Visibility, Are You Being Seen?

ST1100TX said:
I did this. I fixated on some hi-viz colored FDOT trucks that had stopped to let me turn into my street

I was too focused on the bright yellow-green trucks.
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So, the Hi Viz worked ....you noticed the trucks ;)

One can believe studies if they wish or not believe studies if they wish, but study after study after study acknowledges that wear hi viz clothing and a white helmet makes one safer. 100% safe? No, nothing can do that. Training, experience, well maintained equipment, not drinking and riding, not riding stupidly and wearing high viz protective clothes and a full-face white helmet all go a long way to keeping one safe on the streets when riding a motorcycle. There is never a guarantee that when one takes off in the morning one will arrive safely home that evening, but it doesn't hurt to use the most tools available to help insure that you do.

They say flying is the safest form of transportation. Doesn't mean one doesn't fall out of the sky ocassionally
 
I ride wearing a grey jacket, black pants and white helmet. My riding buddy wears black pants with hiviz jacket and helmet. On different occasions riding in rain/fog etc people (one was a cop) pulled over when we did. They said that my buddy was so much more visible than I was. Guy in pickup truck said he barely saw me at all compared to my buddy.
 
My wife and I have followed other riders wearing dark gear and she has commented how they just disappear under different lighting conditions. She has also followed me in traffic in our car and commented how easy it was to see me and keep track of me in traffic.

When we did an Eidelweiss tour in Europe the guide asked for someone wearing Hi Viz to ride at the tail end so he could keep track of when the last rider in the group made it thru intersections and at turns.
 
I had a consultant explain that with flying being safe as it is the insurance companies can clearly explain to you that if your hurt or killed in a plane crash they have a decent argument that you are probably lying,
 
For 7 years, I went to the Snohomish County jail to share the Bible with the men there. I'd leave at about 9:30-10 pm...well after dark. I was riding home in the right lane one night when a rider on a HD came by. The bike was black and one of the models that is skinny, not one of the large ones. It had a teeny tiny taillight. No reflectors. The rider was likewise skinny...very unlike my mental image of a HD rider. He was dressed totally in black. He was riding in the far left lane through a very dark section of road.

If someone decided to race their rice burner through that section, they'd probably come up on him thinking there's nothing there. That rider would probably never know what hit him.

Chris
 
My 1996 Honda Shadow came to me well-used with an all black satin/dull spray paint finish, no turn signals in the rear, a tiny red LED strip (only 5 inches long and a couple millimeters wide) that served as tail lights and the brake light.

The first few times I rode that thing I made sure to wear all my protective gear --which was (naturally for a cruiser of that style) an all black leather motorcycle jacket and matching chaps,


but starting from Day Three
I had a bright colored safety vest with reflective strips across it, and I added 3M reflective safety tape onto both of my helmets.

I am shocked how many people want to ride a blacked out motorcycle at night wearing all black clothing, gloves and boots, while having nearly all the lighting on their bike deleted or minimized

(they call it streamlining bobbing or tucking)

as they ride down the road with just a couple little LED pinpoint bulbs glowing under their butt crack.
 
The Dan said:
IMG_0086.jpeg
I’ve changed the lowers to yellow.
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Its just too much light... | Motorcycle Safety

I've to agree wholeheartedly... Its one thing in a car where you might only hit something, but on a motorcycle when even the road surface itself is the first source of danger... everything drowns in glaring "whiteout"... Despite enjoying such tremendously in previous years, I've started to...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
ST1100TX said:
I actually do something that could appear foolish, but works for me. I deliberately look away from drivers when approaching them at intersections, etc. yet keep them very much in my peripheral vision. This seems to work in keeping them from thinking that I see them and somehow have given them permission to pull out or turn in front of me. Believe me, motorists will do all types of stupid things while you're making eye contact with them.
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I think that's a good strategy. I usually wear sunglasses and use them similarly. I don't want motorists to make decisions based on they THINK I see.
 
Actually, I usually get ready to stop and let left turners go, so long as I feel the car/ truck behind me is paying attention to me . Of course moving over to either side of the lane as far as safely possible avoids getting rear end by said car behind you .
 
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