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Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 5:38 pm
by GTR1400MAN
akirk wrote:you should miss the man as you will be avoiding the car!
Alasdair

?? Over my head.

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 5:46 pm
by crr003
GTR1400MAN wrote:
akirk wrote:you should miss the man as you will be avoiding the car!
Alasdair

?? Over my head.

The HATO/HETO picture?

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 5:48 pm
by crr003
"Some outfits included a high-visibility bicycling jacket or high-visibility safety vests. One vest prominently displayed the word ‘police’ along with a warning that the rider was video-recording their journey. For comparison, another high-visibility vest was modeled after a police officer’s jacket but with one change—it read “polite” instead of “police.”"

Nothing makes me think "Police" more than two middle aged Polite women chatting, plodding along on horses all battenburged out.

Is there any research that shows levels of aggression increase towards people impersonating authority figures?

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 7:09 pm
by Horse
crr003 wrote:
GTR1400MAN wrote:
akirk wrote:you should miss the man as you will be avoiding the car!
Alasdair

?? Over my head.

The HATO/HETO picture?


Actually, you have hit on an important point. Many road workers feel safer when tthey're stood still close to their vehicle. Unfortunately, that vehicle is likely to bd more conspicuous than the worker. So if that person steps out the approaching driver is likely to be dazzled by the vehicle's retro-reflective material and beacons.

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 10:41 pm
by GTR1400MAN
And finally ...

Why did the chicken cross the road?



Yes, this is a real product!

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:33 am
by ancient
GTR1400MAN wrote:There's a good comment in the article you linked to Horse pointing out the test is not really that scientific.

The test is trying to suggest that HiViz gives no benefit because drivers were still to close. That reminds of the oft quoted "It's not a force field". The purpose of HiViz is to get you seen (and we all have our own views/beliefs on how well that works) and not to magically turn an aggressive/inconsiderate drive in to a fluffy bunny of a driver.

My own experience is that when wearing a HiViz tabard while out with Associates is that it INCREASES driver aggression/impatience ... or is it I'm going much slower a lot of the time?

I can't see that comment, I do see one which says "Downplaying the value of high visibility gear by measuring its efficacy for an unintended purpose is foolish and irresponsible of the authors." - which is rather silly. The purpose of hi vis gear is to improve the safety of the wearer. If the reason that drivers pass dangerously close* is because they don't see the 'cyclist until the last moment and cannot make an adjustment in time, it could be presumed that making the 'cyclist easier to see would increase safety (as the drivers would naturally react earlier and correctly). What this study demonstrates is, for this (quite large) sample of drivers, in this location, overtakes were not any safer if efforts were made to increase the visibility of the cyclist. The conclusion (tentative because this is one study - possibly because funding research into the effectiveness of hi vis as a safety measure on roads is difficult to obtain) is that actually seeing a 'cyclist (motor or otherwise) is not the problem it is usually made out. SMIDSY is an excuse SMICBATL along with SEP are the predominant reasons for close passes (and pull-outs).
* = close enough that a mistake on either part would cause a collision.

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:48 am
by Mr Cholmondeley-Warner
crr003 wrote:Is there any research that shows levels of aggression increase towards people impersonating authority figures?

I'll happily contribute some vitriol if you want to start a research project :evil: :hit:

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:50 am
by Horse
See my previous post about riding a white BMW motorcycle. Drivers still pulled out in front - then panicked when the final mental cog clicked into place :)

An unintended consequence of hi-viz is that the wearer may believe that it will do some 'good'* (See the TRL report I linked). In the ERIC-PD hierarchy, PPE is way down low.

* I've heard motorcyclists say "He must have seen me - I had my headlamp on!"

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:00 am
by Horse
I 'see' your chicken and raise you a herd of cows :)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... -says.html

Re: Pros and cons of hi-vis

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:17 am
by crr003
GTR1400MAN wrote:And finally ...

Why did the chicken cross the road?



Yes, this is a real product!

Now hang on, that’s brilliant.
My sister keeps four chickens and it’s a bugger finding them to bring them in at night sometimes.
Next Christmas present sorted!