Wearing black cycling gear in winter - plain daft or what ?

[Pneumant]

Is it just me or does anyone else here think wearing all black cycling gear on a gloomy winter's day is plain daft or what? Whilst riding my motorbike (wearing my bright highways style flourescent jacket I might add!) I passed two racing type guys riding down the busy narrow  A417 near East Hendred this afternoon, quite poor visibility and they hardly stood out at all, bloomin' dangerous in my opinion.

[MSeries]

It's the ones you don't see you should worry for.

[Pneumant]

I was on my motorbike and am pretty keyed to my surroundings and whats going on ahead, imagine the driver of a car with misted up windows etc. These cyclists were not visible enough IMO!

[MSeries]

Did you hit them ? No ? Then they were visible enough.

[токамак]

Umm, I was out today, wearing all black. My bike is white though, and I rode right in the middle of the road so that traffic couldn't miss me.

[andygates]

Is it just me or does anyone else here think wearing all black cycling gear on a gloomy winter's day is plain daft or what?

Rubbish.  Pay more attention.

If the viz is awful they should run lights.  THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT FOR THEM TO DRESS UP LIKE A BLOODY BOLLARD.  I will get off this high horse when cars come in fluo yellow as standard.  

[MSeries]

I wasn't wearing all black today. Commuting I do though, but with no natural light colour is not the issue. My reflective, actions and lights do their job it seems since I have so far avoided impacts.

[annie]

If their windows are misted up then they shouldn't be driving.

I wear black but often wear my grey night vision jacket, I never have a problem being seen.

Edit:  I also run in black.  I have tried wearing a hi-vis jacket and the last time I did so I had to dive into the hedgerow three times.

[Jurek]

Is it just me or does anyone else here think wearing all black cycling gear on a gloomy winter's day is plain daft or what?

Rubbish.  Pay more attention.

If the viz is awful they should run lights.  THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT FOR THEM TO DRESS UP LIKE A BLOODY BOLLARD.  I will get off this high horse when cars come in fluo yellow as standard.  

+1
Big time.

EDIT: Assume responsibility for the vehicle you are driving. Do not absolve yourself of that responsibility by shifting it to other road users.

[andygates]

I wear black but often wear my grey night vision jacket, I never have a problem being seen.

  OMG grey is even WORSE! You're going to DIE! 

 

[annie]

I wear black but often wear my grey night vision jacket, I never have a problem being seen.

  OMG grey is even WORSE! You're going to DIE! 

 

Please don't wear black to my funeral then, okey dokey

[Jacomus]

Is it just me or does anyone else here think wearing all black cycling gear on a gloomy winter's day is plain daft or what? Whilst riding my motorbike (wearing my bright highways style flourescent jacket I might add!) I passed two racing type guys riding down the busy narrow  A417 near East Hendred this afternoon, quite poor visibility and they hardly stood out at all, bloomin' dangerous in my opinion.

I suppose that you think running your headlight in daytime makes you more likely to be seen too eh?

[Fixedwheelnut]

 I have enough lights and reflective on my bike but I will wear Hi Viz in fog or mist.

 As for the letterbox brigade driving along with a 12" x 2" slot de-iced on their screen get a loud wake up shout when they come near me   F**kwitts

[gonzo]

By all means shout at them. Roadies should know better. Black just isn't fashionable any more; they need to be wearing white!

If their windows are misted up then they shouldn't be driving.

*Paternal mode* You can tell them that when they come to visit you in hospital.

[Hot Flatus]

Did you hit them ? No ? Then they were visible enough.

Daft argument.  He didn't hit them, but someone else may well have done.

I'll do anything reasonable to remain alive on the bike, and that includes running hi-power lights in the day, and wearing hi-viz on occasions.  If you are wearing hi-viz, you are, per se, more visible. That has to be a good thing.  

The argument that wearing hi-viz encourages drivers to be more careless is usually put forward by people with their heads so far up their own butt-holes that they are no longer in touch with reality.  When I am in the car I am grateful for anything that helps me drive safely, and that includes efforts by other road users to be seen.

[Chris S]

Oh dear, here is a rare moment. I find myself disagreeing with those whose opinions I generally hold in high regard.

Rubbish.  Pay more attention.

It would be great, wouldn't it? But it doesn't happen does it? You can't just say to a general population - "You should be like this" because it just won't work.

For me, I've got to ram my presence right into the dullards faces, and rub it in their gobs with a soggy high viz gilet. I want them to be in no doubt whatsoever that I'm there - even when their driving, and their surroundings is well down their list of priorities.

