OldLimey wrote:mjr wrote:fausto99 wrote:What I wear is pretty much irrelevant to visibility because my bikes have good German-spec lights, wheel and pedal reflectors and reflective wheel bands and some of them have the rear quarter of the back mudguard painted white. Any driver looking at my bike doesn't need to see the rider. Even so, positioning makes far more difference than the bike, but any of you riding around with substandard lights, black mudguards and no pedal or wheel reflectors don't really have a leg to stand on to lecture about visibility, do you?
The human body is a much larger target for a driver to see, especially if light or fluorescent clothing is worn.
Although motorcycling is a different world, I took the experienced rider course three times in ten years, and it was always emphasized to wear bright clothing. I had a yellow fluorescent over jacket (with sleeves) and it had white reflective strips around the arms, across the back and down the front. I've quit motorcycles, now, but in the twenty-seven years that I rode (in every kind of weather, winter included), I never had a car cross my path to make a turn. Yet that is a major cause of car/motorcycle crashes. Crotch rockets have a small profile and because of the speed of the car and the motorcycle as they approach one another, there is a good chance of being creamed by the driver; less so on a cruiser where the rider is wearing bright colors.
You mention the rear mudguard being partially white. That may help with cars coming from behind, but what about those coming the other way in the dark? The driver is hardly likely to see pedal reflectors, so all you have is a front light, and it had better be a good, bright one. Ever had your battery suddenly go low a mile or two from home? I have! That may be a good reason to have two lights so when one goes out, the other one can be turned on.
Reflective tires are good but not much help when a car is coming the other way and decides to turn across your path. So it still comes back to wearing something bright. Your life may depend on it. I wear bright T shirts (black draws the heat) all the time, and the reflective over jacket at night.
You have messed up with the quote signs. I did not write that. Please correct it.