Choosing a jersey color

[OakLeaf]

Hi-viz yellow.

We've had a number of conversations about that here, and I can go into more detail if you want, but there's one more reason I've added to my list.

Recently a trial near my hometown ended in a hung jury. The defendant had struck and killed a local cyclist - a trained ride leader and very experienced rider - at about 6 a.m. on the defendant's way home in his car from a night of drinking and partying. One of his defenses was that the cyclist wasn't wearing bright clothing. This was summer, just a few days from the solstice, and just about 15 minutes before sunrise, so there would have been plenty of ambient light.

As I've said many times, my jersey won't protect me from someone who just doesn't care. But I don't want my family to see my killer go free because I was wearing the wrong clothes. And when the killer gets on the witness stand and swears they didn't see me, I want that to be exactly as credible as the ones who don't see garbage trucks before rear-ending them.