wear something white at night

bigjl

One thing that always confuses me.

Why do huge numbers of Londons cyclists think that the safest clothes to wear are black or very dark, many of them also have no lights and go up the left at lights like this.

When I first road motorbikes in London wearing high vis or clothing with reflective sections was very rare.

People rarely used their lights during the day.

I got knocked off a few times, sometimes when somebody pulled out in front of me or turned right into my path.

But I was also knocked off a fair few times when filtering, usually at too high a speed for drivers to react. But one thing I would never do even then was go up the left of an LGV or Bus at lights.

I was lucky and never got seriously injured.

But cyclists really need to risk assess things.

Wearing conspicuous clothing is a life saver as are the front lights that blink. Though some of the LED ones are a bit too bright when not aimed correctly.

oldhand

Well my mate did take the advice,wore a white coat,trousers,hat and gloves,even bought a white bike..........He was hit by a snowplough.........:D:p

neilmcl

oldhand wrote: »

Well my mate did take the advice,wore a white coat,trousers,hat and gloves,even bought a white bike..........He was hit by a snowplough.........:D:p

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Strider590

Couple weeks ago around 8pm, I saw a guy dressed all in black, black hoodie over his head, he crossed a road junction and had to jump out of the way as a car pulled up to it, he then proceeded to shout obscenities at the driver. The only reason I saw him was because I always watch that junction very carefully as I pass it, as it's a tight turn out and people tend to come across both lanes without realising it.

A few years ago I had to stop on an unlit country lane to give friendly advise to a runner dressed in dark clothing, he'd only recently started running to get fit and was just wearing normal clothing. Not long after that I encountered an old man walking down the middle of the same road on his way back from the pub.

I really hate driving this time of year.

reeac

To my knowledge I've only had one near miss with a pedestrian. It was on an unlit road, he was facing away from me and was wearing all dark clothing and although there was a paved footpath he was walking in the road. As I approached I was distracted by something over to my right but fortunately my wife was looking ahead, saw the pedestrian and warned me.

wba31

How on earth do people run with hoods up? even on the coldest of nights it doesnt take long for me to warm up in t-shirt and shorts...

peter12345678910

I think the worst threat is people with hoods crossing the road, as their field of vision is seriously restricted.

Though black is alright, many black clothing s are shiny. I think the colour is not that important but how shiny the colour is?

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

The depressing thing is that round here the pavements aren't great so quite a lot of joggers run in the road, back to traffic.

They are running to keep fit. If people understood the permanent impact on their health of even apparently trivial accidents they might grasp that risking being run over is risking a far higher impact on their health than being unfit.

And while we are at it, given that 99% cars are essentially a shade of grey, it is surprising how many motorists still drive in poor visibility without lights - try driving in Wales in the rain and spotting a slate grey BMW tanking down the road.

Pyxis

barnaclebill wrote: »

Who remembers the old public information TV ad, wear something white at night, I wish they would repeat it, in the last week I have had a number of people all dressed in dark clothing running across the road in front of me, tonight it was raining and they had their hoods up as well, just saw the flash of their legs lit by the headlights of cars coming the other way.
I recall it ended with something like ' even carry a newspaper' to show something white.
The other thing would be to make all outer garments in dark colours have some light reflecting tape on them.

Found it........plus I bumped this thread, even though there is a new similar one just started, as it is such an important topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU4tSPvXjsI

There were older ones, too going back to the 1960s. They were brilliant, and it's why I wear a white scarf after dark in the winter.

It's scary, how invisible people are, even in towns with street lighting.

Mr.Generous

I was thinking exactly this the other night, quite a few pedestrians out in all dark clothing. It was foggy here a few night ago, still cyclists out with no lights.

I went to take daughters black dog out for a stroll in the dark and fog, and realised my dark jeans, black jacket and hat were exactly what I'd be moaning about if I was driving. I routed out a high vis vest - I believe the fog and dark justified it.

On a similar vein to the comments above the road I live in is quite small and quiet, dead end, 20 houses and very narrow. At the top of the road the entrance section curves in away from the main road past a few old cottages, the owners park on the road outside their homes. Pedestrians frequently choose to save themselves seconds of time by not following the pavement and cutting out the curve by walking into the road outside the parked cars then back to the main road. The road is narrow meaning if one car comes they have to move. Unbelievable thing is they either don't notice you because they are playing with a phone or wearing headphones, or they give you a dirty look as if you shouldn't be there.

Use the F'ing pavement idiots!!