Hipster causes murder on a bike

[SueEllen]

NEVER don the YJA....just....don't.

What the feck?

[glebe digital]

What the feck?

Velominati › Guest Article: Down with the YJA
"There’s a spectrum of how happy you are with sharing the road: going from very uncomfortable to exuding quiet confidence before becoming attention-seeking and finally there is a thin line to obnoxiousness."

[malvolio]

Velominati › Guest Article: Down with the YJA
"There’s a spectrum of how happy you are with sharing the road: going from very uncomfortable to exuding quiet confidence before becoming attention-seeking and finally there is a thin line to obnoxiousness."

While the article has some good points the acronym is a giveaway: it does not impose or event assert authority, it merely means you can be seen.

By all means don't wear something as uncool as a hi-viz, but lycra in shades of black and grey, no lights or reflectives in murky conditions, using headphones and wearing hoodies are all every bit as stupid. I don't care how you do it, but since you're travelling at a fraction of my speed, are effectively 7 feet wide if I give you proper clearance and are infinitely more fragile than me, please simply make sure I know you're f***ing there.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Hi-vis is overrated for being visible.

During the day it has pretty much no effect at all and it shouldn't matter what you're wearing - if a driver can't see a cyclist in broad daylight, even in dark clothes, then they should hand their license in.

At night, reflective clothing is a much better option. You could wear black Lycra and still be perfectly visible with appropriate reflective accessories, not to mention decent lights front and rear.

[SueEllen]

Hi-vis is overrated for being visible.

During the day it has pretty much no effect at all and it shouldn't matter what you're wearing - if a driver can't see a cyclist in broad daylight, even in dark clothes, then they should hand their license in.

At night, reflective clothing is a much better option. You could wear black Lycra and still be perfectly visible with appropriate reflective accessories, not to mention decent lights front and rear.

My hi-viz is reflective. One of my jackets is purposely made so it is all reflective, the others have reflective bits. Lots of people have hi-viz that has reflective bits. I've only seen one guy with hi-viz without reflective bits. (He had no bike lights either.)

Anyway the esteemed university's customers don't bother with hi-viz and bike lights at night. However the more sensible ones wear white and light coloured tops so are easy to see in headlights. The stupid ones learn when a vehicle nearly runs them down that wearing grey and dark coloured tops isn't a good idea.

The problem with black reflective clothing is over time due to washing the reflective bits get dimmer. Most people don't realise this so don't know that they are now invisible at night. If your reflective clothing is lighter when this happens you can still be seen.

Also some cyclists don't understand that people need to work out it is a human body on the road so putting one reflective strap on your ankle while wearing dark colours at night doesn't help people see you.

[WTFH]

...make sure your lights aren't flashing ones, particularly if you're in an area without street lighting as they dazzle other road users when they flash, which can cause accidents.

[malvolio]

...make sure your lights aren't flashing ones, particularly if you're in an area without street lighting as they dazzle other road users when they flash, which can cause accidents.

Agreed. I got dangerously close to a bike coming the other way, quite legitimately overtaking a slow-moving line of cars in a dark winter morning, when I couldn't distinguish his strobe light from the other headlights in the queue. A fixed light means you can see how it's moving along the road, flashing ones merely confuse things.

[Hobosapien]

All that would be covered on the 'appropriate clothing' section of a bicycle CBT.

Personally I don't worry so much about the colour of the clothing as I have 'hi-viz' helmet and usually 'high viz' footwear (i.e. lime green or yellow), which works well as a contrast if wearing darker colours, so catches people's eye. Most of my kit has some reflector strips too though I tend to avoid going out in really bad weather or in the dark on two wheels.

This has been covered by safety studies for motorcyclists so is probably relevant to cyclists too.

[glebe digital]

While the article has some good points the acronym is a giveaway: it does not impose or event assert authority, it merely means you can be seen.

By all means don't wear something as uncool as a hi-viz, but lycra in shades of black and grey, no lights or reflectives in murky conditions, using headphones and wearing hoodies are all every bit as stupid. I don't care how you do it, but since you're travelling at a fraction of my speed, are effectively 7 feet wide if I give you proper clearance and are infinitely more fragile than me, please simply make sure I know you're f***ing there.

I completely agree, if conditions are even remotely murky I always pull-on a lycra top with reflective strips, my hat, gloves and shoes are white & I carry lights (non-blinking) if the situation demands it.
Yellow jackets give a completely false sense of security, and to my mind are belligerent and offensive. They say "If you hit me, it's YOUR fault, no matter my behaviour" and that just breeds contempt. I see cyclists in these, at night, and no lights. It's moronic and dangerous in the extreme.

[SueEllen]

Yellow jackets give a completely false sense of security, and to my mind are belligerent and offensive. They say "If you hit me, it's YOUR fault, no matter my behaviour" and that just breeds contempt. I see cyclists in these, at night, and no lights. It's moronic and dangerous in the extreme.

I will tell that to the kids I see doing their bikeabilty courses the next time I see them....

That's complete nonsense. The people I see doing the most dangerous things are teenage boys in their dark coloured hoodies who tend not to have lights.

Oh and you are aware hi-viz comes in a variety of colours? Yes for some reason most people opt for yellow probably because their gear isn't cycling gear but jackets, gilets and waist coats for construction workers, refuse collectors, etc,