dark cycle kit!!

[Licramite]

Modern cars have effective lighting, efficient brakes, a speedometer, heaters and window demisters, screen wipers, screen washers, fog lights, weather and road condition reports regularly available from in car radios.
How much more help do drivers need?
Don't you think we UK drivers should be required to accept a little more responsibility for our actions in line with our mainland European counterparts?.

tell that to the polish lorry driver that tried to ram me off a round about last week, its a round about - straight across - didn't even look or slow down , I ended up on the pavement.

yes our mainland cousins so much better drivers than the brits.(excluding france or italy of course)(or spain) (poland)

 

[vernon]

A flounce via a magic wardrobe?

Nah, a flounce like the Magic Roundabout - he'll be back.

 

[snorri]

if a tree falls over in the forest...........

...and onto the road, will it be held responsible for any repercussions if not swathed in hi-viz?

 

[ufkacbln]

There are actually campaigns for wild animals to wear HiViz!!!!!!!!!

From the New Forest National Park website:

Sadly, each year a number of animals are killed or injured after colliding with motor vehicles. Despite the major roads across the New Forest being fenced (notably the A31 and A35), the smaller ones are not and any animal is free to wander into the path of oncoming traffic.
In 1990 a uniform 40mph speed limit was put into effect on all minor New Forest roads in a bid to cut the number of animal deaths. While statistics did drop initially, and still remain noticeably lower, animal deaths began to rise over the following years as drivers became complacent and ignored the speed limit, one which is not so easy to police on a large scale.
Various other speed-reducing experiments have been tried, such as speed ramps and giving priority to oncoming traffic on narrower sections of road, but none have had an outstanding effect. One recent innovation was the New Forest pony reflective neck band, which make the ponies much more visible at night - the worst time for ponies getting knocked down on the dark, unlit roads.

From the Verderers:

The Verderers of the New Forest oversee the welfare of the

ponies, donkeys, cattle, sheep and pigs kept on the open forest. As you can imagine, they would like to stop these accidents happening as much as they possibly can. Reflective collars, which can be fitted to ponies’ and donkeys’ necks, are one way of trying to make sure they are easier to see.
The Commoners who own the animals are helping to preserve an ancient tradition by letting them out to graze and browse in the forest but they earn very little from doing this. So the Verderers decided to supply the reflective collars free of charge. Ponies are good at losing them though and they often need to be replaced. Money sometimes runs a bit short!
Of course, the best thing of all would be for everyone who drives through the New Forest to slow down and take special care. But the least we can do is to make it as easy as possible to spot the ponies when they wander onto roads. So we feel that providing collars is important.
By buying a copy of Charcoal and the Christmas Foal, you have made a donation to help the Verderers continue to supply reflective collars and support them in their efforts to reduce the number of road accidents involving the ponies of the New Forest. Thank you!

In Wales (Gower) there were also demand that cows and sheep wore collars, it was even debated by Swansea Council!

John Hague, the cabinet member for environment, said: "In Gower it is suggested that, over the common, speed limits should be reduced to a more appropriate speed, provisionally 40mph. This would be similar to those in the New Forest and Dartmoor and would improve road safety."
Mr Hague also said the council intended to improve the visibility of the animals living on the commons to motorists, with the introduction of reflective collars. Gower residents have long been campaigning for action to be taken to improve road safety to protect animals and motorists.
In September 12-year-old Poppy Jones, from Pennard, told the Post how she had witnessed a badly bleeding cow with smashed front legs desperately trying to reach her calf. It happened at night as Poppy and her mother Kate were heading along the South Gower Road, near Swansea Airport.
Speaking at the time, she said: "There are many black cows who are very hard to spot, and many people could get hurt."
A full meeting of Swansea Council will be told of the proposals next week.

In 2007 the Grazing Advice Partnership actually suggested choosing farm stock with visibility in mind!

