how drivers see you based on the clothes you wear.

[trevor brooker]

https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/e6hus6
I was sent this link - it sort of makes sense - but It would be nice to see what evidence was collected, what parameters were used, in order to put the conclusions into perspective.
As I know that different colours appear brighter until various light levels & visibility differs according to the background.

 

[Benjahmin]

Speaking as a driver I do get concerned at the amount of Mamil's riding around in black, does make it difficult. In certain lighting conditions all you can see is their light - if they have one, all that extra weight
The yellow and white (how long would it stay white?)does make sense it would seem. But the green?
The other day I was out in a yellow Paramo jacket with a blue vest over it that has hi viz bands on it. Didn't get hit so proof of concept I think.

 

[Andy-Mat]

https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/e6hus6
I was sent this link - it sort of makes sense - but It would be nice to see what evidence was collected, what parameters were used, in order to put the conclusions into perspective.
As I know that different colours appear brighter until various light levels & visibility differs according to the background.

A really important and interesting study, thanks for bringing it at least to my attention.
I would imagine that the human (and other creatures) eye is "tuned" to see certain colours better, after millions of years of "Development, and green could easily be the "one", so to say.
It rather belies what we always said in the Navy, a "green" person was considered a beginner....
Joking aside, I will follow this topic carefully as I want to get a new rain mac next year, and this will possibly give me good advice on the colour to choose.
Thanks again for bringing it up.
Andy
PS. Update. There is of course a difference between say "reflective" and normal colours. My dog has a winter jacket in beige with reflective white piping at the seams, that shows up so clearly with any level of light from a hand torch, many hundreds of meters away!
So that she looks like a sort of "dog Skeleton" over say 10 meters on a black night...
Naturally car headlights are far more powerful and would make her visible even farther away. So I will try and get green reflective next year, or at least a good colour in reflective.....

 

[Audio2]

A lot of information in this article. https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/g20017365/the-science-of-being-seen-a-guide-to-safer-riding/

 

[ChuckingFeet]

To maximise your visibility , wear a yellow hi-viz with reflective stripes , a white helmet with black and white chequer tape round the rim , stick a badge on the helmet front and centre , stencil a random word on the back of the jacket beginning with the letter p .Guarantee you will get much better respect from all other road users....You will also probably get some unwanted attention from HM Constabulary , this is not recommended lol

 

[vfr400]

There was a lot of research on this back in the '70s for motorcyclists. In the end, it was the intimidating effect of daytime headlights that made the difference.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

High vis jackets worn by professional drivers are mostly yellow and there's a good reason for this, they want to be seen when they're on the road outside of their vehicles.

If yellow works for them then it it should work for cyclists....

 

[Benjahmin]

Interesting article. One of the things mentioned is that we are prewired to notice movement, so reflectives on ankles being more effective than body reflectives.
I have peddles that have micro generators in them that drive flashing orange leds as you cycle. Since having them I seem to be given a wider berth on average. Certainly, in daylight, I do see drivers having a good, 'Wtf is that' look. From a distance, at night, what you see is the up/down motion of the peddles.
Admittedly I ride mostly tarmac and these things wouldn't be much good for off road.

 

[kangooroo]

An interesting follow-on from the earlier 'invisibility cloak' thread.

Personally I stick to hi-viz yellow during the daytime and reflective with lights after dusk. Where possible I try to avoid cycling after dark although that's mostly to avoid pot-holes on our unlit lanes.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Interesting article. One of the things mentioned is that we are prewired to notice movement, so reflectives on ankles being more effective than body reflectives.
I have peddles that have micro generators in them that drive flashing orange leds as you cycle. Since having them I seem to be given a wider berth on average. Certainly, in daylight, I do see drivers having a good, 'Wtf is that' look. From a distance, at night, what you see is the up/down motion of the peddles.
Admittedly I ride mostly tarmac and these things wouldn't be much good for off road.

Interesting pedals!!
Andy

 

[vfr400]

No type or colour of clothing works if the driver doesn't look.

 

[flecc]

drivers see you based on the clothes you wear.

That's me classified as a tramp then!

Seriously there's no one answer for all circumstances and multiple colours can be unhelpful in urban circumstances where there's often a complex multiplicity of colours making up the background, in which a multicoloured outfit can get lost.

Watch Moto GP or similar m/c racing for example. In a long shot of a bunch of riders wearing multi coloured leathers and helmets, it's the guy in a single coloured outfit and bike who stands out, even if that single colour is black. Best of all in a multi coloured diverse background is one colour for everything, clothes, helmet, shoes and bike, making up a large enough single object to be noticed against a messy broken up background.
.

 

[Gringo]

Yes that’s right about green to be seen.
As we have evolved from arboreal creatures, being able to distinguish predators in the canopy was a life saver.
The human eye has evolved to distinguish more shades of green than all of the other colours put together !
Anywho, in the darkness you can forget colours, its reflected light that’s seen not bright colours, that’s why it’s called “day glow “

 

[KirstinS]

We have the advantage these days of

Retroflective materials
Strong, tiny, long lasting led lights
Wierd lasers and 400lumen monkey lights

For me thise proviz jackets are amazing. My jacket is about 40% this stuff. The full jackets I still find hugely surprising in the dark. They light up like nothing else

 

[Gringo]

I thought I’d share this picture with you, it was in a recent British Cycling “Christmas gifts for cyclists “email.
So the governing body for cycling UK thinks it’s cool wearing all black in poor light conditions !

 

[anotherkiwi]

Reflective vest is mandatory after sunset in France. Useless on a trike because one is lying on the reflective stripes... My jacket has reflective shoulders.

 

[Nealh]

That's me classified as a tramp then!

.

 

[Andy-Mat]

I thought I’d share this picture with you, it was in a recent British Cycling “Christmas gifts for cyclists “email.
So the governing body for cycling UK thinks it’s cool wearing all black in poor light conditions !
View attachment 33269

Thats surely just the sunny day, keep you warm, bike wear?

I'll modify that to "Extreme Sunny Days only!" Possibly?

Thanks for sharing!!
Andy

 

[flecc]

I thought I’d share this picture with you, it was in a recent British Cycling “Christmas gifts for cyclists “email.
So the governing body for cycling UK thinks it’s cool wearing all black in poor light conditions !
View attachment 33269

That's Stormont, their seat of government in Northern Ireland and closed with no assembly sitting for the last three years.

They do things differently there!
.

 

[MikelBikel]

At least he's wearing chavvy white socks & shoes, hehe ;-) (joke).
Go with standard hi-viz jacket/vest coz that's what drivers expect to see on people by/on road. 50mm retroreflective strips in gate pattern is regs with 1,2,3 rows according to speed of road (3 is motorway). Put green on bike if desired (two tone. Classy, haha

I thought I’d share this picture with you, it was in a recent British Cycling “Christmas gifts for cyclists “email.
So the governing body for cycling UK thinks it’s cool wearing all black in poor light conditions !
View attachment 33269