How important is motorycle jacket color?

[2fidyswag]

I'm starting to regret ordering my Icon Leather overlord because I ordered it in all black. I wear a bright white helmet, have a white bike with HID projectors, and will typically wear a red backpack. I know there are brighter colors out there but I feel like if they don't see my white helmet, white bike or headlights, they won't see my jacket too much.

I was deciding between the all black stealth version vs the black version with a white icon logo and white forearms . Between these two jackets, do you believe there to be much of a difference?

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/i...leather-jacket

[LNasty]

I have a black helmet, black jacket and black pants. Buy some reflective tape and put it all over your helmet backpack and bike....oh and my bike is black

[Bones85]

Buy a hi-viz vest and wear it over your black jacket.

[antiant]

It really depends on how visible you want to be. SOLAS reflective tape works, as well as other alternatives.

[ally99]

People seem to see my pink jacket most of the time. I guess it's because pink is an unusual color to see on the roads, so it catches people's attention.

[ninjamunky85]

I saw a study once that said color doesn't make much difference. A distracted driver can still be looking right at you and not see you.

[2fidyswag]

Yeah I agree, I think in the end you need to just ride defensively. I don't think reflective tape will help much because I'm speaking of day riding.

[adouglas]

Just my $0.02:

I'm a big believer in hi-vis gear. However, I think the single most important thing is the helmet, not the jacket. Your head is as big as a bowling ball and it's the highest point of the whole bike/rider picture.

When you're leaned forward on your bike, a bright vest or jacket will be in shadow. It'll also be obscured by the glare of your headlight.

Going away, your back is the most visible thing, followed by your head.

I'm a lot more concerned with people in front of me.

So: I wear a neon yellow helmet and don't worry about anything else. I just bought a new jacket and it's all-black.

Look at these photos and you decide if the jacket or helmet is more important.

Quick.. what's more visible... the helmet or the vest?





Quick what do you see?

[dfox]

helmet is way more important...

imo, white is the best color. green can sometimes blend in with the background.

I have a white helmet and a white topped jacket with bright blue sleeves. I think I'm pretty visible for someone who is looking for motorcycles... combine that with a rider who is actively moving around to display presence on the road, and you've got a good combination.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Bones85

Buy a hi-viz vest and wear it over your black jacket.

That is what I do, ........... and move my head a lot .......... and zig-zag the bike ............. and even stand up to be seen.

We have hunters' eyes and movement and things that break the monotony of the background is what we see.

Now, if the cager decides looking down to text, a loud horn is very handy and convincing, ............ as well as moving out of his/her path.

[2fidyswag]

Thanks, that's what I was getting at. I have a really big bright white helmet with a silver visor, so I don't mind having a black jacket. I figured helmet would be more important than jacket color since it's your highest point too.

[leed]

+1 for Hi Viz. But agreed on the jacket color not being so important. If you wear a backpack any percentage of the time, it almost defeats the purpose.

[Bones85]

Hi-viz vest + hi-viz helmet is the best combination I think. The helmet is definitely the most visible and you can see it from 360 degrees but the hi-viz vest is also important too. Other than that you should have a good headlight but not something that's blinding others. I like the Philips Motovision H7. I also have an orange backpack, which I wear sometimes when riding.

Hi-viz or white helmet + hi-viz vest + good headlight + lane positioning (extremely important) + SMIDSY swerve if you see someone waiting to turn

[2fidyswag]

My backpack is a bright red almost neon red color by Oakley. People always tell me they saw me riding earlier in the day even from hundreds of yards away simply because they see my big white helmet and bright red backpack. So for those who don't want to get hi-viz, I believe a bright red backpack is next up there on visibility and may be more to your liking.

[csmith12]

I think adouglas and Motofool are each onto something individually but here is my take. If a rider were to combine both of their points together, then some dots about riding and being seen in general can start to connect.

So try this; take the MSF collision trap test on SLOW. Instead of trying to get the questions right, just focus on the pictures and what is the "focal point" for you as well as other drivers in the picture.

