Hi vis discussion thread (read post #1)

Seth Brundle · 06-11-2021 10:51pm

Boards doesn't have a sarcasm smiley anymore but maybe I should have written the word for clarity.

High viz is touted by some as the be-all and end-all but as this and another examples show, it's not worth anything if drivers aren't paying attention.

Nigzcurran · 06-11-2021 11:07pm

I picked up a super bright high vis jacket last week and felt so much more secure on the bike knowing that I can be seen a lot easier than if I’m not wearing it, it’s not rocket science just common sense. High vis and a few flashing lights can save your life. Fact!

AndrewJRenko · 06-11-2021 11:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118129575#Comment_118129575

What colour is your car?

Nigzcurran · 07-11-2021 12:04am

Go on I’ll bite, it’s grey why do you ask?

tomasrojo · 07-11-2021 12:23am

Well, grey isn't as bad as black, but it still has a high propensity to be in collisions

https://directautoinsurance.org/what-color-cars-get-in-the-most-accidents-and-get-hit-the-most/

tomasrojo · 07-11-2021 12:25am

It's detailed earlier in the thread, but there isn't any strong evidence that hiviz has a huge effect on collision rates.

magicbastarder · 07-11-2021 12:36am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118129575#Comment_118129575

unfortunately, your use of 'Fact!' in relation to hi-vis - as tomasrojo mentioned - has not actually been proven as fact.

hi-vis is a reactive option, lights are a proactive option. i do choose to wear bright clothes when cycling at night (not that i've done that in over 18 months) because i believe they're probably better than dark clothes, but it's also partly so i won't be blamed for not wearing them if i come a cropper in a situation where they may not meake a difference.

Nigzcurran · 07-11-2021 12:51am

Ah lads yis are just being silly now. I drive for a living and I can see people wearing high vis easier and faster than someone wearing dark clothes, that’s not my opinion or a rumour, that is a fact! And by high vis I mean a bright green jacket with reflective strips on it

Nigzcurran · 07-11-2021 12:54am

And just to prove my point if you look at that link you provided it says black cars are the most dangerous to drive and white the safest

Nigzcurran · 07-11-2021 12:56am

The brighter the colour and the more lights the better. Stick a helmet on and a few basic rules of the road and your cutting out as much risk as possible

07-11-2021 1:10am

There's a reason it's called day glow yellow and not night glow because it doesn't actually glow in the dark. The reflective strips are conditional on a light source too. Lights are the best thing you can have in the dark. The people you are seeing are those directly in front of you and in the headlights which would be seen just as effectively with just lights, with just hi-vis oyu add factors such as dips/full beam and speed.

AndrewJRenko · 07-11-2021 1:19am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118129617#Comment_118129617

Surely you'd feel so much more secure in a yellow or white car knowing that you can be seen a lot easier than in your grey one, it’s not rocket science just common sense. High vis panels on your car can save your life. Fact.*

Stick on a crash helmet, don't be one of the 98% of drivers that break urban speed limits, and you're cutting out as much of the risk as possible, given that far more people are killed and injured in cars than on bikes?

Or why would your risk reduction tactics only apply to cycling?

* Not actually a fact.

https://twitter.com/schenectady_s/status/1187740553250783234?t=WYi0Xqzutz41LIt0bb-vnw&s=19

tomasrojo · 07-11-2021 1:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118129928#Comment_118129928

There's a helmet mega thread as well, so I'm not going down that rabbit hole, but it's not a statistical slam dunk either.

I don't really know why you're driving a car that's relatively likely to be in a collision. Don't you want to "cut your risk as much as possible"?

Nigzcurran · 07-11-2021 3:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118131023#Comment_118131023

Nah it’s luminous grey

tomasrojo · 07-11-2021 3:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118131388#Comment_118131388

But is that really lowering your risk as much as possible? Remember it's not enough to be adequately cautious. We have to lower risk *as much as possible*.

tomasrojo · 07-11-2021 3:41pm

Just out of interest, is it phosphorescent or fluorescent paint? I'm assuming it's not radioluminescent.

magicbastarder · 07-11-2021 4:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118131388#Comment_118131388

luminous or retroreflective?

just to be pedantic, luminous means it's emitting light itself; retroreflective means it reflects light that shines on it back towards its source. fluorescent means it absorbs light and it emits it back at a lower frequency.

i assume it's not phosphorescent (which is what those glow in the dark stickers and toys do after being exposed to light).

your bog standard builders vest is primarily brightly coloured and fluorescent - i.e. it absorbs UV light and re-emits it as yellow (or orange, or pink); as enfilade mentioned, that part doesn't really work in the dark unless there's a white light shining on them, and they're not much better than normal clothes under sodium lighting (which a lot of urban lighting comprises of) as sodium lamps emit on a single wavelength. the flashing on builders vests is retroreflective though.

tomasrojo · 07-11-2021 8:50pm

I think even LED street lights have a pretty negligible UV component.

