Comments on: High Viz: Smart Style or What Not to Wear?

By: Make It Your Own: High Visibility in High Style | One woman. Many bicycles.

Make It Your Own: High Visibility in High Style | One woman. Many bicycles. — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 07:28:00 +0000

[…] not a big fan of high visibility bike clothing. Somewhat for philosophical reasons, but mostly because it’s usually dog ugly. Between frumpy, boxy shapes and no interesting […]

By: ladyfleur

ladyfleur — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:58:58 +0000

Yes, first it’s helmets, then it’s hi-viz, next will it be massive daytime running lights and loud bells and horns? The real problem is that we’ve turned city streets, which should be places where people are comfortable walking and riding along into mini-freeways where keeping cars moving fast is more important.

The net effect is that people quit walking and riding bikes on those streets, leaving the few who dare even more vulnerable because the drivers whiz by with no expectation that there might be someone not riding in a car in the vicinity. Crossing the road in an area where there are few pedestrians or bikes can be uncomfortable, even if you have the walk signal.

By: maxpaq

maxpaq — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 05:05:28 +0000

“Instead, it should be the duty of the drivers of motor vehicles to slow down, pay attention, and not bully cyclists and pedestrians on the street.” I cannot express how much I agree with you on this one. Forcing people to wear High viz, (or helmets) just put the blame on the victim and not on the motorist who is actually to blame for a collision.

By: ladyfleur

ladyfleur — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:02:30 +0000

True. If there’s hi-viz everywhere then nothing sticks out. I have reflective accents on some of my jackets, most notably my raincoat. They don’t bother me because they’re unobtrusive.

But at night, I think good lights are more important than reflective gear because it doesn’t need headlights shining on it to be visible. Video of my favorite lights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWp6xTQNhfg

By: fiedlerin

fiedlerin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:50:49 +0000

My problem with everybody wearing Hi-Vis clothing is that you don’t stick out anymore. It kinda defeats the purpose of these clothes.

I do have a reflective belt because I have to wear it when I ride on base (motor- and bicycle) and I would probably wear it in the dark, too.

I don’t live in a particularly foggy area and most of our bike trails are away from the roads. Joy :)

By: ladyfleur

ladyfleur — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:26:33 +0000

So they ban high viz/fluoro clothing in bars. Not a ringing endorsement for its stylishness.

Are the gaiters high viz? If it was the UK, they would be. The horses have little high viz “spats” above their hooves. They’d be cute in herringbone, but in high viz–not so nice.

By: matt the rat

matt the rat — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:11:30 +0000

The Hi-Vis is the similar over here in Perth. Not sure who started it, but flouro clothing is everywhere in Western Australia for work related activities, and the cyclists use it bunches as well. Many bars publish dress codes just to ban flouro and steel cap boots.

a funny note is that the construction workers often wear shorts with the steel toe boots and then have lightweight covers (“gators” for snow hiking in the USA) around the rim of the boots that snug up on the calf and keep dirt and rocks out.

By: ladyfleur

ladyfleur — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:56:01 +0000

Yikes! Deer hunters shooting in the park. I’d definitely wear high viz for that. As for the loophole, I bet the deer have figured it out. I know the ducks on the bay congregate in the non-hunting areas.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:24:35 +0000

My favorite example is from the state parks of Wisconsin, where mountain biking and shooting deer with guns are allowed simultaneously. During gun deer season, there are signs reminding the cyclists to wear bright colors. But no signs to alert hunters that there are mountain bike trails in the park.

It’s a bit odd to ring your bell to alert a guy with a rifle that you’re riding past him, but everybody is friendly.

Hey, when you get a nice weekend in November with no snow on the trails, you ride, hunting season or not. (The trails are a loop and shooting is only allowed out of the loop and not toward the inside of the loop. I don’t know if the deer are aware of that loophole.)