Visible Riding Gear

[henzilla]

Had the oatmeal question thrown my way by my older brother recently...made me laugh and regroup

I don't mind the opinions as we all have them, I can debate or smile and not waste my time..a bullying approach trying to change behaviors rarely ends well for the bully in my world.

Safe travels in the incoming mess.

 

[tanker4me]

You dont live in the SW US then.

I always thought that there more Bikes on the road until I checked the DMV numbers for LA County.
Old info but only about 2% of the 7.5 million registered vehicles are motorcycles.


A crappy unmodified photo, but low light/shadows is where HiViz works best.
Open water life jackets/survival suits are orange and have strobe lights attached for a reason.
As another post suggests, HiViz will not keep you from getting squashed like a big yellow bug, especially around here.
I live in the Port of LA area, and with trucks, trains and countless nincompoops behind the "steering" wheel of a car crashing into one another even some Harley riders are adopting HiViz. (usually it's a vest over a leather jacket)
Bill

 

[motor10]

I was riding a white bike, while wearing a white helmet during the daylight hours, when I was struck by someone who "didn't see" me. even with that said I will always try to be as conspicuous as I can. I am looking at additional lights for the front and rear of my bike.

Jay

 

[PGlaves]

I was riding a white bike, while wearing a white helmet during the daylight hours, when I was struck by someone who "didn't see" me. even with that said I will always try to be as conspicuous as I can. I am looking at additional lights for the front and rear of my bike.

Jay

The by far number one reason given when somebody crashes into a fire truck is, "I didn't see it!"

 

[barryg]

Back in the mid-80's my gear bag on the back seat was a kind of pre hi-viz orange. Most all the riders gave me grief for using it as my gear bag. I told'em; people will see it. Did'nt matter; I still caught a lot bad mouthing about it. I guess one one piece 'Stich' back in the 80's had a fair amount of hi-viz. Now the norm is all the hi-viz you can stand and little more , if possible.

 

[scqtt]

I am not going to read through all of this, but I have done a fair bit of study on it. Here are some observations.


Hi-Viz is best in low light conditions, but loses some of its effectiveness (contrast) at noon. Dawn/dusk/fog/rain/overcast is where is works best.


In darkness Hi-Viz is no better than white, but not worse either. Retro Reflective is best at night.



The aforementioned post on the effective silhouette is huge and what we should be focusing on. Cras, trucks, busses typically have solid color bodywork that covers the whole vehicle. This solid, large color stands out on a cluttered background. Some colors work better than others, but the key is a large chunk of one color standing out against others.


Motorcycles are visually chopped apart, with the exception of the Honda Pacific Coast, most of them have some contrasting colors going on. We are already a smaller vehicle, now visually shop us into little pieces of different colors and racing stripes and see-through mag wheels and you get the picture.


A solid white snowmobile would be hard to see going up a snowy hill, add some black stripes and it would be easier, paint it solid black and it would be even easier, even though that color is not considered very good for conspicuity.

Want to see something interesting watch a video of a group of zebras in a panic. It is very hard to judge an individuals speed and distance its a visual mess for the predator or (driver)

Soon enough all new vehicles will be required to have obstacle sensing radar, until then do what you can to stand out from the background you are riding through. WW1 ships used some pretty radical camo called razzle dazzle to confuse optical rangefinders. Is your gear and motorcycle creating the razzle dazzle effect?

I often hear riders claim their striped jackets and racer replica helmets make them easier to see, when the actually break up their small profile into lots of visually tiny pieces. It is actually very interesting to see how our brain stitches together info from our eyes. Its is not as smooth as we think, researchers believe their is some truth to "I didn't see them"

What can you do?

For starters a solid light colored ball, floating 6 feet above the road is pretty visible. Pick a solid white or yellow helmet. Perhaps a solid light colored jacket would also help. Also a solid color bike in a light color with full bodywork will also help a little.

I have been in arguments with people over DLRs on cars. They say they do not make motorcycle less visible, they just make cars more visible. In reality it is all about the contrast, in the old days if you saw anything with its headlight on in the daytime it was almost always a motorcycle. To visually stand out now I think weird color lights, yellow, amber or one of each in s strange pattern not normally seen helps. Maybe stack two amber lights down low on your right side?


I hear people say ride like you are invisible, but in reality the best practice is ride like they are out to get you.

 

[PoorUB]

A few years back, where I live, a fire truck and ambulance ran into each other at an intersection. Both has lights and sirens on responding to the same call. The fire truck won. There were pictures in the local paper with the ambulance rolled over.

If trained professionals can't see each other we are screwed! ;-)

 

[tanker4me]

Unless I'm looking at the Sun or another LIGHT source, my eye sees REFLECTED light. Not counting mirrors and Nudie Suits, white reflects the most, black the least.
Furthermore,

oh never mind.
My question is, are Helinox/Kermit chairs overrated?
Bill

 

[scqtt]

A few years back, where I live, a fire truck and ambulance ran into each other at an intersection. Both has lights and sirens on responding to the same call. The fire truck won. There were pictures in the local paper with the ambulance rolled over.

