, and talking of the subject being 'done to death' does of course lead to my remembering at least two cyclists who WEREN'T done to death, courtesy of my driving and observational skills, but it seems that's a path you don't want to go down).

Two, the discussion about high-viz clothing. It struck me today (while driving) that single lumps of colour, even fluorescent yellow, weren't as good at flagging their presence as CHANGING lumps of colour. Lights flashing on and off were a good example. Has any high-viz manufacturer ever tried to produce a cloth that changed colour dependent on its angle? So, straight-on it would look yellow, from 20 degrees on the side it would look red, and so on. It would be a boon to anyone in a similarly hazardous role.


A.

[kwackers]

One, the "I'm a freeborn man and I'll wear what I like" brigade who seem to bristle with hostility whenever talk veers to legislation (although laws are apparently fine for some road users), and who apparently are bored by

So you are heading in a clothing legislative direction?

Incidentally do you know you can build your own airplane and fly it without a license? There are caveats of course, it must weigh less than 115kg and be foot launched.

You're probably wondering "so what". Well, even the government are of the opinion that giving the public some freedom isn't all bad (it's a fairly recent change), perhaps we'll still be allowed to choose our own clothing after all...

previous threads about RLJ (red-light jumping, I presume), even though some of weren't around then. (Oh, and talking of the subject being 'done

A quick search will provide hours of reading material.

to death' does of course lead to my remembering at least two cyclists who WEREN'T done to death, courtesy of my driving and observational skills, but it seems that's a path you don't want to go down).
A.

I'm always amazed by the sheer volume of cyclists that have been saved from themselves by quick thinking drivers who are always without exception able to use them to illustrate a point.

I reckon said cyclists are somehow drawn to said motorist like moths to a flame.

Even more astonishing is where are all the cyclists that didn't have the benefit of a quick thinking motorist? A quick bit of extrapolation suggests there must be thousands lying dead in gutters all over the country...

[thirdcrank]

I wonder what upset thirdcrank, usually so reasonable. Maybe it was the reference to light-jumping cyclists (who, as I recall, weren't wearing high-viz, either... is there a link?)

You didn't upset me.

It was meant to be

[paulah]

Has any high-viz manufacturer ever tried to produce a cloth that changed colour dependent on its angle?

A.

I forget the technical name, but that kinf of fabric has been around for centuries, usually in something shiny like silk - they just weave a fine cloth using two differnet coloured threads for the warp and weft

[kwackers]

Two, the discussion about high-viz clothing. It struck me today (while driving) that single lumps of colour, even fluorescent yellow, weren't as good at flagging their presence as CHANGING lumps of colour. Lights flashing on and off were a good example. Has any high-viz manufacturer ever tried to produce a cloth that changed colour dependent on its angle? So, straight-on it would look yellow, from 20 degrees on the side it would look red, and so on. It would be a boon to anyone in a similarly hazardous role.


A.

How do you envisage it working whilst cycling?

Most hi-vis is lit pretty much directly from the front or back, so colour change would be minimal.

For a bicycle travelling across the path of a vehicle it could work but the trouble in general with hi-vis is the danger point when travelling across a vehicle is from some distance to the side - away from headlights and so the hi-vis doesn't reflect that much light.

Personally I think yellow hi-vis jackets are lost against yellow street lights under such conditions. Perhaps a multi coloured flashing headlight (or a pair of 45 deg 'running' lights would be better.

[UrbanManc]

(although laws are apparently fine for some road users),


A.

Some being the operative word, ... and certainly not the 1.5 million car drivers on the road illegally , no license, tax, no insurance.

It also doesn't include the vast majority of those that do own a car license ( what is it now, 25 million + ) that infringe the regulations on the laws concerning speed on a daily basis.

Add to that the hundreds of thousands(running into millions) that drive drunk, careless, use their mobile etc etc etc .

A tiny minority of road users adhere to the highway code.

