Lifepaint?

[carelesschucca]

So would you spray your bike with this stuff?

LIFEPAINT (http://www.volvolifepaint.com/)

[BanannaMan]

Push bike maybe but how often do you ride a push bike in the dark?

[Dipper]

Push bike maybe but how often do you ride a push bike in the dark?

About 2000 miles a year.

[BanannaMan]

About 2000 miles a year.


Well there you are!
This paint was made for you!




Truthfully I rarely ride the motorcycle in the dark anymore as I don't see as well at night as I used to.
Er..which means this paint was made to protect you from people like me. :(

[keith_d]

Unfortunately, it only lasts for a week or so before it washes off. I'd go for strategically placed strips of this stuff:

http://www.crew-safe.co.uk/acatalog/Reflective-Tape.html

It's made for marine applications so it should be pretty durable.

[Dipper]

Well there you are!
This paint was made for you!




Truthfully I rarely ride the motorcycle in the dark anymore as I don't see as well at night as I used to.
Er..which means this paint was made to protect you from people like me. :(

Hee hee that made me laugh ...I'd better get a couple of barrels on order!

Seriously though, this stuff is probably pointless, well placed reflectives on your gear are probably just as effective, I've got a cycling jacket that's covered in reflective dots, they're barely visible in daylight but very effective at night ....I'd be interested a motorcycling equivalent if I was riding regularly at night.

[ClunkintheUK]

Seems like a good idea initially, but on thinking about it a little more, I am not sure how effective it would be. Its only reflective when you are in the car's headlight, but in my experience this is not the danger time. It cars changing lanes into you, or the dreaded left hook (where the car just turn left across your path). All the clips of crashes they showed in the video would not have been prevented by this stuff.

The only advantage I can see is after the crash. When the driver is saying "sorry mate I didn't see you". It will highlight the fact that they didn't see you because the didn't look even vaguely in your direction.

There has been a similar thing with High Viz. In isolation, or on an industrial site it works very well, on the roads its not that helpful. There are so many people with high viz (not to mention a lot of shops/vans etc using hgh viz paint) that is has become very difficult to differentiate someone being in the way from background noise.

A decent light front and rear, and vigilance is all you need.

[jambo]

The fact it can be applied to clothing is quite cool.

What I'm thinking of here are the people that throw a black north face jacket over their normal gear, or have a bag that can move to obscure their lights when they are cycling.

Id imagine you'd see reflected light so as long as you were being hit by someone's headlights (this is London, you're generally 6ft from a rat and 3ft from a vehicle) hopefully it would help.

Generally, however, I'd say reflective tape on the lid and bike would do fine and the difference between a hopeless front & rear light and a good one is quite marked.

Jambo

[Steve_God]

I would... the fact it's clear in the day, but stands out in the evening, is a clear winner for me!

[orose]

It's interesting that the cycling lobby have come out against it - they seem to be moving in a similar direction to us, which is to call companies out for trying to shift the blame onto the victims.

http://road.cc/content/news/147529-volvo-life-paint-comes-under-fire-while-freebies-fly-shelves

[Ruffy]

So would you spray your bike with this stuff?

LIFEPAINT (http://www.volvolifepaint.com/)
No!

It's interesting that the cycling lobby have come out against it - they seem to be moving in a similar direction to us, which is to call companies out for trying to shift the blame onto the victims.
Pretty much for this reason - If other road users can't see me when I'm definitely there then they need to take action to improve their observation, not me.

The only advantage I can see is after the crash. When the driver is saying "sorry mate I didn't see you". It will highlight the fact that they didn't see you because the didn't look even vaguely in your direction.
Sadly, this is essentially the reason I chose a conventional high visibility yellow winter cycling jacket when my old red one needed replacement. Based on the behaviours I see, I do not believe in the slightest that it will actually prevent a collision.

There has been a similar thing with High Viz. In isolation, or on an industrial site it works very well, on the roads its not that helpful. There are so many people with high viz (not to mention a lot of shops/vans etc using hgh viz paint) that is has become very difficult to differentiate someone being in the way from background noise.
Whilst I don't believe Hi-Viz is complete snake oil, it's definitely not an infallible "one size fits all" solution. My statement to validate this opinion is that if yellow hi-viz is the right answer, why do the railways specify orange, and vice versa? There is a reason PPE (including hi-viz) is the last resort in risk mitigation under the relevant H&S legislation. Shame lots don't treat it that way.

[orose]

Pretty much for this reason - If other road users can't see me when I'm definitely there then they need to take action to improve their observation, not me.


The most amusing one I've heard about was a friend of mine who drives various large vehicles, who had someone drive into him when in the ultimate hi-vis vehicle - a bright yellow JCB with a flashing light on top for good measure. If you don't see something like that, the rest of us have no hope...

[L3nny]

Unfortunately, it only lasts for a week or so before it washes off. I'd go for strategically placed strips of this stuff:

http://www.crew-safe.co.uk/acatalog/Reflective-Tape.html

It's made for marine applications so it should be pretty durable.

Sorry for derail but do you know if a strip of that stuff on the bottom of a number plate would get through the MOT?

[keith_d]

Sorry for derail but do you know if a strip of that stuff on the bottom of a number plate would get through the MOT?


I'm not sure what's behind your question, so here's my thoughts on the subject.

IIRC the rear reflector must be red and meet the appropriate standard (used to be a BS AU40). So a strip of reflective tape would not qualify. More generally you're not allowed to obscure the number plate so sticking a strip along the bottom might fall foul of that too.

If you were planning to make your bike more visible, you could always mount an oversized sheet of polycarbonate behind the number plate and stick reflective tape around it that way. But if that prevented speed cameras from capturing a clear image of your plate Mr Plod might have something to say about it. So be sure to stick some in other places too :cool:

[ClunkintheUK]

Whilst I don't believe Hi-Viz is complete snake oil, it's definitely not an infallible "one size fits all" solution. My statement to validate this opinion is that if yellow hi-viz is the right answer, why do the railways specify orange, and vice versa? There is a reason PPE (including hi-viz) is the last resort in risk mitigation under the relevant H&S legislation. Shame lots don't treat it that way.

I did not know that Hi-Viz was a last resort in H&S.

I don't think it is snake oil at all, I just think in the realm of cycle safety it is misapplied. As you say, the railways specify orange as it stands out a lot more in that environment, as there is not much orange used for other things (signs etc). It isn't very useful on the roads as a lot of shop signs are orange, not to mention indicators and used for car/van/lorry colours. I have seen research that says the most visible colour on the roads is pink, but I have also heard of people getting more abuse and aggression wearing pink hi-viz, to the point of throwing out perfectly good pink jackets.

[Ruffy]

I did not know that Hi-Viz was a last resort in H&S.
Yep, but don't take my word for it. For one example in law, refer to Section 12 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, especially the specific exclusion in S12(2)(a). (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2306/regulation/12/made) Slightly less legalese but explicitly clear IMHO is this guidance sheet from HSE. (http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/lwit/assets/downloads/hierarchy-risk-controls.pdf)

I don't think it is snake oil at all, I just think in the realm of cycle safety it is misapplied. As you say, the railways specify orange as it stands out a lot more in that environment, as there is not much orange used for other things (signs etc). It isn't very useful on the roads as a lot of shop signs are orange, not to mention indicators and used for car/van/lorry colours. I have seen research that says the most visible colour on the roads is pink, but I have also heard of people getting more abuse and aggression wearing pink hi-viz, to the point of throwing out perfectly good pink jackets.
Sounds reasonable and unsurprising to me. I agree with the misapplied sentiment.