If trained professionals can't see each other we are screwed! ;-)

Statistically first responders are absolutely the worst drivers, especially in their own private vehicles.



Everyone is looking at them and behaving. They do not really have to drive defensively. When they get in their own cars it is human nature to expect everyone else's behavior to continue.

Just like if you spend a lot of time on a bike, you really start to identify "tells" and anticipate what other drivers will do. When you get in your car, you don't turn off your "motorcycle sense"

 

[HSVPhil]

Just another man's opinion, worth every bit of two cents!

I tee-boned a geezer at a T-intersection where I/we had the right of way, and he had stopped at the Stop Sign. We were like vehicles 5 & 6 in a string of well-spaced vehicles headed to Morton's BMW on a dry, regular Saturday afternoon. I was leading Karen by our normal spacing, so she had time to stop & watch me go FLYing over the top of the 4-dr Olds. I was on my old, silver '03 K12LT with halogen PIAA lites below the fairing. She was on her F650GS with old, halogen Moto-Lites on her forks. My helmet was a white Shuberth, not that that mattered. He was not looking for motorcycles to be interspersed amongst the autos. "I looked but I didn't see him" was his explanation. SOS...

Bottom Line: Drive Defensively, Period. Always anticipate the Distracted driver or Senior Citizen to NOT SEE YOU. Wear what you think will help, BUT Wear something Durable! The Ambulance crew respected my choice in PPE, and did not cut off my Stich. Very appreciative I was.

The old man got a ticket for Failure to Yield, but I took months to heal and lost money on that transaction....

CHEERS! C U L8R this week in Lebanon!
HSV-Phil & HSV-Karen

 

[motor10]

Just another man's opinion, worth every bit of two cents!

I tee-boned a geezer at a T-intersection where I/we had the right of way, and he had stopped at the Stop Sign. We were like vehicles 5 & 6 in a string of well-spaced vehicles headed to Morton's BMW on a dry, regular Saturday afternoon. I was leading Karen by our normal spacing, so she had time to stop & watch me go FLYing over the top of the 4-dr Olds. I was on my old, silver '03 K12LT with halogen PIAA lites below the fairing. She was on her F650GS with old, halogen Moto-Lites on her forks. My helmet was a white Shuberth, not that that mattered. He was not looking for motorcycles to be interspersed amongst the autos. "I looked but I didn't see him" was his explanation. SOS...

Bottom Line: Drive Defensively, Period. Always anticipate the Distracted driver or Senior Citizen to NOT SEE YOU. Wear what you think will help, BUT Wear something Durable! The Ambulance crew respected my choice in PPE, and did not cut off my Stich. Very appreciative I was.

The old man got a ticket for Failure to Yield, but I took months to heal and lost money on that transaction....

CHEERS! C U L8R this week in Lebanon!
HSV-Phil & HSV-Karen

I feel your pain. Literally. I was hit on 208 after leaving Morton’s and it has almost been a year and I still have deep tissue injuries I am recovering from. Not fun. How were you mentally after your accident?

Jay

 

[HSVPhil]

I feel your pain. Literally. I was hit on 208 after leaving Morton’s and it has almost been a year and I still have deep tissue injuries I am recovering from. Not fun. How were you mentally after your accident?
Jay

Accident happened where 218 joins 206, riding west from Dahlgren. I'm a dedicated biker nut, so I was always anxious to ride again. Started shopping for a new/used F800GS that I eventually found in FLA on the MOA website -- several months later. Picked it up in a Chevy pickup and continued my PT. Then we had more equally suited motorbikes under us to continue touring the US. Rode to the Salem Rally whenever that was.

My Big problem was a shattered collar bone and broken ribs (front & back). Had a titanium plate installed to resecure my right arm where it was supposed to hang... Also Lots of bruising when my left leg took out the windscreen... That probably sent me spiraling to the pavement beyond.

Very much happy to have lived to Ride Again!
C U in Lebanon! HSV-Phil & HSV-Karen.

 

[orsatime@gmail.com]

After reading this I am convinced.

My anecdote: About 15-18 years ago I was riding in SoCal, having visited and documented the southwestern corner of the USA. Heading north on the interstate from San Ysidro, I was leading the pack of cages and trucks. Heavy, fast traffic, almost bumper to bumper and all moving at about 20 over the limit. I was watching my mirrors closely for LEOs when I spied a couple sets of yellow lights. They were the only things I picked out of the nearly solid sea of white headlights behind me. The yellow lights were weaving in and out of traffic in perfect synchronization and moving fast. When they caught up with me I saw they were two CHiPS on RTs. No sirens, no flashing authority lights, just the yellow conspicuity lights.

My point and I repeat for effect: those yellow lights were the only things I noticed and picked out of the sea of car and truck headlights behind me. I told myself right then that when I got back home I would put yellow LED conspicuity lights on my bike. I did and have ridden with them on every single bike I've owned since then. In lots of miles, I have had few vehicles turn in front of me. I credit the yellow lights with that.

Good luck.

I have yellow or amber on my HD, Yamaha Super T and now the R1200R. I have preached this to anyone that will listen. Your post validates my position on the matter. Thank you.