Covering Hi-Vis, what's the point?

[Scott-S]

I leave the house at 6:30am to begin my commute from the west boundary of Glasgow to the east boundary dropping my wife off at the city hospital on route.
It's mainly A class or main roads apart from 2 miles of dual carriageway & motorway so there are a lot of cyclists on the roads and now that winter darkness is upon us, I see a few (although not as many as I would like) cyclists on the commute wearing hi-vis vests or jackets of some sort.
And then there are the ones who put a huge backpack over their hi-vis (Darwin Award candidates?) and I wonder what they are thinking?

Ive only ever seen one guy, (funnily enough a textbook mamil who also stopped at all the red lights) who had on a hi-vis and then a hi-vis cover on his backpack too.

I wont mention the even future speedbumps on the evening commute dressed all in black with black scarfs as facemasks and no lights on their electric bike delivering food and riding like they are alone on the roads.

Anyway why would you cover most of your hi-vis with a backpack and think you're safe on a dark wet morning (it's Scotland it's always wet)

 

[novocaine]

I leave the house at 6:30am to begin my commute from the west boundary of Glasgow to the east boundary dropping my wife off at the city hospital on route.
It's mainly A class or main roads apart from 2 miles of dual carriageway & motorway so there are a lot of cyclists on the roads and now that winter darkness is upon us, I see a few (although not as many as I would like) cyclists on the commute wearing hi-vis vests or jackets of some sort.
And then there are the ones who put a huge backpack over their hi-vis (Darwin Award candidates?) and I wonder what they are thinking?

Ive only ever seen one guy, (funnily enough a textbook mamil who also stopped at all the red lights) who had on a hi-vis and then a hi-vis cover on his backpack too.

I wont mention the even future speedbumps on the evening commute dressed all in black with black scarfs as facemasks and no lights on their electric bike delivering food and riding like they are alone on the roads.

Anyway why would you cover most of your hi-vis with a backpack and think you're safe on a dark wet morning (it's Scotland it's always wet)

Side protection.

a massive amount of incidents in the dark involve cars pulling out of junctions rather than being run into from the side. Lights are front and back (Active protection) so a highvis from the front or rear (passive protection) is less critical.

I agree with you though, it's an easy addition and should really be visible from all around, so covering it is a bit daft.

 

[legrandefromage]

The problem I have with hi-viz is that it only works at certain times of the day so unless it's got reflective strips, it's pretty useless stuff. Plus it can only be washed a small number of times before it loses it's effectiveness

It's great stuff for highly regulated industries like the railways or road works but not the best for us plebs

 

[minor_LEGEND]

It's quite likely said wearer actually wears it all day for work & not for the commute. I work with people from our warehouse that arrive in their cars for work already wearing hi-viz.

 

[novocaine]

The problem I have with hi-viz is that it only works at certain times of the day so unless it's got reflective strips, it's pretty useless stuff. Plus it can only be washed a small number of times before it loses it's effectiveness

It's great stuff for highly regulated industries like the railways or road works but not the best for us plebs

It's cheap, it's reliable, it's easy. It isn't perfect but it's better than nothing.

I'd say it's more useful than not an certainly better than all black.

This assumes we are talking about retroreflective though, not just bright yellow. (you do say unless it's go reflective strips, so I guess we are talking about it from two ends of the spectrum).

If we put it on the hierarchy of risk control it's the least effective form of protection and we want to spend the least amount on it (cost, time, effort) , the fact it's cheap and easy use means it's worth doing but should be supported by more effective controls (like engineered controls such as lights, which cost more and take more effort, but are way more effective). this argument stands for most PPE in terms of risk reduction, but will still instigate it in most places because it's cheap, easy and takes little effort to enforce.

the discussion is a bit like Halloween, it always happens in October, it's the same every year and give it a month and everyone's stopped caring about it.

 

[Scott-S]

Good points made especially about side view which I never considered.
Yes they all seemed to have the reflective stripes on them (thank the stars)
Great point about working ppe, I again just thought because I have a full sleeve hi-vis for my bike, a separate hi-vis vest in my gun bag and one over my office chair in case I need to go into our warehouse that others would do the same as they are pennies compared to what we spend on our bikes etc.

Thanks for indulging me and for the comments folks, every opinion makes me see a different angle and learn a little more.

 

[Totoro]

I never knew these were a thing until I just Googled it. I might even invest in one even though I hardly ever ride in the dark, there is always the chance of a delay and I throw my camelbak and a few tools and stuff into my rucksack. I usually use Hi-vis stuff but it doesn't have much reflective areas if any. I leave lights fitted to my bike just in case I'm out early in the morning while still dark or get caught out at dusk or if there is fog.

 

[mk one]

It's quite likely said wearer actually wears it all day for work & not for the commute. I work with people from our warehouse that arrive in their cars for work already wearing hi-viz.

And plenty at the pub after work in the evening.

 

[N-plus-one]

The answer/solutions is SEQUINS.

We all need to sew sequins onto all our clothing items and also glue them onto spokes and frames. Cant go wrong.

Actually, strictly speaking there may be a downside!

#tonguincheek

 

[Scott-S]

The answer/solutions is SEQUINS.

We all need to sew sequins onto all our clothing items and also glue them onto spokes and frames. Cant go wrong.

Actually, strictly speaking there may be a downside!

#tonguincheek

Like back to the 70s disco when the led headlights hit that and turn him into mobile glitterball