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Not sure if there is a fact floating around out there about this, but does anyone know what the most visible color of clothing is on the bike? Red, neon green, yellow?
I ride alot on country roads, with alot of crazy drivers, so visibility is a big concern. From what I can tell by looking at other riders, the neon green might be best.
Some years ago when I was living in Pittsburgh they started painting all of the fire engines what they called at the time "easy eye" green - that bright neon green/yellow color (I think its called high visibility yellow or safety yellow these days), because supposedly that is the color the human eye is most sensitive to. People had fits over it, since its tradition that fire engines are red - but as far as I know they never changed them back.
I remember reading an article about this but for the life of me cant remember where (perhaps one of the other girls will, Im thinking maybe the Roadbike News letter or Bicycling Mag). It talked about season change and that having some effect on what colours are more readily seen. If I remember correctly bright blue (we are talking bright not navy or dark blue) was good because not much around blended with that.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by mars
I did some looking and it seems the High Vis yellow and Yellow green are the best, followed by High Vis Orange. Think of what the road workers wear. I also read somewhere that Hot pink is very visable. The blue was also but not as good at night. I also found a site where they were testing what colors colorblind people could see. www.dartmouth.edu/~sullivan/bike/colorbv.html
Basically High Visability colors, reflective tape and lights if you want to be seen.
Thanks everyone. I'm going to go with the yellow-green and my favorite apparel item - a strap on slow moving vehicle sign! Those big trucks will think I'm a fast tractor.
If you're riding in low light, a headlight and a tail light too.
About 20 years ago, I saw a jogger very clearly at dusk on a road with no shoulder because he carried a flashlight. He could probably see the road fine without the light, but I noticed him only because of the bouncing light. Then I saw the sneakers reflecting from the car's headlights, then I saw his outline.
Good luck and enjoy!
S.
and along these lines...can I carry cards to hand out to cyclists who ride at night, dressed in black, with no lights? On my way into a night shift Wed night, two cyclists flew past on the opposite side of the street. I was still a bit groggy from my pre-work nap, and barely registered them. Even their helmets were dark, and non-reflective. What if they'd been on my side of the street? They were virtually invisible, and it wasn't my most alert driving moment. Scary. When I bike on Chicago streets at night, I have a light on my handlebars, a light on my silver, reflective helmet, a blinking light under my seat, and reflective stripes everywhere. Be visible!
I recall reading an article a couple of years ago in Adventure Cycling. The gist of the article was that while fluorescent colors are, indeed very visible from long distances, they tend to create target fixation. You know, that phenomenon wherein you look at the obstacle you want to avoid and wind up hitting it because you're looking at it, instead of the path to avoid it (not that I've ever done this :cool: ).
This very experienced rider's conclusion was that a merely bright color would be a better choice. Just enough to catch the eye and register in the driver's mind that someone is there, then their attention can then go back to their intended direction of travel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lise
I've had it happen with bicyclists who were riding the wrong way, in the street, on an unlit street, and no lights, dark clothing, nothing. they also didn't have helmets. I don't care what culture you are coming from, that's just plain stupid. scary too.