“My experience is that cars/drivers around me do respond differently and better when a rider wears bright colors.”
There was a controlled academic study in the UK a few years ago that measured the distance between a car driver and a bicycle rider on the same stretch of road. Wearing the same apparel. Riding the same bicycle. Everything the same except with or without a bicycle helmet. Cars passed an average of 6″ closer to the rider when the helmet was worn.
“There is a lot of subliminal stuff like this going on in the minds of those motorists surrounding you. For whatever reason, hi viz and tan seem to get more space on the road. Maybe they make you look a little more like you know a good attorney? I’ve never sued anyone and hope I’ll never need to…but more space on the roads is always a good thing.”
“The best way to dress for maximizing safety, dressing like a motorcycle police officer, is illegal. And you wouldn’t want to be responsible to respond to every random road problem encountered, either.
So it’s hi-vis or tan. These colors also wear slightly cooler on warm days than black, red, and blue.”
– Mr. Subjective 2-16-13
Click here to visit AeroStitch.
Click on the image below for info on the Very Boring Rally, which takes place August 23-25, 2013 at Aerostich World Headquarters and the nearby Spirit Mountain Resort in Duluth, Minnesota.
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