The colour and to some extent temperament of different breeds are important considerations, as light coloured cattle are more visible on the roads and amongst the vegetation of the site

 

[tyred]

livestock don't have lights.

But do they pay road tax?

 

[jayonabike]

In Wales (Gower) there were also demand that cows and sheep wore collars, it was even debated by Swansea Council!

The only reason the welsh want the sheep to wear collars is so they have something to grab on to.

 

[theclaud]

I disagree entirely with the claud.

If your performance on the Helmet and Army threads is anything to go by, I regard this as an endorsement.

 

[DRHysted]

That extract about the New Forest is sooo old I can't actually remember when they started to wear reflective collars. If the ponies are stood side on, they do stand out very well, head on or rear end on, and they disappear easily (just ask the one I nearly rear ended on the bike last winter).
The thing is my black cycling gear is hi-viz due to the reflective stripes. It is however not day glow yellow.
I was informed by a cross continental lorry driver last year that yellow is a poor colour of choice, as it can become vague in sunlight (and in his experiance attract flying insects). He adviced a mixture of contrasting colours, and as to date he hasn't hit anyone, and probably does more mileage than most here, I'd listen to him.
Hence all but one set of shorts/tights are black (the odd one out is red) with hi-viz stripes (or markings). I have one completely yellow top, then yellow and black, red and black, blue and white, and red and white. All have hi-viz stripes (or markings) on them.
Also the bike has wheel reflectors, pedal reflectors, rear reflector (the front one broke and I haven't replaced it as I run two chinese 1200lumen lights). My shoes have reflective markings, and either my rack bag or my full panniers have reflective markings.

 

[theclaud]

The driver has an absolute responsibility to see me: so why do we bother with pedestrian crossings? let people step out at will as it is someone elses absolute responsibility to do something about it ? why do we have costly road safety campaigns? lets shoot Tufty the Squirrel, why on here do we argue about headphones and moan about stupid peds?

If you want to play that game then the more the vunerable road user by default has absolute impugnity to step off the pavement, turn their bike across traffic without indicating, stand in a cycle lane pointing at planes, stop mid carriageway and pull out their mobile and spend half an hour updating their facebook page, walk up the fast lane of the M6 into traffic without a single jot of responsibility for their own safety or the consequence of their actions. ts all down to the driver/cyclist to see them and take evasive action regradless of the knock on consequence that may have, Yes?

extrapolate that into a bike v ped incident, The cyclist is the faster moving, we have hard pointy bits of metal under our control, we have the 'weaponry' (as in describing a car as a ton of metal with lethal consequence analogises a weapon) to do more damage than the squidgy thing on foot. We have an absolute responsibility to mitigate their inattentive, plugged in, texting, rushing, 6year old stepping out from behind an ice cream van focussed solely on the 99 in hand?
Even if it means swerving directly into the path of a bus and hoping that they're mindful of their absolute responsibility all of a sudden too?

If that nonsensical arttitude was correct then why is there even a court case when a car hits anyone else? absolute responsibility means there can't possibly be doubt about who was at fault.

onerous? I must have missed out on the high viz that has spikes on the inside or weighs as much as a ford fiesta?

look like something other than they are? I don't get where you're coming from with this, its not a panto horse costume that is being advocated it is clothing of more vibrant nature possibly with some reflective tape added.

I also take issue with Because we know that drivers do not always take this responsibility seriously We know no such thing and that is grossly insulting to the millions of drivers who do.

Drivers can be taking their resposibility entirely seriously but are momentarily distracted by someone lunging on the pavement, a flash of light from a mobile camera or a car/bike headlamp suddenly switching on or becoming visible as an obstruction moves off (all happened to me on bike and in car) and boosh, they're over the top of a ninja that they hadn't seen in advance, whereas if said ninja was more distinct against the background, driver would have subconsciously at least registered their presence further in advance and even with momentary distraction would have factored in that there was someone else in the vicinity and that little bit of awareness may be the difference between a brown pants moment and a body bag. Then again maybe not but its both reckless and arrogant not to give it a your best go at helping your fellow road users out.