The human eye will want to come to rest on something in the pic, this is the focal point. Once a focal point is established, it becomes the measure and benchmark for everything else. Distance, speed, ect.. ect.. It's a double edge sword, for the focal point and subjects within a close vicinity, are easily seen or noticed. For those that fall farther away from that point, go unnoticed or the human mind registers them lower on the priority list. I would also not want to be the target of a totally frozen driver about to crash into something. It's mother nature at work for most predators that have both eye's pointed forward, we are hard wired to target fixate. Find a way to turn that negative into a positive. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

[Havok]

Hi-viz works. After recently purchasing an obnoxious hi-viz jacket I have had way more cars not pull out in front of me, let me merge on the freeway and give me more room when changing lanes.

The brighter more obnoxious the color you are the more people will see you.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by csmith12

..........I would also not want to be the target of a totally frozen driver about to crash into something............

This is a very good point to consider !!!

[KrazyWalle]

I wear a combination of a high viz vest and reflective belt around my bag. The bigest thing that has helped me was installing my high/low beam Nokya 2,500K yellow light bulbs. I ride to work when it's dark out and I ride with my high beams to make sure Cagers see me. If I come up on a cop car I just flip it to the low beam. I've been pulled over already and nothing was mentioned about my headlights. Plus hardly anyone drives around with such yellow headlights so it catches your attention.

[Whiskey]

If they don't see the bike with lights on then they're not going to see the jacket.

Hi viz should make you more visible, but it doesn't. you see what you're looking for not what's in front of you.

How many passes do the team in white make?

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

..........How many passes do the team in white make?

Excellent proof !!!

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

If they don't see the bike with lights on then they're not going to see the jacket.

Hi viz should make you more visible, but it doesn't. you see what you're looking for not what's in front of you.

How many passes do the team in white make?

Link to original page on YouTube.

that's a really good point for people being unable to recognize out of context problems unless they're fully aware of their surroundings. though I managed to see it just fine (I missed a pass though :/) I can see how most people would miss it as the ball goes to the opposite side of the bear which can easily blend in with the black team despite its movements. really it shows how easily a car driver can miss a biker/cyclist if they're not considering the possibility that there may be one in the area.

Originally Posted by csmith12

I think adouglas and Motofool are each onto something individually but here is my take. If a rider were to combine both of their points together, then some dots about riding and being seen in general can start to connect.

So try this; take the MSF collision trap test on SLOW. Instead of trying to get the questions right, just focus on the pictures and what is the "focal point" for you as well as other drivers in the picture.

The human eye will want to come to rest on something in the pic, this is the focal point. Once a focal point is established, it becomes the measure and benchmark for everything else. Distance, speed, ect.. ect.. It's a double edge sword, for the focal point and subjects within a close vicinity, are easily seen or noticed. For those that fall farther away from that point, go unnoticed or the human mind registers them lower on the priority list. I would also not want to be the target of a totally frozen driver about to crash into something. It's mother nature at work for most predators that have both eye's pointed forward, we are hard wired to target fixate. Find a way to turn that negative into a positive. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

That's a fairly good exercise, it felt quite a bit more helpful than the actual test. I did find something interesting, multiple focal points for myself since I've trained myself to never let my eyes rest on one area for too long (a couple of seconds is way too long.) A solid 3 or 5 point pattern for eye scanning can do a lot more than making yourself visible and even more in addition to making yourself visible. as you said it doesn't matter how much you see if you're the target of a fixated driver.

[leed]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

If they don't see the bike with lights on then they're not going to see the jacket.

Hi viz should make you more visible, but it doesn't. you see what you're looking for not what's in front of you.

How many passes do the team in white make?
[YOUTUBE]Ahg6qcgoay4[YOUTUBE]

Honestly I disagree... This video shows us exactly why dark [more importantly 'plain'] clothing is not visible. If the dancing bear/dog had hi-viz [or really an bright color in this situation] fur, relative to everything else [the players and the background] he would stick out like a sore thumb. We would not be looking for it, but in many cases it would be impossible to not realize a hi viz blurb in our peripheral.

