Motorcyclists to wear high-vis?

[jmack]

dont put yourself into a false sence riding a harley ive had a couple of close call on mine.i just have to say what hope have we got if people dont c or take notice of emergency vehicles with flashing lights and sirens going

[Rockape]

They can stick there high vis up there !@#

[anolade]

Originally Posted by GhiaEB

I agree with you 100% mate. But I do wear high vis wet weather gear every now and again while riding. It shouldn't be made a requirement. We are not children who need to be told everything to do by the gov. I'm a firm beleaver in personal choice.

agree too; rider here and had few few too many near misses by the dim witted cagers, i'd wear hi vis jacket in wet condition, as drivers take the next level in dangerous driving.

Naturally in event of motorcycle accident it's intirely the riders fault for being there in the way of the distracted/ just plain bad driver, not that the local government is any help with suicide barrier going up everywere

[Silver Ghia]

IMO hi viz attire wont help at all when drivers arent looking anyway, as they often do. On the other hand I'll probably get flamed when I mention that some riders cause problems themselves when they are suddenly in a cars blind spot etc. unexpected to the driver, as they have lane split and overtaken to get there.

[mik]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

Seriously it would make zero difference..we got headlights we got bling...poor driver attitudes and awareness is hard to fix .

I ride to survive ...if I left it up to the average motoristi would be dead by now .yer it sounds good in theory but if everything on the road was forced to look like a canary , then it would blend in in 5 minutes ...and back to where we started .this is not a solution for anything

i did`nt say it was a solution, but the guys on bikes have zero protection and no matter how good you think you are, that one in 100,000 chance of being seen just once might save your skin, and even with a head light , at night time in the city with many other cars around you, glare from other headlights and multiple other headlights can blur into one another, add poor weather conditions in heavy fast moving traffic, i think i`d rather be wearing a vest. by all means make it voluntary, but i think i`d rather be wearing a vest.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by jmack

thats true as a bike rider or truck driver you learn quickly to judge a persons driving style and counteract it,you are just not controlling your vehicle but putting yourself in the vehicles around u to pre-empt their actions

thats it exactly, as riders we have to pre-empt what the car drivers are going to do, and once you get used to doing it then most of the time theres not too many surprises.

as said, hi vis wont do nada if the car driver isnt even looking in the first place.

as for those saying bikes are often in your blind spot, umm thats why your supposed to look over your shoulder, not just use your mirrors.

if you cant see whats there, then you dont change lanes. simple really.

[Franco Cozzo]

Thing is you only pick up these things through experience, like judging what drivers are going to do.

You can't really be "taught" that, its something you pick up over time of being on the road.

I think if this becomes mandatory you might find manufacturers of protective bike clothing might come up with some cool designs integrating the high vis stuff into your clothes so you don't actually have to wear a vest, but still have the reflective stuff on you.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

Seriously it would make zero difference..we got headlights we got bling...poor driver attitudes and awareness is hard to fix

i don't think it would make zero difference, but the difference may be both good and bad

i personally hate the hi vis shirts in factories, because to me it makes people dumber. for instance the only time i have seen someone almost hit by a forklift was an idiot forklift driver/storeman walking behind a reversing forklift with his high vis vest on. everyone else in the factory could see the forklift driver was concentrating on what she was trying to maneuver around, but he just blindly walked behind. i guess the high vis vest made him invincible

i personally would like it if every vehicle had daytime running lights, because it would make it easier to see them. likewise a hi vis vest on a bikie would make it easier to see them to, but the vest particularly should be optional

i guess the problem i have is when a black bike, with it's rider having black leathers is coming around a bend, hidden behind trees, at dusk or in the bad weather and i am coming out of a side street - i could be trying to look all i can, and it is me that will pay the price for their lack of common sense as well. however, cars drivers are much worse at that than bike riders, so i don't think a vest is the true answer. as yourself and others have suggested, it is a lack of effort by car drivers to have awareness that is most of the problem

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

i don't think it would make zero difference, but the difference may be both good and bad

i personally hate the hi vis shirts in factories, because to me it makes people dumber. for instance the only time i have seen someone almost hit by a forklift was an idiot forklift driver/storeman walking behind a reversing forklift with his high vis vest on. everyone else in the factory could see the forklift driver was concentrating on what she was trying to maneuver around, but he just blindly walked behind. i guess the high vis vest made him invincible

i personally would like it if every vehicle had daytime running lights, because it would make it easier to see them. likewise a hi vis vest on a bikie would make it easier to see them to, but the vest particularly should be optional

i guess the problem i have is when a black bike, with it's rider having black leathers is coming around a bend, hidden behind trees, at dusk or in the bad weather and i am coming out of a side street - i could be trying to look all i can, and it is me that will pay the price for their lack of common sense as well. however, cars drivers are much worse than that than bike riders, so i don't think a vest is the true answer. as yourself and others have suggested, it is a lack of effort to have awareness by car drivers that is most of the problem

Interesting you mention the forklift and the high vis vest, all our vehicles we build have reverse alarms, so when you put it into reverse it comes on and starts beeping, or if you put parkers on it stops beeping and the hazards flash.

We've noticed if you have the alarm on everyone tends to walk behind you anyway, its like moths to a light.

I drive with my headlights on all the time when I'm driving, might have someone actually think that its a bit odd to be driving with headlights on during the day and it registers in their head that I'm there, rather than looking at me but it didnt register I'm actually there.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Interesting you mention the forklift and the high vis vest, all our vehicles we build have reverse alarms, so when you put it into reverse it comes on and starts beeping, or if you put parkers on it stops beeping and the hazards flash.