I know what the world should be like, but we don't live in that world do we, so until we do - I'm happy to be a Bollard  .

[Jacomus]

By all means shout at them. Roadies should know better. Black just isn't fashionable any more; they need to be wearing white!

If their windows are misted up then they shouldn't be driving.

*Paternal mode* You can tell them that when they come to visit you in hospital.

So tell me, how will wearing HiVi work if they can't see out of their windscreen? Or is it more of that majic stuff that means no matter how much the driver doesn't look, and is unable to see even if they did look, they will somehow see you because you are wearing a dash of fluro yellow?

[MSeries]

"Visible enough" one is either visible or not. These guys were not invisible, the OP saw them.

My view, formulated from my 20+ years of impact free road riding is that the colour of ones garb is not what decides whether or not the rider is visible or not. I am doing something right no matter what I wear.

[Chris S]

So tell me, how will wearing HiVi work if they can't see out of their windscreen? Or is it more of that majic stuff that means no matter how much the driver doesn't look, and is unable to see even if they did look, they will somehow see you because you are wearing a dash of fluro yellow?

I think that is an extreme example. During 12,000km of cycling last year, I saw very few instances of fuckwads driving pillboxes - probably well less than 0.1% of vehicles encountered.

If looking like a bollard gets me seen by most of the motorists, most of the time, then that's the best I can do isn't it?

[Jacomus]

Oh dear, here is a rare moment. I find myself disagreeing with those whose opinions I generally hold in high regard.

Rubbish.  Pay more attention.

It would be great, wouldn't it? But it doesn't happen does it? You can't just say to a general population - "You should be like this" because it just won't work.

For me, I've got to ram my presence right into the dullards faces, and rub it in their gobs with a soggy high viz gilet. I want them to be in no doubt whatsoever that I'm there - even when their driving, and their surroundings is well down their list of priorities.

I know what the world should be like, but we don't live in that world do we, so until we do - I'm happy to be a Bollard  .

Have you tried rding without HiVi?

Both Nutty and I often write about our findings regarding space and SMIDSYs when we stopped wearing HiVi.

We also have all looked at those pics of cyclists wearing HiVi being camouflaged into green foliage.

The yellow of a HiVi gilet doesn't work at night and under sodium streetlighting turns almost exactly the same colour as tarmac in streetlighting.

If you ride a roadbike, have you ever seen how small the frontal profile is of an approaching rider? My HiVi vest was virtually invisible from the front.

In an urban environment you are more likely to be hit by a car at a junction wearing HiVi than not wearing it.

[gonzo]

I may be missing something but haven't we all agreed that stealth cyclists are not good? What makes this any different?

Visible or not - If someone becomes visible as they come in contact with your bonnet, that's not much help.

JrC - Presumably they can something, it's more a case of reduced visibility.

[Jurek]

 When I am in the car I am grateful for anything that helps me drive safely, and that includes efforts by other road users to be seen.

Would that be because you do not need to pay as much attention to what you are doing?

[MSeries]

So tell me, how will wearing HiVi work if they can't see out of their windscreen? Or is it more of that majic stuff that means no matter how much the driver doesn't look, and is unable to see even if they did look, they will somehow see you because you are wearing a dash of fluro yellow?

I think that is an extreme example. During 12,000km of cycling last year, I saw very few instances of fuckwads driving pillboxes - probably well less than 0.1% of vehicles encountered.

If looking like a bollard gets me seen by most of the motorists, most of the time, then that's the best I can do isn't it?

I would put it to you Chris S that it is not your hiviz that is protecting you; you do not actually know if you were seen or not, you assume you were because you were not hit; I put it to you that your actions made you stay safe. That's my experience anyway.

[Chris S]

Have you tried rding without HiVi?

Yup - do it a lot. In fact, I hardly ever use Hi Vis. Perhaps my example implied the wrong thing.

Generally, I try and wear stuff that is contrary to the surroundings - in an anti-camouflage kind of way. On yesterday's audax, I wore a bright red top that also happens to be festooned with reflective piping, so is good for daytime (hardly any red anywhere in the countryside I was riding through, so hopefully I stood out) and night (reflective stuff is always best option at night).

[Jaded]

Personally I use my Dinotte rear on very slow flash when I think that visibility is an issue. GruB put me up to it.

Round here even in Summer you can go into a bad visibility spot in a wooded vale. The Dinotte also has the added bonus that I get loads more room from overtaking cars.

There's a balance between knowing what car drivers should do and what they do do.