What makes you visible on the road (at night)

[yenrod]

I say this as I was watching a cyclist, from far away - when waiting for a bus y.day eve, approaching.

And what made me notice it was the slight jittery moving/vibration of the road & the occasional left and right movement.

So a list of items to make you visible at night:

- a good light !

- a flashing front light

- a helmet light: great for following your point of vision! invaluable at times - ive stopped cars dead in their tracks cause of mine

- an illuminous/flourescent covering somewhere around your body

- i feel white is better at night

- as much as they are seen by some as not neccesary or 'sad': wheel reflectors are GREAT

- something on your ankle or shoe that whilst rotating CATCHES the attention of everybody ie yellow/white overshoes or ankle band reflectives

 

[Dave5N]

Being in a car

 

[Dave5N]

Actually, wheel reflectors are a bit irrelevant. But pedal reflectors are great, or ankle bands, as the up and down motion seen from behind does catch drivers' eyes.

 

[gratts]

I love my gloves, covered in reflective stuff, great for making sure hand signals are seen well!

 

[ufkacbln]

Totally irrelevant!


It is the drivers response.

AN anecdote I have told before.... approaching a junction with full hi viz, and an Exposure Enduro Maxx on the fornt when a taxi pulls out in front. End up inches away from the door.

Politely ask i he has seen me - his reply was that he had but he thught I was a motorcycle!

When asked if thinking I was a bigger faster vehicle was a justification his reply was that a motorcyce has better brakes and would have been able to stop quicker.


SO long as there are idiots like this then no lighting or HiViz is goingto give thebenefits that it should.

 

[jimboalee]

Gratts.

Where did you get the gloves?

Link please.

 

[jimboalee]

Cunobelin.

Kick his door. He pulled out on you.

If he opens the door, kick his door harder when he's got his leg out on the road. Ouch! And keep kicking until he gets the message.

 

[gratts]

These are the gloves. Really good! Mine fit like..a glove! Nice and warm and they do actually seem waterproof.
Can find them for about £15 if you hunt around, they pop up on ebay quite often..

 

[BentMikey]

- an illuminous/flourescent covering somewhere around your body

You do realise that the flou part of hiviz doesn't work at night, right? That's why they have both reflective and flou parts. The flou parts are there for daylight, because they need UV to work. At night they turn into a washed out dull colour from the streetlamps in an urban environment.

 

[Tynan]

got barend lights lately, I saw on them another bike, in daylight, very eye catching as they were in an odd place at an odd height and gave the bike width

 

[Chuffy]

Totally irrelevant!
....<anecdote>...
SO long as there are idiots like this then no lighting or HiViz is goingto give thebenefits that it should.

"Totally irrelevant"? What a stupid, stupid comment.
I might not come across one of the idiots on my commute, but I sure as hell will come across a lot of the other kind or road-user and I want to be as visible as possible for them. I'd call that a pretty good benefit.

Dave5N - I wouldn't be so dismissive of wheel reflectors. They're surprisingly visible when passing side roads, catching the light well before the bike arrives opposite the junction.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

The thing I seem to notice most about female cyclists are the legs...even at night...strange.

 

[GrahamG]

I'd say bits of reflective material dotted about - i.e. backs of shoes, logos on jackets/bags, gloves etc.. If there's a fair bit of this then I honestly think that there's little extra benefit from a full hi-viz vest
.

 

[srw]

You do realise that the flou part of hiviz doesn't work at night, right? That's why they have both reflective and flou parts. The flou parts are there for daylight, because they need UV to work. At night they turn into a washed out dull colour from the streetlamps in an urban environment.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Not this old nonsense again. It's just not true. Light colours are more noticeable than dark colours under sodium streetlights. Hiviz colours are most noticeable of all. Just open your eyes.

Stating the bleeding obvious, reflectives are only useful if they have a light shone upon them. In a normal street scene, with normal cars with dipped headlights that means that anything above the waist is rarely of of any use. That's why the OP highlighted pedal reflectors - they interact with the light beam from a headlight.

At night in towns I always recommend first decent lights; second light-coloured clothing; third reflectives.

And while I'm about it, Cunobelin's anecdote is worthless without matching anecdotes of all the times someone did see him.

 

[MartinC]

srw, this was BM's point - at night flourescent hi vis is exactly the same washed out colour as anything else that's a light colour. You agree with him.