We've noticed if you have the alarm on everyone tends to walk behind you anyway, its like moths to a light.

so do ours and everyone walks behind too. you cannot legislate against stupidity, can you
this idiot walked right into the path of a beeping, reversing forklift luckily a manager yelled out to the forklift driver to stop. and as you might expect, the idiot had no idea just how close he came to being skittled - and yet, we had the hi vis, the reversing alarm and yellow lines to ensure it could never happen

[nstg8a]

all the reversing beepers at work are disconnected.

bit naughty but we found after a while people get used to hearing them all the time and then tune them out. with no beepers everyone, drivers and pedestrians, pay more attention.

what i dont get with the hi-vis arguement, how is a hi vis going to make me any more visible than i already am? my bike already has hardwired lights, theres no way a hivis will stick out more than my headlight, its annoyingly bright.

and really if a car is coming up behind me and cant see me then frankly the car driver shouldnt have a license.

of course it doesnt matter whos right at the end of the day, dead is dead.

[Rockape]

Just another thing they can stick a fine on.

[2011G6E]

Until we start fining...and heavily...people who knock someone off a motorbike because they just didn't open thier damn eyes, nothing will change.

Put the fear of god into car and truck drivers...instant mandatory loss of licence for five years and a massive fine (or jail time if they kill the rider) would be a good start.
None of this "I didn't see him" rubbish should be allowed.

Or, to put it a way that drivers might understand because they obviously don't care about motorcyclists: If you can so easily miss a large motorcycle with the headlight on in traffic or suburban streets, what else are you "not seeing"...? Kids on bikes? Pedestrians? Old people stepping off the curb to cross the road? School zone signs?

[I reckon]

not working to well over here is it.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ynXnGcOn4Uc

[BHDOGS]

Sure is alot of driver hate in this thread not sure how it's relevant when this is about jackets for bikers to wear you can ***** and moan all you want but I see retarded motor bike riders as much as I do car drivers diffrence is when you crash your body is the impact zone not some drongo with a cage around them as youse all so belittling put it so if wearing a vest makes a 5 percent diffrence what's the harm you won't look cool on it is that the problem? I'm yet to hear one real argument against it apart from it won't work or I don't want to

[SM1DY]

From - SMIDSY

To - SMIDSY in your high visibility jacket

It's not so much a matter of a biker being seen as it the driver needing to actually look. I do admit though, that the Hells Angels would look pretty snazy in their new vests

[Rockape]

If i want to go for a ride on the bike its my choice. I know the risks. Dont need high vis thanks.

[FGII-XR6]

as much as riders won't like it I see it as a plus. as a bus driver I've lost count of the near misses caused by motorcyclists wearing dark leathers at night. nothing to do with driver error on either side just so hard to see them on a dark road with poor lighting

[jmack]

maybe if this cop thinks its all about being seen maybe every police vehicle should drive around in MARKED vehicles with lights flashing.better off just stickin a gps up everyones *** and then they can track us everywhere we go.

[saam]

Yes, just another thing a police officer can pull you up on an issue a fine..

Something has to give as people are slowly getting away with the fines issued by the speed cameras

I just came back from thailand and passangers are allowed to ride on the back of a motorbike without a helmet, but the rider needs to have one on.

Once i forgot to put my helmet on whilst riding and sure enough, got flagged to one side and asked to go to a toll booth. There the 2 police inside were collecting the 'fine" funds from all sorts of tourists like me.

I paid a $15 fine for wearing no helmet and my money went straight into the coppers pocket, no evidence on paper given

In thailand you can see the corruption going on, here in Oz its just hidden behind the government

same thing

[OzJavelin]

Originally Posted by piggsy

not working to well over here is it.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ynXnGcOn4Uc

Yep .. Hi-vis, lights and siren and still got hit by someone looking straight at them. Drivers aren't deliberately aiming at motorcyclists; they are just in their own little world ignoring everything like motorbikes, cyclists, trucks, cars, trains, etc, etc. They are just lucking that most times an "accident" involves two cars and hopefully most times they can still walk away ..

[vanman_75]

Originally Posted by mik

i did`nt say it was a solution, but the guys on bikes have zero protection and no matter how good you think you are, that one in 100,000 chance of being seen just once might save your skin, and even with a head light , at night time in the city with many other cars around you, glare from other headlights and multiple other headlights can blur into one another, add poor weather conditions in heavy fast moving traffic, i think i`d rather be wearing a vest. by all means make it voluntary, but i think i`d rather be wearing a vest.

And i agree with that ... there is never a guaranteed solution for any human error , yesterday walking across the road to southern cross station in melbourne , pedestrian lights go green ...me and missus start crossing ...vehicles from side street about to turn behind us when ...a car goes straight through red light , lucky they didnt see the car on side street or they may of tried to dodge it ...thats us gone .oblivious to what they just done ..we are very lucky and no matter what waas in front of them they were never gunna see it -red light -turning vehicle -2 pedestrians nothing .And then the flip side people walking across in front of trams with lights going bells ringing ...oblivious .
The way i see it is in general our drivers and population are both at fault of being very lazy / self centred ..as above i could be bright pink with a flashing light on my head that 1 in ten thousand will get me or someone .
i work in the mining industry where everything has yellow stipes /flashing beacons /2way coms /strict rules and huge proportions guess what stuff keeps getting run over .2 machines with top speeds of 10 kms an hr still run into each other ...why cause people stuff up .
where are we gunna stop ? god knows ohs is distroying this country ..
im going to stick to my method and dodge the idiots as best i can , and let murphys law sort the rest out .

[Silver Ghia]

I think the main problem is a definite lack of concentration or common sense (or both) when people are driving. See it quite often when I'm driving, whether it other drivers being on the phone (quite common), talking to others in the car, or just being oblivious to whats around them.

Police cars have been replaced by speed cameras, that dont catch these morons.