Probably purely coincidence, but I have two jackets, one is dark blue, one is bright yellow. Both have 3M reflective stripes. I've had 3 near misses with the bright yellow jacket with people pulling out at me (2x roundabout, 1x normal junction; both in fully lit streets). I've had no such issue with my dark blue jacket.
Cycling at night
- Thread starter Tank63
- Start date
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steveindenmark
Legendary Member
Maybe its because you are easier to aim at in your yellow jacket.
But you might be right, it could be coincidence.
But you might be right, it could be coincidence.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
It could also be target fixation.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
"Fancy coming down the pub tonight?"
"Sorry I can't make it"
"Why not, is there something on TV?"
"No I've found a dead hedgehog, so I'm going to hollow it out and put a brick in it".
"Wow! can I come too?"
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Big fan here.
Good lights and back-up required. Flashing and Solid
Reflectives good. Especially cheap and cheerful ones like slap-wraps around ankles and wrists, the erratic movement is very eye catching from a distance.
Cheap Headtorch with flashing mode is a bonus for extra lighting and visibility, especially in traffic AND useful for fixing punctures etc.
Enjoy.
Good lights and back-up required. Flashing and Solid
Reflectives good. Especially cheap and cheerful ones like slap-wraps around ankles and wrists, the erratic movement is very eye catching from a distance.
Cheap Headtorch with flashing mode is a bonus for extra lighting and visibility, especially in traffic AND useful for fixing punctures etc.
Enjoy.
It's my favourite commuting time.A lot of my commutes involve night time cycling and I generally have no problems.
Some interesting articles (I think) ;-)
Why cycling in high-vis may be not as safe as you think
A study of motorcyclists shows head-to-toe fluorescent yellow does not always ensure you are visible
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...n/10/cycling-high-visibility-safe-fluorescent
Bike Visibility Does Little to Change Drivers’ Dangerous Overtaking
http://www.psychologicalscience.org...e-to-change-drivers-dangerous-overtaking.html
And the snappily-titled
Cyclist visibility at night: Perceptions of visibility do not necessarily match reality
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/38338/1/c38338.pdf
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/38338/1/c38338.pdf
Why cycling in high-vis may be not as safe as you think
A study of motorcyclists shows head-to-toe fluorescent yellow does not always ensure you are visible
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...n/10/cycling-high-visibility-safe-fluorescent
Bike Visibility Does Little to Change Drivers’ Dangerous Overtaking
http://www.psychologicalscience.org...e-to-change-drivers-dangerous-overtaking.html
And the snappily-titled
Cyclist visibility at night: Perceptions of visibility do not necessarily match reality
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/38338/1/c38338.pdf
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/38338/1/c38338.pdf
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
You will probably find just as many items on the internet to counter all these cut and pastes. At the end of the day it is a personal choice, based on experience.
Just a thought on this one; at night on city streets, there are lots of bright lights; cars, streetlamps etc.. Maybe with a yellow / light jacket one blends in more with the bright background - ? But then emergency services personnel wear yellow / hi viz, so how often do they get hit / near missed - ?
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
Working on that theory. Wearing black or dark colours on a dark night would also make you blend into the back ground.
Just been out for a wee short night ride. It was great!
A couple of decent rear lights, an Aldi COB front. Also a super-bright Cree one, which I didn’t use for most of the trip, only for the off-road bits.
Lovely evening - no cloud, small crescent moon, no wind, very dark, quite cold.
Left the house, after a couple of streets cut into the park. No street lighting, very quiet. Used the Cree light here.
Back onto the road for a bit, then down to the cycle path along the seafront. Cycled it end to end, then stopped and watched the world going by for about ten mins. Great views out over the sea and round the bay.
Then back home via some paths.
Only about 5 miles, but a really pleasant trip.
And said hello to a couple of cops, who were also on bikes. See quite a lot of that round our way - the police station is nearby
It’s funny - if you’re cycling late, in pairs, wearing something vaguely yellow, light coloured helmet and decent lights, people often assume you’re the police, especially if you’re cycling along the seafront path. There’s a “no drinking alcohol in public” by-law round here - and you quite often see teenagers hanging about near the sea wall, throwing away beer cans and bottles as you approach....
A couple of decent rear lights, an Aldi COB front. Also a super-bright Cree one, which I didn’t use for most of the trip, only for the off-road bits.
Lovely evening - no cloud, small crescent moon, no wind, very dark, quite cold.
Left the house, after a couple of streets cut into the park. No street lighting, very quiet. Used the Cree light here.
