Getting Easier

[Heifzilla]

I wear a hi-vis yellow/green jersey for my afternoon commute - but I'm actually not sure it's the best choice. About half my commute is rural and it's pretty close to the same color as the wheat fields and the trees in the setting sun. I would bet that I'm blending into the background too much when I'm not in the city.

This is part of my reasoning for going with the hot pink. The majority of my ride is rural, and is either grasses on the side of the road, or trees. The pink definitely jumps out against the green or yellow of the grasses.

Also, familiarity breeds contempt. People are getting so used to seeing the lime yellow-green on construction workers that they start to blend into the background (and believe me, since this is Illinois they see a lot of construction workers, LOL). You just don't see very many people wearing this screaming shade of pink as you drive down the road.

And another thing I have noticed as well is that fluorescent colors make a huge difference. I have one non-fluorescent orange hunting vest that is no where near as bright as the fluorescent orange hunting vest I also have. Even though my first vest is screaming orange, it is no where near as bright to me as the fluorescent one. Same goes for my pink vest. It is definitely fluorescent, and while is is very similar in color to many of the hot pink things I wear (scrubs, for example), it "pops" way more because of the fluorescent quality. Fluorescing is extremely apparent under a UV (black) light. Since sunlight also has the UV wavelength in it, anything fluorescent will also pop somewhat in sunlight, which is what makes fluorescent fabric so vivid to us. There is even more UV light at dusk (and dawn) to cause fluorescent fabrics to continue to "pop" out while everything else seems to fade into the background due to the lower light levels. This is why fluorescent materials are recommended for safety at dusk and dawn.

Here's a good article: http://www.ipmba.org/reviews/The_Nee...ty_Apparel.pdf It explains how hi-viz apparel really helps others to see you. Page 3 is the nitty gritty.