Wearing Black Clothes in Darkness

[JL690]

I had a wee bit of road rage driving back from the shop just now, at a pedestrian who I almost didn't see crossing the road because they were wearing dark clothing. Along the lines of "you're wearing the right colours if you want run down in the darkness". Then I saw myself in the mirror when I got home. Yes, black jeans, black jacket, black hair. I need to be more self-aware, don't I?

I've seen this picture and thought it was very effective, wish it would be seen by everyone.

I was driving down a busy road a few nights ago, probably around 20/25mph due to traffic. Even with streetlights and headlights it was really hard to see a man who walked straight out into the traffic as he was only wearing dark clothing. It was scary.

Agree and I am just as bad. I cycle in the dark (and switch over to early morning light at this time of year) and wear a hi viz yellow coat plus lots of reflective strips, lights etc but as a pedestrian I am all in dark colours.

Early one morning , waiting to pull out onto main road cars to the right (towards me) were swerving round something on the road
twit on a black electric scooter dressed head to toe in black and no lights
total deathwish numpty

I just remembered the "Wear something light to show up at night" ads from Australian telly - they were made when I was a kid in the 60s. Had an oldish woman in a dark overcoat and another in a pale raincoat. Filmed from the driver's perspective.

Can I add that it no longer seems to be a thing to walk on the right side of the road so that are facing oncoming traffic.

I was always taught this, and yet I have twice come round a bend on a country national speed limit road recently, to find pedestrians in dark clothing on the left side of the road. I worry someone is going to get hurt, or worse.

Pedestrians, especially those who can’t drive, have no idea how invisible they are in the dark to drivers. Cars and other pedestrians are perfectly visible to you when you’re on foot, even at night, so it just doesn’t occur to you, I think. It was only when I started driving myself that I realised. I always make sure DS’s winter coats have at least some fluorescent sections, so he stands out in the dark (though he’s only nine so he’s not out on his own at night anyway).

One (but only one) of our local secondary schools has compulsory off-white outer coats. It helps.

Part of my route to work is a shared pedestrian/cycle way. Cyclists mostly have lights but the number of pedestrians who are dressed all in black and who you only see at the last minute is scary!

As a woman who walks after dark I’m always in two minds on this one.
Part of me knows I need to be lit up like a christmas tree when I’m walking after dark as it’s safer for drivers to see me so therefore safer for me.
The other part of me wants to wear dark clothes as it feels safer for a lone female walking to blend into the darkness and not be visible.

I've just bought a reflective sash with flashing LEDs front and back for the nursery run. I also bought some reflective tape from amazon and I've put that on the black buggy. Surprisingly, my usually sensible DH seems to think this is over the top? Not that I give a shit 🤷‍♀️

I was musing about this the other day and thought it would be relatively easy for all anoraks/padded jackets to have thin reflective strips incorporated in during manufacture as a standard.

I put bits of the reflective tape on DD's senior school coats. They moaned vociferously for about 5 minutes then never mentioned it again

Many years ago, I opened my car door on a cyclist who was wearing all black and although his bike was fitted with lights, they weren't switched on - im guessing dead batteries. I had checked if there was anything coming before opening the door, but he was completely invisible in the darkness. I got such a mouthful of abuse from him but i just accepted it as I was only young at the time. He reported me to the police, lying that his lughts were switched on, but luckily they obtained good quality cctv footage from a nearby office block, which showed that he wasn't visible until he crashed into my car door.

Same in the north-east of England in the 80s.

I often think about this. I bought a bright reddy/orange coat but it is not warm so unfortunately when it get cold that even I have to wrap up, I wear a black coat. I often notice in places like Primark that the men's jackets and coats are a lot more colourful than the sludge shades aimed at the women. Could we not have some reflective strips on coats or something?

Most cyclists wear black clothing and only a few wear some reflective stuff. One time I was on a bus and it was evening. A black woman crossed the road in front of the bus, wearing dark clothes and it was very dark. How the bus driver saw her I do not know!

Years ago there was govt. TV ad, saying, ‘Wear something light at night!’

High time there was another.

WolfFoxHare · Yesterday 22:11

Pedestrians, especially those who can’t drive, have no idea how invisible they are in the dark to drivers.

Yes, there have been a few instances of this in recent weeks and I try to point them out to my daughter. A teenaged boy on a bike, head to toe in black, black bike, no lights, shot across the road and I only saw him at first because he was texting.

You do get cyclists sometimes riding about it black clothes and with maybe just one small reflector and no lights! Had some near misses with those. DH will never cycle at night without a fully working light.

I bought my DS a new winter coat this year and deliberately got him a reflective one from Next. Last year and the year before I saw children wearing them as I was driving and was impressed how visible they are, so I was determined to buy my DS one when he next needed a new coat. My next mission is to get me something reflective too.

I've had my share of noticing people walking or cycling being practically invisible in their dark clothing. I've not realised until now that we don't get the same adverts for safety like we used to - road crossing, being visible at night, being careful with fireworks etc. Does anyone know why that is?

I have a white scarf that I wear once the nights draw in. It is easy to just throw on as I leave the house.

I work in Norway quite often and everyone wears reflective bands on their wrist or on bags.

I’ve adopted the practice now - you can buy multi packs of those snap type bands that go around your wrist or which can be added to bags, etc. You can also buy small keyring ones which you can add to toggles on jackets and so on. Amazon sell them for around £12 for a multipack but I’m sure there are other retailers.

It makes a massive difference to being visible.

I really worry about my teenage kids walking to/from school and crossing roads in the dark in their black uniform and black coats. Even though we're in London and they're walking on busy streets. I always remind them that cars won't see them and only to cross at crossings. Whether they listen or not is another matter!

I don't really care if people are wearing all black. If they are walking where it is legal to walk. I nearly hit some old man wearing all black, in the rain and dark because he was happily jaywalkng across the road and i simply did not see him until he stepped into my lane. I got quite a fright in fact. And he had the gall to give me the finger?! Ditto, a woman in all black crossing illegally, on a corner....

In both cases, I cannot see that I would have been held responsible for hitting them if I had. But driving a car, even at just 20 or 25 miles per hour and hitting a pedestrian... we all know who will come off worse. Drives me absolutely crazy.

I cycle, drive and am a pedestrian. So I hope I am at most times aware of the need to be visible on a bike/on foot. I knitted myself a bobble hat with yarn that has a reflective thread running through it. In daylight it looks like a normal knitted hat but under headlights or streetlights the reflective thread shoes up really clearly. I liked it so much that I knitted some mittens the same. I also have a small backpack that has a pattern printed on the back, again in daylight it's just a printed pattern but under lights it is fully reflective and the cords/tags on the bag are also reflective. Hi-vis jackets etc (the bright orange or yellow) aren't on their own necessarily easy to see at night because they are not reflective, unless they have a reflective strip added on.
When I'm on a bike at night I have reflective everything. Sometimes looking like a cycling Christmas tree all lit up. But on a bike it's so important to be visible. There's a great cycling jacket which is 100% reflective material so at night it really shows up, and even in the day it's pale grey so fairly visible. I would love one but they are quite pricey

Meant to add I bought some spoke reflectors recently (little tubes that snap onto bike spokes and are reflective) they really show up under lights at night as the wheels go round and they look like a solid reflective wheel. I insisted on putting some on DS's bike too as he cycles to and from school and has a black uniform, black coat etc etc. although it's not yet dark at those times here (but is going to be much poorer visibility by the time they break up for Christmas). He did protest but as they aren't really noticeable in daylight they have now been accepted