Hi Viz or Regular color on jacket?

[dbye]

I have a hi viz jacket and helmet. People have told me that i am very visible. Like others have said, try to stack the deck in your favor.

[Grinnin]

I use zero windshields and my jacket shows it.

I have the Darien high-vis and like it although it's ugly. A fellow in the next town got one more recently and his looks bright and shiny. He also rides behind a big Parabellum windshield while I'm out there in the breeze.

[Der Berliner]

For me it's this hi-viz vest ( 'http://safetynetdirect.com/popup_image/pID/1184' orange version) over gray jacket. When the vest is faded after some washings just toss it and get a new one... They come real cheap.

Cheers Der Berliner

[squish]

I've done some research, of research in this area...

White helmets are under represented in crashes as much as 30%
The great thing about white helmets is they are the most visible in the widest range of conditions.
Yellow helmets were also under represented, but by less of a margin.

The data isn't as clear on Hi Viz jackets or vest, but they also show under representation,

Think, when it comes to hi-viz gear and it's under representation in crash studies, is that because there's fewer riders with the gear, or the people who wear them are more cautious in their riding or is it just easier to see the rider.

Blue jackets also stand out more then black or grey, but along with red their night time visibility is reduced to near that of black.

Aux lights also help a rider to be seen especially when placed low on the forks and wide, the hypothesis is that it makes it easier for people to understand that it's a motorcycle they are looking at.
Headlight modulators also work, of course by "work" I mean that there is a reduction in the number of riders who crashed with headlight modulators on in the crash study.

With this in mind,

I wear an orange helmet and yellow jacket or a yellow retro-reflective band if I'm wearing my leather jacket.

On my commuter I'm going to be adding LED lights and a bright high viz stripe to the top of my mini windscreen.

The thing with hi-viz gear, it's passive, you the rider play a very important role. Think of it as being actively conspicuous.
With lane choice and position, when and where you are at all times. hi-viz gear is just an additional tool not a magic trick.

I've been wearing a bright orange helmet for 15 years and a yellow jacket for about 5 years.
I still have people turn in front of me, but I've noticed that I have fewer close calls then I used to have.
People see me, at least I'll see someone start to pull out then stop, or start to turn and stop. Not very scientific
but to me, it keeps me wearing stuff that helps me be seen.

I'm thinking the next helmet will be a solid white one with a retro reflective white stripe added. But yellow or Orange may still win out.

[catweasel67]

From a UK article on the topic, one that I agree with,

Good conspicuity is not just about what a rider wears or whether they have lights on the bike, but also about good road positioning, speed and direction – as well as considering the blind spots and vision limitations of other drivers and vehicles around them.

Hi-vis clothing is unlikely to improve conspicuity on bright sunny days when visibility is good and it may even lull people into a false sense of security. However, we would always advise people to wear it in poor weather or low light conditions, when some drivers may struggle to see and identify a motorcycle and rider or indeed a cyclists or pedestrian.

From reading this, and other threads herea and on other forums I'm starting to get the idea that some people think that wearing hi viz makes them bulletproof so they relax the other, more effective, safety measures that a biker has available to them (see 1st paragraph).

Suffice to say that I wear what I like and I have no hi viz gear or white helmets. I've had a few close calls but, thankfully, have always been able to ride out of the danger zones.

[aeneas]

I have a hiviz jacket and helmet. Even put 2 reflective decals on the back of my helmet (cut to shape and with black marker so they look like cat eyes) as the helmet doesn't reflect light in the night.
Had a hiviz jacket for years but as a large part of it is hidden by my topcase I recently got this helmet.

I commute daily in an urban area and now in winter it's often dark / getting dark (but not everyone is driving with lights on), rainy, .. when I'm on the road. Watching other motorcycles I noticed hiviz helmets stand out more in these conditions than hiviz jackets.

But it all depends on the conditions you drive on, what weather, urban area, ... during the summer my black jacket will probably get noticed better than a hiviz jacket.

[ph0rk]

Originally Posted by randyo

Hi-Vis

I had a red jacket at one time, after 25,000 or so of riding it was a pink jacket from ultraviolet light fade, and it looked ghey till I replaced it

Real men can wear light red without issue.


FWIW, I bet large dollars that a neon pink jacket would catch even more attention than a hiviz yellow one, especially on a 200+ lb male.


I mean, its all about being seen, right? All about safety, right?

[guiri]

Well, I went with a greyish/blueish jacket from Bilt (cycle gear) which was mainly due to size limitations
for my chunky body.

Helmet HAS a rear LED and the luggage has led's on the back and I intend to put extra lights in the front
so I SHOULD be good but like someone said, can't have enough.

Thanks for all the replies guys

George

[daveoneshot]

Here's a Hi-Viz story for you : My son rides a BMW F 650, black, with Jesse Bags......he recently had a reflective vest made for him in Orlando, Florida by some outfit that will print anything on it you want. So he chose a hi-viz lime with blue
stripes running over the chest and shoulders and down the back. Right across the back is printed " MOTO " in reflective white. Now he sees that morons in cars will pull over for him, slow down, give him more room, any number of polite gestures that mean a safer ride. He's not meaning to act like a LEO, he just wears his vest . It's the colors that do it. The blue, especially, a bright police blue combined with the letters MOTO make drivers react and behave better. By the way, those letters are printed on a black panel inserted across the shoulders, highly visible.

[Jnich77]

Originally Posted by bomber60015

It' swhy many rider, including myself, diddybop back and forth within our lane while riding in traffic . . . . the added dimension of motion makes us more likely to be noticed . . . . . .

That's exactly what I do. If you come close to the lines, usually you can get the cars around you to give you a bit of space.

I also flick my break light rather than let it be on steady when I can.

[JimVonBaden]

High Viz!

Jim

[Mudcat]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

High Viz!

Jim

That would piss me off; it looks blinding on my screen. I think you make yourself a target.

[guiri]

Originally Posted by daveoneshot

Here's a Hi-Viz story for you : My son rides a BMW F 650, black, with Jesse Bags......he recently had a reflective vest made for him in Orlando, Florida by some outfit that will print anything on it you want. So he chose a hi-viz lime with blue
stripes running over the chest and shoulders and down the back. Right across the back is printed " MOTO " in reflective white. Now he sees that morons in cars will pull over for him, slow down, give him more room, any number of polite gestures that mean a safer ride. He's not meaning to act like a LEO, he just wears his vest . It's the colors that do it. The blue, especially, a bright police blue combined with the letters MOTO make drivers react and behave better. By the way, those letters are printed on a black panel inserted across the shoulders, highly visible.

Very cool idea

[guiri]

Originally Posted by Mudcat

That would piss me off; it looks blinding on my screen. I think you make yourself a target.

Yeah but that depends on how high you turn them on. They're NOT supposed to blind people.

In traffic I think they should on low so that people SEE that it is a bike and with the ability to turn them on max when you're on country rods or something where you NEED the light to avoid deer and so on.
That is MY intention anyway.

[Bounder]

Not sure what individual police forces use in the different states but in the UK they commonly use Hi-vis with Battenburg (checkered) banding.
I thought this vest was a particularly good example of similar clothing.