Back onto the road for a bit, then down to the cycle path along the seafront. Cycled it end to end, then stopped and watched the world going by for about ten mins. Great views out over the sea and round the bay.
Then back home via some paths.
Only about 5 miles, but a really pleasant trip.
And said hello to a couple of cops, who were also on bikes. See quite a lot of that round our way - the police station is nearby
It’s funny - if you’re cycling late, in pairs, wearing something vaguely yellow, light coloured helmet and decent lights, people often assume you’re the police, especially if you’re cycling along the seafront path. There’s a “no drinking alcohol in public” by-law round here - and you quite often see teenagers hanging about near the sea wall, throwing away beer cans and bottles as you approach....
I like cycling at night - preferably on small single-track country lanes - it even feels safer than in the daytime on some roads because you can see oncoming vehicle lights and in the quieter and less busy nights, you can distinguish their sound and hear them better too.
I almost always wear black trousers and a black jacket but I have reasonably powerful German dynamo lights, pedal reflectors fore and aft each pedal, rear reflector, reflective tyre walls, reflective trouser bands (as bike clips) and my jacket has a bit of reflective too.
I sometimes fix a very powerful handtorch to my handlebars for the odd 'full beam' and I usually carry a headtorch as an emergency back-up (for roadside repairs too). My front lamp is good for 25mph descents on winding single-track lanes and I can still avoid debris and fly-tipped rubbish (had 2 foot either side of a fridge in the middle of the road once).
I come across plenty of cyclists without lights or reflectors (or extremely poor rear lights) and they are more difficult to see whether they are in hi-viz yellow or all black than a cyclist with black clothing but with adequate lights and reflectors - pedal reflectors are especially effective for being seen.
I wouldn't argue that anyone should have more than the legal requirement and if that ain't enough to be seen by a driver then that driver is a liability to your safety irrespective of what you wear.
Oh yeah - and I detest being dazzled by inconsiderate road users, be they cyclists or motorists - this is one reason why I don't like headlamps* -[edit - i mean a lamp that is worn on the head/helmet] for cycling - if you look at another road user - you are most likely shining your light directly into their eyes.
It is nice to see a bat going for insects in your headlamp beam and to see an owl caught by your beam as it flies across your path.
I almost always wear black trousers and a black jacket but I have reasonably powerful German dynamo lights, pedal reflectors fore and aft each pedal, rear reflector, reflective tyre walls, reflective trouser bands (as bike clips) and my jacket has a bit of reflective too.
I sometimes fix a very powerful handtorch to my handlebars for the odd 'full beam' and I usually carry a headtorch as an emergency back-up (for roadside repairs too). My front lamp is good for 25mph descents on winding single-track lanes and I can still avoid debris and fly-tipped rubbish (had 2 foot either side of a fridge in the middle of the road once).
I come across plenty of cyclists without lights or reflectors (or extremely poor rear lights) and they are more difficult to see whether they are in hi-viz yellow or all black than a cyclist with black clothing but with adequate lights and reflectors - pedal reflectors are especially effective for being seen.
I wouldn't argue that anyone should have more than the legal requirement and if that ain't enough to be seen by a driver then that driver is a liability to your safety irrespective of what you wear.
Oh yeah - and I detest being dazzled by inconsiderate road users, be they cyclists or motorists - this is one reason why I don't like headlamps* -[edit - i mean a lamp that is worn on the head/helmet] for cycling - if you look at another road user - you are most likely shining your light directly into their eyes.
It is nice to see a bat going for insects in your headlamp beam and to see an owl caught by your beam as it flies across your path.
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mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
They don't wear all yellow hi viz here. Norfolk Police mostly wear black/white/blue not hi-viz (and I'm not sure that the ones on bikes wear blue); Norfolk Fire wear mustard/white/red (the white is reflective) and the East of England ambulance bikers wear green/yellow/black/white (which is a bit of a mess IMO, but their bikes are huge with all the kit they carry, so I doubt they get missed often) while the motor ambulance crews tend to wear green/white. Except for the police, they usually all have large reflective + lit vehicles near them blocking the highway while they're working.
I don't remember what Lowland Rescue wear because it's been over a year since I've seen them, but the Landrover I saw was very reflective too (red/white checkerboard).
I agree with you wholeheartedly but a minor ironic point - I sometimes find that now I have a really good and powerful front dynamo lamp, I occasionally think a car is coming up behind me but it is my own light and nothing is behind me - I suppose this is the legacy of many years cycling with NeverReady or Wonder lights.