I've "hi-vizzed" my text, as you've messed up the quote function. Seeing as Greg's point seems to have been lost on people, might as well recycle the gag.

Yes, let's shoot Tufty, the timorous little shoot. And let's hear it for Wille the Weasel, who wants to play footie in his street, and buy an ice-cream without being maimed. PC Badger, or whoever it was, used to tell him off for getting run over, whilst his motorized assailant was not even expected to wind down the window.

Oh, and I don't moan about "stupid peds" and their headphones. I don't call people "peds". People on foot can be careless and irritating at times, but we know this, so we should be prepared to cycle as if people will be careless and irritating, and just take a deep breath. If you are taking sufficient care around them it will rarely or never result in you hitting them. Cyclists will (thankfully) cycle without all the Christmas-tree paraphernalia that motorists would like - some will even cycle in ways that are careless and irritating. Tough. Motorists know this, and must take responsibility and drive accordingly, because they are wielding lethal force. No-one should be killed for wearing the wrong kind of jumper.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Yes, let's shoot Tufty, the timorous little s***. And let's hear it for Wille the Weasel, who wants to play footie in his street, and buy an ice-cream without being maimed. PC Badger, or whoever it was, used to tell him off for getting run over, whilst his motorized assailant was not even expected to wind down the window.

Blimey tc, you're older than I fantasized ....

 

[Fab Foodie]

No-one should be killed for wearing the wrong kind of jumper.

What? Not even Giles Brandreth or Noel Edmonds?

 

[sbird]

What is it with the new fad for buying and riding around in black kit during the winter months? I get that it is slimming and you get to look like a ninja or such like, but a bit of common sense wouldn't go amiss.
Less vanity more visibility!

I've worn mostly black cycling specific clothes when riding for recreation and sport all my adult life. For me it's the most practical colour (think of greasy hands after a bit of roadside fettling; although a female friend did introduce me to the hand cleaning delights of make up removing wipes).

When cycling for commuting I wear my work gear (occasionally black). When cycling for other reasons I wear the clothes I want to wear that's appropriate for the destination.

I don't see many Copenhagen residents doing anything different nor anyone in the Netherlands either.

You can wear hi-viz if you want, and a helmet if you want. Your choice.

My choice is not to wear hi-viz clothing. I don't wear a helmet most of the time; where ice is possible or I go off-road I might don a lid (but you see I made a risk assessment for the conditions). Cycling should be a normal and everyday activity for more people. Wearing hi-viz clothing that makes it look like a high risk activity, I believe, discourages people from taking up cycling because the wearing of such clothing implies a level of risk which is disproportionate to the outcomes. The data does not support the idea that this activity is risky and therefore risk mitigation though the wearing of hi-viz clothing is unnecessary.

So black it is for me. And the girls and gay guys dig me in it (to borrow such a great line from someone else who posted here - thanks).

 

[Aperitif]

Oh, and I don't moan about "stupid peds" and their headphones. I don't call people "peds". People on foot can be careless and irritating at times, but we know this, so we should be prepared to cycle as if people will be careless and irritating, and just take a deep breath. If you are taking sufficient care around them it will rarely or never result in you hitting them. Cyclists will (thankfully) cycle without all the Christmas-tree paraphernalia that motorists would like - some will even cycle in ways that are careless and irritating. Tough. Motorists know this, and must take responsibility and drive accordingly, because they are wielding lethal force. No-one should be killed for wearing the wrong kind of jumper.

This is a really good explanation.

 

[ufkacbln]

... or you could replace education with fear.

That is what the latest Government Safety Campaigns Tales of the Road does

 

[ufkacbln]

... and in addition to helmets and HiViz, don't forgetthe knee and elbow pads that are being advocated by this site?