Bright colors are not common in regular traffic, where as red tail lights and white headlights blend in with all the surrounding traffic. This is the same reason why brake light flashers are popular amongst our community because they brake the 'standard' sea of most brake lights. They force you to focus your attention on what is in front of you and in doing so it increases the chances of them seeing you. They annoy drivers, which in turn means that drivers will see them.

Another good example is police lights. No one drives around looking for police lights, but when you catch a random glimpse of the flashing blue/red and strobing wig-wags in your mirror or down a side street.. you can't help but notice and acknowledge [and typically check your speed against the PSL].

The PSA for cyclists is the exact same issue, majority of inner city cyclists just wear their regular clothes and no lights. You won't miss a hi viz vest or flashing lights on a cyclist, I can almost guarantee it. What you might miss is the speed difference between the hi viz vest and you.

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by leed

Honestly I disagree... This video shows us exactly why dark [more importantly 'plain'] clothing is not visible. If the dancing bear/dog had hi-viz [or really an bright color in this situation] fur, relative to everything else [the players and the background] he would stick out like a sore thumb. We would not be looking for it, but in many cases it would be impossible to not realize a hi viz blurb in our peripheral.

Bright colors are not common in regular traffic, where as red tail lights and white headlights blend in with all the surrounding traffic. This is the same reason why brake light flashers are popular amongst our community because they brake the 'standard' sea of most brake lights. They force you to focus your attention on what is in front of you and in doing so it increases the chances of them seeing you. They annoy drivers, which in turn means that drivers will see them.

Another good example is police lights. No one drives around looking for police lights, but when you catch a random glimpse of the flashing blue/red and strobing wig-wags in your mirror or down a side street.. you can't help but notice and acknowledge [and typically check your speed against the PSL].

The PSA for cyclists is the exact same issue, majority of inner city cyclists just wear their regular clothes and no lights. You won't miss a hi viz vest or flashing lights on a cyclist, I can almost guarantee it. What you might miss is the speed difference between the hi viz vest and you.

Your peripheral vision is not colour sensitive, colour sensitive cells are concentrated in a single spot at the focal point, outside that you can pick up movement but it's the same cells in use that you use to see in the dark. See how much colour you can discern at night. Once you've registered the colour your brain fills in the blanks

If nobody else wears hi vis then it may stand out, thing is it's everywhere where I live. Couriers, bin men, cyclists, EMTs, cops, builders, creche / junior school kids & their teachers walking to the park... (I **** you not, kids in one colour, teachers in another. It's ****ing ridiculous. say "Thank you safety nazis")

Generally they're slow moving, and with the exception of cops, they pose no threat so get listed in the low importance list.

The blues & twos flash, that's picked up the same as movement, it wasn't there, now it is.

[leed]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

Your peripheral vision is not colour sensitive, colour sensitive cells are concentrated in a single spot at the focal point, outside that you can pick up movement but it's the same cells in use that you use to see in the dark. See how much colour you can discern at night. Once you've registered the colour your brain fills in the blanks

If nobody else wears hi vis then it may stand out, thing is it's everywhere where I live. Couriers, bin men, cyclists, EMTs, cops, builders, creche / junior school kids & their teachers walking to the park... (I **** you not, kids in one colour, teachers in another. It's ****ing ridiculous. say "Thank you safety nazis")

Generally they're slow moving, and with the exception of cops, they pose no threat so get listed in the low importance list.

The blues & twos flash, that's picked up the same as movement, it wasn't there, now it is.

Touche. I have no idea of the science, and can truly only speak from what I experience. Hi viz is effectively useless as it will not fluoresce without a decent UV light source.

And I suppose this is also a difference of our locations. Where I am [and where I've been] hi-viz anything is nonexistent. Virtually the only thing I see with hi viz are DOT workers and pedestrian signs.