Hi viz doesn’t work if a driver isn’t looking & they don’t look

[ivykaty44]

twitter.com/anthonytilghman/status/1489814943859986438?s=21

Wide street, visibility good as from a distance the driver would see the hi viz, the child approaching

Yet none of this worked and the driver failed to stop in time

It’s drivers needing to pay attention as hiviz is just a stick to beat victims with if there not wearing it Aibu

But for pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders - simple truth is some drivers are idiots/under the influence. So wearing high viz and being very aware of potential bad drivers is always wise

My DD rides horses and is always covered in hi-viz if she’s on roads, but I do find it that it becomes victim blaming.

I’m always seeing huge rants from drivers on various local Facebook groups about horse riders not wearing hi-vis and it always ends up with drivers justifying their appalling driving around horses with “well, they weren’t wearing hi-vis, what do they expect?” The whole conversation turns then into a debate about horse riders not wearing hi-vis/someone didn’t say thank you 10 years ago/horses shouldn’t be on the road/etc rather than drivers not driving responsibly

As I say, DD always wears hi-vis if she’s on the roads, it’s not negotiable, however, the last near miss she had was in broad daylight when both her and her pony were wearing hi-vis.

Anyone who can't see a pony on the road in daylight should be done for driving without due care and attention. And obviously never set wheel in the New Forest, Dartmoor or Exmoor.

@ErrolTheDragon

Anyone who can't see a pony on the road in daylight should be done for driving without due care and attention. And obviously never set wheel in the New Forest, Dartmoor or Exmoor.

Unfortunately the thread on horses on the road suggests some drivers think that it doesn't matter whether they see us in good time, because they're entitled to drive as they bloody well please regardless

Theres 3 situations.

Driver paying partial attention. Either due to another hazard or just not paying full attention. Someone in hi-vis is more likey to get the attention of this driver, than someone dressed in black. So Hi-Vis is worth wearing.

Driver paying complete attention. Someone dressed in black still not be able to be seen, depending on conditions. Someone one hi-vis is far more likey to be seen. You cant avoid something if you can't see and have no clue its there. So worth wearing hi-vis.

Driver no paying attention due to being on their phone, maybe just a dick or whatever. Person dressed in black won't be seen. Person in hi-vis has a slightly higher chance of catching this persons attention and being avoided. So still worth wearing.

Anyone who doesn't see a horse in daylight and or moans that the rider didn't have hi-vis on is a complete idiot. They clearly are not capable of driving daily and so arrogant to think its someone else fault. However, we will live in a world where you need to be caught doing something ro recieve consequences for it. So unless the police catch them or they are caught on camera and its enough to follow up, nothing can be done.

Car drivers are not perfect. Hi-visit wear won't stop every accident. The onus is on car drivers to pay attention and follow the high way code. Hi-vis is part of being safer on the roads.

Its impossible to say how many accidents have not happened due to people wearing hi-vis, because you can't count something that has not happened. Even the suggestion of studying wether people give extra space to Hi vis wearers, wouldn't work. People would know their driving was being studied and so act more cautiously. Also you would need people willing to be hit, because they would need a group wearing clothes where the drivers can not see them, to compare.

I can't see how hi-vis does not help at all and I don't believe (apart from some dicks on facebook) that most people think hi-vis is the be all and end all and solves all the road problems.

Well now I'm confused. I said that because it sounded like you wouldn't be satisfied by anything other than definitive proof that one is better than the other. I also said a study like that would be unethical.

perhaps you should read the thread - I did put up a study, so not sure what your "confusion" is about, and no where have I written or implied I needed definite proof - you just made that up to suit your own narrative

Even the suggestion of studying wether people give extra space to Hi vis wearers, wouldn't work. People would know their driving was being studied and so act more cautiously.

I gave you a study on just that...further up the thread and the findings were that the jacket with police written on the back got more room than any other jacket/bib and the drivers weren't warned

@ivykaty44

Even the suggestion of studying wether people give extra space to Hi vis wearers, wouldn't work. People would know their driving was being studied and so act more cautiously.

I gave you a study on just that...further up the thread and the findings were that the jacket with police written on the back got more room than any other jacket/bib and the drivers weren't warned

I can see a link to an article on an insurance website, that references a study. That has no information on how the study was conducted, how many oberstavations were made, how many locations, what controls etc. The article doesn't contain the link to the study.

Of course police were given more room. That's been know for years, like people slowing down when they see the police. Still doesn't make Hi-Vis pointless or the mean hi-vis is promoted as the priority or that saying hi-vis is a good idea is also saying 'drivers have no responsibility'.

@ivykaty44

Well now I'm confused. I said that because it sounded like you wouldn't be satisfied by anything other than definitive proof that one is better than the other. I also said a study like that would be unethical.

perhaps you should read the thread - I did put up a study, so not sure what your "confusion" is about, and no where have I written or implied I needed definite proof - you just made that up to suit your own narrative

Well if you don't need definitive proof then I shall say with confidence, high-vis with reflective patches is better than none. Source: my eyes

Abstract for the study the OP references: researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/the-influence-of-a-bicycle-commuters-appearance-on-drivers-overta

You can see that they do not conclude, in the abstract at least, that hi vis is pointless - they're quite clear that their study is looking at preventing close overtaking using different outfits, not whether being more visible is advantageous or not.