All the same, the reflector bit on those vests is some use, from some angles, though reflectors are more effective a good bit lower down, like the white ones on panniers.

People can find their own optimal level of conspicuity above or at the legal minimum (one white front light, one red rear). If you're cycling on a quiet street with few junctions, optimal could well be the bare minimum.

AndrewJRenko · 07-11-2021 10:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118131388#Comment_118131388

Same colour as your crash helmet, presumably?

Nigzcurran · 07-11-2021 11:00pm

Yis are all mental lads! Absolutely away with the fairies so I’ll leave yis to it

tomasrojo · 07-11-2021 11:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118133947#Comment_118133947

Enjoy your luminous car

AndrewJRenko · 08-11-2021 12:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118133947#Comment_118133947

Try fitting a few of these to your grey car to reduce risk as much as possible.

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/133502366860?hash=item1f155c748c:g:eqMAAOSwCcZaLXtH

Macy0161 · 08-11-2021 10:51am

As has been pointed out , the "hi viz" bit doesn't work at night. The retro reflective bit is what works at night in other vehicles headlights*. An old fashioned browne belt is as, or perhaps even more, effective as all the builders vests and expensive jackets.

My main "night" time cycling is commuting, and I do use Polaris RBS and ProViz 360 jackets. Not because I really think they're more effective than my lights - it's just I don't want a some motorist getting even partly off the hook should they hit me by our fecked up judiciary!

*If they're fully functioning and/or not just driving around on DLR's in dusk/ dark!

tomasrojo · 08-11-2021 11:39am

I have a soft spot for Sam Brownes, as I've said here before. At least they fold up and go in your pocket or a bag very neatly, and they allow you to have much the same clothes for cycling as for other everyday activities and still have reflective strips about your torso (if that's what you want). They're a lot more expensive than builders vests though. I've said it before, but given those vests have no seams, no arms and close with simple velcro, it might cost only about a euro to produce one.

Markcheese · 08-11-2021 12:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118134268#Comment_118134268

I just have my dipped lights on - done that for the last 25 years odd - all cars now have drls now anyway -

Macy0161 · 08-11-2021 12:45pm

The amount of cars driving after lighting up time on DLR's is part of what makes a nonsense of the "hi viz to be more visible" argument.

magicbastarder · 08-11-2021 12:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118135596#Comment_118135596

and the funny thing is rear lights are very often not included in DRL functionality, so you can sometimes see people driving around thinking they've their lights on, but only the front lights are on. though it's not as common as it used to be.

Markcheese · 08-11-2021 12:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118135692#Comment_118135692

Saw that last week in foggy conditions on the dual carrigeway, no back lights at all ...

Road works vehicles tend to have huge hi-viz and reflective chevrons on the back so they stand out in relation to faster moving traffic ..

JimmyVik · 08-11-2021 1:00pm

Saw one of the funniest things ever this morning. I shouldnt laugh but it did. Traffic was light enough and it was dark and raining.

Cyclist passed me out (I didnt even see him til he was right beside me even though i had just checked behind me a couple of seconds before) and turned right. Next thing you hear this shout and a bang.

I went over to see if he was ok. Himself and another cyclist crashed head on. Both bikes mangled. One of them was bleeding a bit but they were both ok. Theres bikes will never ride again though.

What I did observe was, they both had lights on their bikes, now smashed, but one of them was still on. But against the glare of the traffic you couldnt see these guys even when you were right beside them.

Motorbike cop arrived then and the first thing he said was, "You never heard of a hi vis vest lads, no?".

Im 100% sure that he was right and hi vis vests would have prevented that accident.

cletus · 08-11-2021 1:02pm

2/10

Hi vis discussion thread (read post #1)

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