[professorlandslide]

Who mentioned red lights? I wasn't talking about red lights... I stop. That's what you do. And i may have mentioned earlier in this thread that i am a driver too, most of my driving is for work purposes and often 500 miles in a trip. I do this thing called 'looking where i'm going' which a lot of drivers (like the taxi driver who saw fit to yell at me today for not being in the bike lane - which had a van parked in it) seem not to bother with.

I also have lights two on the back and two on the front, reflectors, reflective sticky bits on my bike and gloves and trousers.

The other thing as well, is that i don't expect to be seen, and ride accordingly, not because of what i'm wearing but because i'm sharing the road with people who despite having Judas Priest's lighting rig on the front of their SUV in well lit city streets, don't seem able to see more than half an inch in front of their noses. Do i feel safe? Well, its relative. I feel that i know what i'm doing, i'm applying my hard-earned bike handling skills to riding in an urban environment, if i think i haven't been seen i either get out of the way or take the lane, make eye contact and use assertive hand signals, keep my speed close to that of the other traffic and use the terrain to my advantage.

The point i'm trying to make is that a bit of yellow plastic won't protect you. You will protect you. It doesnt matter how much hi-viz you wear if the spanner in the SUV pulls out while looking directly away from you.

Go back to about 1992 and i was probably the worlds only goth BMXer. All black, no lights or reflectors, no front brake. Still here.

Personal responsibility, do what you feel. I ride within the law, intelligently interpreted*, and at the moment that doesn't include licenses for cyclists. Bit of an unworkable idea really, i mean, how would you run it? I've been riding a bike since i was 4, at which point should i have taken my test?

*terms and conditions apply...

EDIT: Googling around to find a way of mounting a light onto my new pro-tec classic, i found the perfect solution to all your night riding needs on a slightly scary website..

I kind of like it...

[thirdcrank]

prof

The chinstrap looks mighty loose on the helmet

I always wear a flo yellow top in daylight - as others have pointed out, pointless under street lamps. Just makes the 'never saw you, kid' sound a bit hollow.

I'm sure I've mentioned here the 'ghost shirt' thing. Apparently some of what we used to call red indians but now turn out to be native americans believed in the protective capabilities of a thin garment decorated with special magic pictures. They were so confident of the properties of these garments that they relied on them against soldiers armed with carbines. Perhaps that's why they were called 'braves.'

I first heard about this a few years ago when some of the modern Native Americans wanted a ghost shirt returned which had turned up in a museum in the UK. It was full of bullet holes.

[professorlandslide]

I presume we're all interweb veterans and have therefore seen this:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pSXKNOLyF4E

[paulah]

EDIT: Googling around to find a way of mounting a light onto my new pro-tec classic, i found the perfect solution to all your night riding needs on a slightly scary website..

I kind of like it...

Looks like it's rather heavily weighted to one side, I think if I tried cycling with it I would need to balance it out with a heavy single pannier on the opposite side

[allen-uk]

I REALLY do want to talk about road safety, whether high-visibility clothing is effective, etc., etc., and not to have a fight.

Can I just say this, and trust that all right-thinking people will agree?

Let us condemn ALL road users who behave selfishly, aggressively, rudely and thoughtlessly, no matter HOW many wheels they have, HOW many feet or hooves they use.

I'm going out for an early-morning ride, before north-west London gets too busy for me.


Allen.

[JohnL]

I presume we're all interweb veterans and have therefore seen this:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pSXKNOLyF4E

That is a great video, and a real eye-opener the first time I saw it.

The question is though, would you see the bear if it was wearing hi viz........

John

[UrbanManc]

Let us condemn ALL road users who behave selfishly, aggressively, rudely and thoughtlessly, no matter HOW many wheels they have, HOW many feet or hooves they use.

Yes, but those that behave that way in two ton killing machines whilst destroying the environment, overloading the NHS, destroying communities and wildlife deserve to be condemned more.