The science of being seen

[grizzlyj]

I'm sure many here are familiar with trying to not be seen for whatever reason, and know something along the lines of the Shape Shine Silhouette Movement etc
Being a biker, on the road being seen is much better than not and is often thought about, although this does of course apply to any road user.
I recently came across this video made by Kevin Williams, a bike instructor, which I found interesting not only because of the advice, suitable for all who are on or near the road system, but also how it's basically also using the Shape Shine Silhouette etc backwards.
Pink hiviz all round
(Hopefully not too stupid to post here)

His site https://scienceofbeingseen.org/

 

[saxonaxe]

(Hopefully not too stupid to post here)

Absolutely not. In fact a remarkable coincidence in view of the fact that part of what he explains in the video has been proven to me very recently.
Having recently bought an electric pedal bike I've been out and about in the country lanes around home quite a bit lately. The lanes are virtually all narrow, single track and are bounded by woodland in full Summer leaf. Very beautiful, like a Kaleidoscope of colours mostly bright yellow and greens of varying shades. There are also a lot of tourists obviously enamoured by the scene because they are not looking where they are driving, at least that's my impression.
With the electric bike I bought a hi viz yellow vest, seen here in the cottage, in a fairly shaded room and also outside in the garden in the sunshine.



After three incidents of very late braking by motorists behind me, it occurred to me that in spite of the yellow vest the driver's were either not looking or else failing to spot the colour in the wooded lanes. So a quick Ebay to a Work Wear company and a colour change.



The yellow is even less distinctive in bright sunlight, while I personally think the Orange is quite striking. In the darkened room in the flash of the camera I think it's about evens as far as hi viz is concerned.
I'm happy to report there have been no further screeching brakes...yet!

A problem I think with Hi Viz yellow is, people are conditioned to seeing it. Police, Dustmen, Brickies, in fact just about everyone including the Ship's Cat now wear a Hi Viz yellow vest to comply with some safety regulation or another, it doesn't seem to ring the wake up bell as well as it once did.

 

[billycoen]

Going to work on my pushbike,the times i've eyeballed a motorist,who then proceeds to pull out in front of me..still here though

 

[Broch]

It is a strange subject - I ride my Bonny in denim jeans and a black leather jacket, always have since I was a kid. I've never had a car pull out on me (touching wood very seriously now) - however, I have always ridden with my headlight on.

 

[Paul_B]

Reading a lot of cycling forums there's obviously a lot about being seen. It seems yellow is really bad colour to be seen on country roads. The best option is colour blocks. By this I mean two or more colours. This minimises the blending I effect.

Orange hiviz has been used in many safety critical work environments for a long time now. People working train lines, waste recycling/landfil sites, mining/quarrying, heavy industrial, large construction sites such as large scale road building sites, etc. There's a very good reason for that, it's more likely to be noticed and recognised.

Drivers will see you riding in a yellow hiviz but will posssibly not recognise you or process what they see correctly in time. With cycling it's often good to present as something different. Drivers process and notice unusual better than what they expect. It's why I get the most space given by drivers when I'm riding my recumbent bike or towing a trailer especially kids or dog trailer.

Also, according to a university research programme, wearing a long, blonde wig means you're more likely to be given space by drivers. That was a joke bit of a study where driver's responses to what cyclists wore were studied

 

[oldtimer]

I'm not a cyclist but a motorist who lives in the countryside in an area where we share the narrow roads with a great many cyclists, most recreational and some commuting. I think I am a careful driver but I have a dread of hitting a cyclist for the selfish reason of not wishing to endure the guilt of having killed or severely injured someone. I suspect the self justification that "but I didn't see them" would not release me from self reproach.

i hope more cyclists take the advice you offer. They are sometimes hard to see and if more made themselves highly visible it would be of great benefit to us responsible motorist as well as to themselves. I, for one, would drive easier!

 

[saxonaxe]

I treat it as being about lessening risk and self preservation really. I'm sure no motorist deliberately runs a cyclist down, so wearing something Hi Viz to help early recognition is common sense.
Living in a land where Rugby is a religion and cycling seems to form part of team training, it's common to see a pack of Gorilla sized blokes on racing bikes pounding up and down the many hills around here. Any motorist clashing with them would I suspect find himself sitting in the vehicle as it was slowly dismantled bit by bit around him.
These are not the skinny lycra clad Southern English racing snakes, these chaps look capable of ripping the doors off and peeling back the car roof to ...remonstrate with the erring Driver.....

 

[grizzlyj]

One problem in my experience of wearing orange is it does attract bugs a lot more than yellow, which itself is quite bad sometimes.
Although it doesn't agree the videos colour wheel theory, I think medium to dark blue shows up well in nature. although next to green on the wheel nothing in the natural countryside is that blue apart from a few flowers perhaps? And means I don't have to wear pink, although obviously I am fine in how it will blend in with my beard
Now I need to find a thin, sleeved, blue hiviz with a front zip suitable for motorbiking. And put some black reflective tape on the wheels.
I'm glad some found it useful. It surprised me how few YT views it had had.

 

[TLM]

As both

One problem in my experience of wearing orange is it does attract bugs a lot more than yellow, which itself is quite bad sometimes.

As both in HiWiz are usually fluorescent it might have something to do with that, like also being partly reflecting in UV.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Boris Johnson, who loves to be seen, will slip on a Hi Vis jacket whenever the photo opportunity arises. Unfortunately, he is very visible.

 

[TeeDee]

Boris Johnson, who loves to be seen, will slip on a Hi Vis jacket whenever the photo opportunity arises. Unfortunately, he is very visible.

Edgy political satire?!?

Is that you Ben Elton??? I haven't seen you since the 80's!!

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Edgy political satire?!?

Is that you Ben Elton??? I haven't seen you since the 80's!!

It isn't political, just a contemporary example of the efficacy of Hi Vis jackets.
Ben who ?

 

[TeeDee]

It isn't political, just a contemporary example of the efficacy of Hi Vis jackets.
Ben who ?

Its a joke about a politician. Making it political.

Ben who indeed.

 

[Paul_B]

I'm not a cyclist but a motorist who lives in the countryside in an area where we share the narrow roads with a great many cyclists, most recreational and some commuting. I think I am a careful driver but I have a dread of hitting a cyclist for the selfish reason of not wishing to endure the guilt of having killed or severely injured someone. I suspect the self justification that "but I didn't see them" would not release me from self reproach.

i hope more cyclists take the advice you offer. They are sometimes hard to see and if more made themselves highly visible it would be of great benefit to us responsible motorist as well as to themselves. I, for one, would drive easier!

Don't take it personally but as a cyclist living in a rural area I don't want drivers to drive easier. Being visible isn't about making the driver's kids easier but to do what we can to keep n ourselves safe. I really don't like to only rely on motorists alone.

Having said that I would like to point out that if you're driving on winding, country lanes it is 100% your responsibility to drive at a speed suitable for your visibility. If you think you might miss a cyclist who's not wearing highly visible clothing then I suggest you're going too fast. AIUI SMIDSY is not a defence in courts.

I would also like to point out that I have no knowledge of your driving skills and judgement. I would prefer to make the assumption that I'd have no worries seeing you coming up behind me when I'm on my bike. I hope you don't take my comments personally or take offence. I just wanted to make the point that drivers need to understand that cyclists are not here to relieve them of any responsibility when driving. It is a driver's responsibility to drive to the conditions, terrain and road.