Tips to Make Yourself Visible

[GrumpyGregry]

And I, for my meagre, part REFUSE to collude with that thinking by dressing the part of a court jester.

Not least because I don't want people looking at me and being put off cycling as an obviously dangerous activity that requires PPE.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Wasn't this one, was it?

Flippin' 'eck, that was 495 posts I had to wade through!
Unfortunately the information I was after isn't in that thread.

 

[theclaud]

Flippin' 'eck, that was 495 posts I had to wade through!
Unfortunately the information I was after isn't in that thread.

Hahahahaha. Sorry.

 

[mjr]

Flippin' 'eck, that was 495 posts I had to wade through!
Unfortunately the information I was after isn't in that thread.

You may like the thread tickbox in the on-page search...

 

[MontyVeda]

I'm a big fan of pedal reflectors, although i don't have any. Years ago i was a passenger in my dad's car. It was night time and the lanes were unlit. The only source of light was Dad's headlights in the distance i noticed something small, bright and bouncy... I wondered what it was. It was only as we got closer did the little red rear light become visible and identified the cyclist. The fact that the pedal reflector stood out long before the cyclist's rear light impressed me, so in spite of not having any pedal reflectors, i do wear a reflective ankle strap/trouser clip (it's actually a velcro arm band from the pound shop aimed at joggers).

Other than the ankle strap, i have two bright rear lights but only use both if it's raining heavily or i'm on unlit roads, and i wear a pale coloured hat... that's it.

I used to have a lemon yellow jacket but it was more breathable than waterproof so got rid and bought a better waterproof, which happened to be black. I was a little concerned at first but after a decade of not being rammed off the road because i wasn't visible enough, i reckon my reflective ankle strap, rear light and pale hat is plenty visible enough.

 

[smutchin]

I was following another rider through an unlit section of the uni campus on Friday evening. He had no lights and was wearing all black, but he did have pedal reflectors, which lit up very nicely in the beam of my Luxos dynamo light.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I was following another rider through an unlit section of the uni campus on Friday evening. He had no lights and was wearing all black, but he did have pedal reflectors, which lit up very nicely in the beam of my Luxos dynamo light.

I love a pedal reflector when riding in the dark.

However if the following driver who runs me down is sending a tweet, drunk, unwrapping a prawn sandwich, half asleep, reading bookface, still pished from the night before, on drugs, in a rage having had a row with his other half, engaging in a really important mobile phone call or any one one of the other hundreds of reasons* I've read in my local paper as reasons why drivers have killed, maimed and injured folk or themselves hereabouts, then some shiny plastic won't really help.

*my most recent fave is "studying the satnav" such that they failed to make a turn and ended up in someone's garden.

 

[jefmcg]

I saw a copy of the Sunday times yesterday. There was an article in it about hi vis & cycling. I didn't read it, and it will probably be behind a paywall.

Even by my standards, that's a pretty pointless and unhelpful post.

The headline is pretty interesting, though. Note: you have to log in, but you don't have to pay to read this article.

Cycle safety in a spin as study warns hi-vis gear may increase injury risk

The subheading is confusing, though "Research suggests riders who believe they are conspicuous to drivers may adopt more exposed positions on the road"

More exposed? That's where we are safest.

From the text

But a study of 76 accidents by academics at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Nottingham University published in the Journal of Transport & Health found “no evidence” that those who wore reflective clothing “were at reduced risk”. Instead it found “increased odds of a collision crash” among cyclists in reflective clothing.

It suggested cyclists wearing safety clothing “may have adopted more exposed road positions . . . in the belief that they were relatively conspicuous”.

The scientists, however, said the results “should be treated with caution” because it was based on a small group of volunteers and a larger study was needed.

 

[jefmcg]

here's the study

It's the study this thread has been looking for

Highlights

• There is conflicting evidence as to whether use of conspicuity aids is associated with a reduced risk of a crash in cyclists.
• This matched case-control study included cases attending an emergency department following a cycling collision crash.
• There was no evidence of a reduced risk of a crash associated with use of conspicuity aids and some evidence of an increased risk, but this may reflect biases and residual confounding.
• Further research is needed to evaluate bicycle crash prevention measures.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Pick a journey and try this out, preferably during the hours of darkness. As you drive along look out for a normally dressed (a.k.a. ninja) pedestrian or cyclist ahead, then count the seconds until you reach that point. You might not be surprised to learn that normally dressed people are visible from a considerable distance.

 

[BoldonLad]

Pick a journey and try this out, preferably during the hours of darkness. As you drive along look out for a normally dressed (a.k.a. ninja) pedestrian or cyclist ahead, then count the seconds until you reach that point. You might not be surprised to learn that normally dressed people are visible from a considerable distance.

If you have eyesight within the standards for driving, and, are driving with well adjusted headlights, at a speed such that you can stop, within the range you can see, I would have to agree 100%.

Perhaps, the tile of the thread should be "Tips to make yourself more visible", or, "Tips to make yourself visible earlier".

 

[glasgowcyclist]

If you have eyesight within the standards for driving, and, are driving with well adjusted headlights, at a speed such that you can stop, within the range you can see, I would have to agree 100%.

Perhaps, the tile of the thread should be "Tips to make yourself more visible", or, "Tips to make yourself visible earlier".

If you do this in a built-up area with street lights you don't even need the caveat of using headlamps. Too many use headlamps where they're simply not needed, obscuring unlit pedestrians or more weakly lit cyclists from view.

 

[mjr]

The headline is pretty interesting, though. Note: you have to log in, but you don't have to pay to read this article.

Cycle safety in a spin as study warns hi-vis gear may increase injury risk

The subheading is confusing, though "Research suggests riders who believe they are conspicuous to drivers may adopt more exposed positions on the road"

More exposed? That's where we are safest.

It depends what they mean by "more exposed" - the primary position sense which you seem to mean, or the gutter-crawling that is thought to be more exposed to danger? As in, riders might think they're visible enough anyway so don't have to worry about positioning themselves in the drivers' usual line of sight.

From the text

It sounds like an updated analysis of http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12855/ (the authors overlap) which I've been referring to for years.

You know, practically every study on anything to do with cycling and safety ends like this. Hats, lights, shiny stripes, bike lanes, you name it

Well, yes. It's a sensible thing to note in a scientific paper. Saying stuff like "X may be a factor" is showing researchers who follow later what the authors might think are sensible future avenues of research to attempt to find an explanation for what was unexplained by their work.

 

[BoldonLad]

If you do this in a built-up area with street lights you don't even need the caveat of using headlamps. Too many use headlamps where they're simply not needed, obscuring unlit pedestrians or more weakly lit cyclists from view.

I don't disagree with you, but, some conflicting rules / suggestions in Highway Code

113
You MUST

• ensure all sidelights and rear registration plate lights are lit between sunset and sunrise
• use headlights at night, except on a road which has lit street lighting. These roads are generally restricted to a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) unless otherwise specified

115
You should also

• use dipped headlights, or dim-dip if fitted, at night in built-up areas and in dull daytime weather, to ensure that you can be seen

Personally, I am all for ensuring I can be seen, when driving or cycling. Like the rest of us, I have no control over the extent to which other road users are actually looking

 

[mjr]

Perhaps, the tile of the thread should be "Tips to make yourself more visible", or, "Tips to make yourself visible earlier".

"More visible" seems like BS, sorry. Visible earlier, perhaps, but I'm not convinced that giving the nobbers enough time to forget about us and start treating us as street ornaments is always a good thing.