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(12-08-2016, 11:45 PM)Rocky_imp Wrote: Speedy recovery CB4ME 
We don't have the intense traffic around here like many of you, and the cagers seems to give us a break, but we certainly have our share of idiots.
I gave up on black leather years ago and now wear bright red textile jackets and a white helmet.
Even so, there are idiots who look right at you and then pull out. I've learned to expect that and so far no close calls.
I still have black leather jackets and on those rare occasions when I wear one I have a lime green hi-viz vest. That's so funny, in a way, I mean.
I had all kinds of hi-viz vests a couple of years ago and was wearing them every time I rode. Yellow helmet. I ride in a great deal of freeway and urban traffic. I had more people cut me off when I was wearing that stuff than without.
So I gave up on the hi-viz stuff. Most of my riding gear is black, black Vanson leathers, black/grey BMW ADV/touring suit, mostly black helmets.
In the urban clutter bright colors don't mean anything and drivers who cut you off usually do it because they are in a hurry and either can't see you, or have decided to take a chance, or are staring at a smartphone and are lost.
I ride in the worst of this stuff most days of the week and have found that riding defensively, riding with your high beam on, and generally not being a hooligan is the strategy that yields the least incursions.
The CHP use very bright lights on their motorcycles so they can be seen approaching. That's the worst kind of accident, having a someone turn in front of you. Bright jackets and vests can hardly be noticed at all on an oncoming motorcycle; it's the headlight that gets the attention. Best cover the brake and check up your speed if at all uncertain if the driver sees you and is going to give you the right of way.
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well I can tell you from personal experience and from my background in Highway Traffic Safety you are definitly more visible in Hi Viz flo yellow green than you are in any other color including orange. It is standard issue and federally required that all street department people, firemen and policemen wear Hi Viz when in situations where they must stand and interact with traffic.
The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) recent issuance of a final rule (Worker Visibility, 23 CFR Part 634)4 demonstrates the need for all workers who are exposed either to public traffic or to construction vehicles and equipment to wear high-visibility apparel5. Section 634.3 of the Worker Visibility Rule states:
All workers within the right-of-way of a Federal-aid highway who are exposed either to traffic (vehicles using the highway for purposes of travel) or to construction equipment within the work area shall wear high-visibility safety apparel.
Furthermore all military personnell riding motorycles on a base are required to wear Hi Viz.
From personal experience I can tell you motorcyclists wearing Hi Viz are much easier to see, are seen sooner, and seen from a further distance than a motorcyclist not wearing Hi Viz.
A single round headlight on an approaching motorcycle is very difficult to see. Studies have shown this over and over.
As far as some people not seeing a motorcylist wwearing Hi Viz, my brother is a retired fireman. 25 years on the force. He will tell you many people will pull out in front of a bright red 25 ton fire truck running lights and sirens, and claim they never saw or heard the fire truck. Some people are just oblivious.
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Wow, not seeing a fire truck running lights and sirens is pretty darn scary. Good to keep in mind when out on the road whether moto or car. It only takes one to knock you down.
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[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/djs_151/media/pics3/noname%205_zps3prbyiuw.jpg.html] ![[Image: e4b9b8190da809948d9d34c9d3768562.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/201612/e4b9b8190da809948d9d34c9d3768562.jpg)
happened to be in front of my sister today.
what you don't see in the pic is the hi-viz gloves.
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Very sad first read and i agree your description put me into that moment.
I wish you the best in your recovery but i personally would never ride again. not because it would not be fun , macho , or you get back on the horse BS but because your body will always be more fragile.
I blow my Sound Blaster horn at cars all the time if i even think they might !!! especially with my wife on the back.
even do it when i see someone on the phone or texting , that's just my way
didn't read all post but i do wish you well and hope your reimbursed BIG
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Ulvetanna, everything you say w/r/t being seen has been disproved. In my 46 years of riding and conversing on the internet since it became widely available, and my over 30 years investigating crashes, I have never heard someone state they were unseen more when riding with hi-viz gear.
(12-10-2016, 04:14 AM)DJS_imp Wrote: [url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/djs_151/media/pics3/noname%205_zps3prbyiuw.jpg.html]
happened to be in front of my sister today.
what you don't see in the pic is the hi-viz gloves.
Great example. She'd stand out even more if it was a little closer to dusk. When I looked at that photo I noticed three things. The bright riding suit, the yellow lines on the road and the yellow traffic sign.
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George I think DJS is on the bike and his sister took the pic.
That is a great example of the visibility of High VIz
I know when my wife follows me in her car and I'm on a bike, when we get home she always mentions how easy I was to spot in traffic.
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Here's a good article on the science behind Hi-Viz and why (not if) it works. It's a bit long, but you only need to read the first few paragraphs to get the idea. It's written with pedestrians and cyclists in mind, but the science is just as accurate for us too.
http://www.newsweek.com/staying-safe-days-darken-81459
(12-10-2016, 08:26 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: George I think DJS is on the bike and his sister took the pic.
That is a great example of the visibility of High VIz
I know when my wife follows me in her car and I'm on a bike, when we get home she always mentions how easy I was to spot in traffic.
D'OH! Yes, I see that now. Thanks.
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Very interesting, especially fluorescent vs retroreflective and biomotion recognition
I've come across some runners in the dark with nothing but black that scared me and almost turned around to tell them how dangerous they were being but thought it might be taken the wrong way so I continued on my way.
(12-10-2016, 08:31 AM)ClassicVW_imp Wrote: Here's a good article on the science behind Hi-Viz and why (not if) it works. It's a bit long, but you only need to read the first few paragraphs to get the idea. It's written with pedestrians and cyclists in mind, but the science is just as accurate for us too.
http://www.newsweek.com/staying-safe-days-darken-81459
(12-10-2016, 08:26 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: George I think DJS is on the bike and his sister took the pic.
That is a great example of the visibility of High VIz
I know when my wife follows me in her car and I'm on a bike, when we get home she always mentions how easy I was to spot in traffic.
D'OH! Yes, I see that now. Thanks.
D'OH! Yes, I see that now. Thanks.
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I don't think it can hurt, but it's about as effective as a loud pipe.
Out in the middle of nowhere, as in the picture above, it's very conspicuous.
But in the massive clutter of the Los Angeles Freeway system (or any huge metro freeway system) these colors do not register as anything to take special note of, just as a loud pipe does not register with drivers. There is so much noise and visual clutter that drivers don't pay any more attention than to anything else. In fact, drivers tune out the clutter and noise, usually by rolling up windows and cranking up the sound system.
Agree that on remote and lonely roads the bright Viz is good though and would very much recommend it in those circumstances.
Also how many times has some motorist just simply pulled straight out in front of a motorcycle? Defensive riding is the best approach always. Cover the brakes, slow for blind turns, and so on. It's like all those retina-frying lights the ADV and now HD guys are using. Man, you can see those five miles a way, it seems. But trying to calculate the speed and distance and trajectory of those lights, that's what the challenge is for the motorist. The sense of security I get when I ride comes not from the color of one's gear, but from the skills one continually practices.
I've felt for a long time this forum needs a dedicated section for riding skills. Why not?
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