TheManShow

Was on the way to the pool this am to do the walking in water thing, and not the walking on water thing. Anyway my other half, and I were talking about color that are most visable to drivers.

Reason for the discussion was another motorcycle rider dress in all Black, on a Black Harley Davidson was DOA in our local ER last week.

Next thing we see is this person in Black Lycra Short, and Black T-shirt out for his morning ride on his road bicycle. Honestly I was only 100 feet away from them when so reflection made me aware abicycle was up ahead.

I say to the other half good reason I like Hi-Visability Yellow because if some motorist nails me they can not say I was invisable.

I do not wish to be dead right, or busted up real bad because I was not visible. Hi Visability Yellow & Green are the color that to me are alway seen first in most light conditions.

rydabent

Not true of everyone. Im setting here in my day glo green t-shirt about to go for a ride. Today since it is windy I will be on my trike, with an eight foot pole and an orange pennant. Besides that most of the ride will be on MUPS.

bovine

Yeah, I rode a hood for 15 feet on my first bike, a black Specialized Allez. My next bike was a neon green Jake the Snake, and my current bike is a bright orange Yuba Mundo. I'm done w/ muted color bikes.

ItsJustMe

I wear alertshirts, high conspicuity 3M reflective vests, I have SOLAS tape on many points on my frame, and I have a $230 taillight with modes that are actually too bright to use at night. You're preachin' to the choir in this forum buddy.

Looigi

IMO, one aspect of being conspicuous is that it's courteous to other road users. Rather than coming upon you and being startled, they can be aware of your presence well in advance and have more time to respond appropriately to your presence on the road.

kickstart

A reminder never hurts. I'll admit to getting lazy, lost my high viz vest and haven't replaced it. Been commuting on my road bike with just period correct incandescent dyno lights lately. Its not like I can tell the difference, and being a cautious rider it probably won't make a difference, but as someone pointed out, its good form to assist those trying to do the right thing.

Rollfast

I think this is mostly a nighttime problem, isn't it? If you're invisible to someone during the day, it's a different problem and maybe for both sides to solve. Don't rely solely on stripes and dayglow colors to keep safe. Rely on your senses and remember you are part of traffic, and work with it.

kickstart

An orange vest with horizontal reflective stripes can be perfect camouflage in a construction zone.........

TheManShow

The way I think when I am on a bicycle is my bicycle weigh in about 230-235 Pounds. My potential road enemies are I could be struck by where I ride & live. Golf Cart/Cars about 600-800 pounds, small to large car, truck, suv minimum 1500+ pounds. So in the event we mix it up, I am sure to be the looser.

I am over 60 that makes me healer, in all probability if I go down my road rash could kill me because of three potential unseen enemies. So when I get cut or even a good cactus prick, I take care of it. Keep your tetnaus current as they are not good for life.

Welcome to year 2015where we have Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Infections, Necrotizing fasciitis, last dirty Hospital ER's.

So I want to be highly visible when I ride, I never assume I am seen, I always let the road enemy have the right of way. I want to make it home safe for another day of fun.

Dogs are another road enemy, it never ceases to amaze me why people still walk them off leash. Or cheer on their dog, as it tries to chase you or attack your on a bicycle.

B. Carfree

Black cars, when parked, aren't wearing day-glo. Somehow, when motorists run into these "invisible" objects no one blames the parked car for the collision. Considering the human eye is much better at picking up movement against a background than almost anything else, any moving cyclist should be much more visible to a motorist than a parked object, yet we go out of our way to put as much blame as possible on the cyclist when a motorist fails to drive properly (assuming it is never proper driving to hit stuff that's right in front of you).

mconlonx

I'm tired of motorists who don't "see" motorcyclists and bicyclists. No matter what said two-wheeled riders are wearing, regardless of use of lights, etc. I don't think I should be expected to resemble a rolling rave while I'm on either mode of two-wheeled transport or suffer consequences of injury or death.

bovine

You can rail against motorists not seeing the moonwalking bear, or you can be proactive and attempt to make yourself as conspicuous as possible. If it's a choice between being righteously correct and dead, or making minor compromises I purportedly should not have to make and alive, I'll choose the latter every time.

mconlonx

How about not making compromises and not being dead? That works, too.

I bet if you wore a clown suit, you'd be even more visible to motorists; better to wear a clown suit and be silly than to not wear a clown suit and be dead, eh?

bovine

See. Now you're getting it!

catonec 

If you have a bright enough blinky light that it can be seen during the day time, I don't think the color of your jersey is too important. Fwiw I don't have any black jersey's

kickstart

We all know there are bad drivers on the road, its a fact of life, that's just the way it is.

We know there's the possibility of glass and other hazards littering the road, we can choose to use puncture resistant tires, be watchful to avoid it, carry a patch kit.......or not.
Nothing will guarantee we will never get a flat, believing some gimmick will prevent it is sucker bait, but if we do nothing to mitigate the issue other than gripe about those who litter, we're simply setting ourselves up for potential failure.

Ride the way conditions actually are, not how you think they should be.

jgadamski

Flo Orange seems to be everywhere on a construction site. Hence, many workers are moving to flo yellow on roadwork sites so they don't become mistaken for a pylon. I tend to avoid orange for that reason.

daihard 

I've also read that orange blends in well during dusk, making the colour highly invisible.

rydabent

We agree here 100%. I feel that if a motorist hits a cyclist, and uses the excuse "I didnt see him", they should automatically be charged with negligent driving plus what other charges are appropriate.

martl

i'm all for hi-viz vests for deers, boars and mooses.



As for riding a bicycle, i consider that doing something very ordinary and i can't see any sense in requiring special gear for doing it. *IF* cycling were actually that dangerous unless i dress like a clown, there is something else that needs to be fixed than my clothing.

Looigi

What's been your experience seeing what pedestrians and cyclists are wearing when you've been riding and driving? After 40+ years of doing both, I've seen enough to formulate my own opinions of what works better in various conditions. Nothing is best in all conditions. Yellows and oranges can blend in with fall foliage, and bright yellow-green with new sunlit spring foliage. They're both always better than drab colors. At night, lights, reflectors or reflective materials will always be the most conspicuous, and light colors will better allow the driver to make out your size, distance and what you are once illuminated more brightly by their headlights. The more time they have before intercepting you, and the more information they have, the better the chance they can respond appropriately. The main thing is to make them aware something is there as much in advance as is reasonable. The worst thing is for them not to realize you're there until a few seconds before their upon you.

plumberroy

I agree too!!
I don't depend on a driver seeing me especially in low light I know where they are Of coarse many consider me wire a little tight

79pmooney

I see talk here that what we wear matters little and that some bright colors act as camouflage in the right conditions. It might be instructive to see what folk wear in arenas where it really matters. Soldiers in combat for whom being as invisible as possible can be lifesaving NEVER wear solid bright orange or yellow or fluorescent green. Not even at dusk. They do however use clothing of surprising bright colors mixed in patterns.

If we want to be noticed, we might try one of those colors soldiers shun. If we do not want to be noticed, we might want to try patterns and colors similar to theirs.

Yes, as a driver, I do notice that there are times when any color of pattern out there is an affective camouflage. But that it is not often for the bright solid oranges, yellows and greens. I frequently find "busy" jerseys are not very noticeable, especially in mottled light like under trees. Red is also, I find, sometimes hard to notice. Black, often.

In my decades of road riding, I never had a driver slow, roll down their window and thank me for being visible when I was wearing patterns or in fact, any colors other than yellow, orange and very bright green. Then it started happening regularly.

Ben

I-Like-To-Bike

Just in case:

Chris516

Road position + blinky + bright clothing