Hi-Viz vs Stealth : Riding gear color

[S21FOLGORE]

Hi-viz vs Stealth

I made this video from my dash-cam footage.
This is how the motorcyclists look from the car driver’s point of view.
I am not trying to be a preacher, but wearing Hi-viz yellow or white gets you noticed better from other road users.
And wearing dark color gear, the rider / motorcycle blend into the background, easily becomes invisible.
That’s the fact.
(You can see it in the first two examples in the video. )

BTW, I went to four or five local motorcycle shops recently, and asked why they stock only dark colored helmet.
(Roughly 80% of the helmets they stock are some sort of black (gloss black, flat black, gunmetal, that sort of thing). About 10 % are gray, sliver helmets. And than, a little bit of the graphic model. Solid white is almost non-existent.)
The answers were very simple. Everyone wants to buy  black helmet. (And matt black sells better than gloss black. Nobody wants solid white helmet, thus, they don’t stock them.)
When I look around, it seems right. The majority of the riders are wearing black or dark gray helmets.

Another interesting thing is that the all cruiser riders (in my video) who had female passengers, they equipped girls with t-shirt, skirt, no gloves, slip-on shoes, etc (basically no protective gear other than helmet).

[DarkMonster620]

I am seriously considering getting a jacket with some sort of reflective coloring since, by law[that is not very clear] reflective "jacket" should be worn at all times . . .

[ducatiz]

pathblazer and tailblazer.

[Privateer]

I picked up a hi-viz vest to make sure I get home from work every day.  I've been wearing it a month and here's what I think:

http://twoslow.com/2013/10/missing-link-meshed-up-vest/

I changed vests to an Olympia Nova 2, which I haven't done a write up yet, but I definitely noticed a difference when I went to a vest and all white helmet.


I know I've seen stats, maybe from the UK, about the benefits of a white helmet.  I'm going off to work or I'd dig around more.

[NAKID]

I think people tend to notice white helmets because they associate them with moto 

[S21FOLGORE]

Not all moto cop's helmets are white / black.
In California, this (blue / gold) is the one you really have to be careful.
(incidentally, that's SHOEI RJ model helmet.)

[NAKID]

Oh, believe me, I know they aren't all like that. But I think that a lot of people make that assumption...

[Triple J]

Oh, believe me, I know they aren't all like that. But I think that a lot of people make that assumption...

Me too. Doesn't really matter if all cops don't wear white helmets, they make people pay attention a bit more.

[S21FOLGORE]

I was half joking about the motorcycle officer’s helmet.

But seriously, ... yes, i agree that if your bike / outfit  (even remotely) look like police motorcycle / officer, it will increase your visibility to the others.
(eg, wearing white helmet, on a big white motorcycle with auxiliary lights, you know, that sort of thing. If you’re really into that kinda stuff, you can buy black / white Neotec, exactly like a police helmet).
Part of the reasons headlight modulator works is because it somewhat resembles emergency vehicle.

[manwithgun]

Speaking of how LEOs stand out in a crowd,   my eyes always seem to lock on to the blue lights that they run on their tail section.   Figured it would be a good preventative measure to ward off rear enders.   I asked an officers about it and was informed that they were the only ones allowed to run blue lights on a vehicle...   One thing that I do to be more visible from the front is run a yellowish bulb in my headlamp.   The legality may be debatable but I'm doing it for my own safety, not a fashion statement.   I feel that the slight color difference makes it stand out from everything else. 

[ducatiz]

Speaking of how LEOs stand out in a crowd,   my eyes always seem to lock on to the blue lights that they run on their tail section.   Figured it would be a good preventative measure to ward off rear enders.   I asked an officers about it and was informed that they were the only ones allowed to run blue lights on a vehicle...   One thing that I do to be more visible from the front is run a yellowish bulb in my headlamp.   The legality may be debatable but I'm doing it for my own safety, not a fashion statement.   I feel that the slight color difference makes it stand out from everything else. 

it's called a modulating light and they are 100% legal if they are not blue or red (unless it is a red tail lamp for brakes)

http://www.americade.info/mod-law.htm

[manwithgun]

it's called a modulating light and they are 100% legal if they are not blue or red (unless it is a red tail lamp for brakes)

http://www.americade.info/mod-law.htm

   You may have misunderstood my observation.   In California, all of the law enforcement motorcycles have 2 x quarter to half dollar sized blue lights mounted on the rear of the bike, often on the license plate frame, that remain on at all times.   They really stand out in a sea of red tail lights.   Unless they are actually pulsating at an undetectable frequency, I figured that it was simply the color Blue that draws attention.   Our vehicle code states that no color other than Red, Amber, or White may be visible from the rear.   When you are the same color as your surroundings you tend to disappear, a principle of camouflage...   

   Motorcyclists need all the help they can get and a light modulator will certainly assist in getting noticed.   In a nutshell, I discovered that my eyes are attracted to blue light and then discovered that it is illegal to emit blue light as a civilian.  Merica.

[koko64]

Good thread. My daughter is taking up motorcycling. A white helmet for sure.

[lightspd]

   You may have misunderstood my observation.   In California, all of the law enforcement motorcycles have 2 x quarter to half dollar sized blue lights mounted on the rear of the bike, often on the license plate frame, that remain on at all times.   They really stand out in a sea of red tail lights.   Unless they are actually pulsating at an undetectable frequency, I figured that it was simply the color Blue that draws attention.   Our vehicle code states that no color other than Red, Amber, or White may be visible from the rear.   When you are the same color as your surroundings you tend to disappear, a principle of camouflage...   

   Motorcyclists need all the help they can get and a light modulator will certainly assist in getting noticed.   In a nutshell, I discovered that my eyes are attracted to blue light and then discovered that it is illegal to emit blue light as a civilian.  Merica.

Just buy one of these to wear over your gear. 

[manwithgun]

Just buy one of these to wear over your gear.  

I actually saw that exact link in another forum that had an "ask a cop" section.   The OP then asked if a blue beacon could be worn on a belt/backpack/helmet and the officer replied that once a rider mounts a motorcycle,  they become a part of it and would be in violation of the law.

Makes me wonder how the law would address a reflector that was blue...