Unlucky Bike, Lucky Rider

[TheRamJam]

Sorry to hear about that. Least you done the right thing and wore proper clothing etc

Is the bike a complete wreck or can it be fixed??

[Paul the 6th]

I dunno, as much as I slag off the wannabe's in hi-vis jackets with white helmets on ex-police pan's with high vis markings all over the bike - HID's and hi-vis jacket on a morning/evening commute (motorways, filtering etc.) usually causes drivers to give extra room when filtering, they quickly nip into the middle lane and back into the fast lane to let you by, and they tend to quickly put the phone down before giving a w@nker sign because they panicked and ended their phone call early.. High Vis all the way for me. On the rare trips where I don't bother with my high-vis, I very quickly find myself feeling frustrated wishing I had just put it on instead of being too lazy to look for it (why the hell does it always disappear!)

but then there are occasions where the driver is thinking about their dinner and if they haven't seen you, they WILL still pull out. We all have to ride accordingly...

Originally Posted by missyorkie_chris

YC says other motorists tend to treat high vis as a sign of nervousness..

Yeah but he also considers using a helmet a sign of weakness. So his point is mute.

Originally Posted by dyzio

Seriously?

My reasoning is if someone managed not to see a bike with a headlight on, a jacket won't do much difference.

Plus there was a thread on here on here once about how wearing hi viz makes you look like a learner and drivers feel forced to overtake you, sometimes putting themselves/you at risk.

Seriously yes lol, I dunno what it is, headlight on HD beam or not, if I'm riding in a hi-viz I do notice that im noticed more. 100% certain and serious. There is something about the hi-viz that grabs peoples attention, thats not to say im never swerved infront of or never get pulled out on, it just means it happens a damn site less when ive got the vest on.

Originally Posted by Stu

What? do they treat you like a complete learner than can be taken advantage of?

Been riding with it on for over 2yrs now and I've never gotten the impression people have thought I was:
A, a learner
B, to be taken advantage of

More space is generally created when filtering and ironically when I filter to the front of a cue I get abused much less with a vest on.

I believe car drivers, generally see leather clad bikers as hooligans but they see a hi-viz and that little voice in thier head says "oh he's not like the others he's safety concious and responsible" I honestly dont understand the negative stigma involved with wearing one. You all wear boots and gloves because they make you safer on the roads its not a legal requirement yet you do it. The vest although not PPE it defo makes you safer on the road. More riders need to get over the "But people will see me out and about and think i'll look like a wally, im on my bike which is meant to make me look cool like rossi" and start fixating on the first part only ie "but PEOPLE WILL SEE ME OUT AND ABOUT" be safe, be seen and all that jazz.

Originally Posted by speedplay

On a sports bike, you tend to be leant over the front reducing the amount of body that is seen too.
If they dont see a headlight, they wont notice a high viz. .

Didnt really consider the difference of it been like that on a sports bike but you're right, you would be much further leant over. I've only ridden DT, and 2xSV's on the road so my body postion has been pretty upright all the time. Maybe the vest would be redundant if you're laid so flat, fair point.

Originally Posted by husky03

i find that they don't see you no matter what- i wear full hi viz and the work bike is fully vized up but they still miss you.

True, like I said at the top it doesnt make me supersafe you still get idiots pulling out etc but as I spend 60% MIN of my commute filtering the difference is HUGE in driver attitude. As P6th says, lines of traffic generally make room for you coming through drivers moving. Maybe as said above they think its because Im a learner and they're trying to protect thier wing mirrors but what ever they're thinking I couldnt care less as
A: They've noticed me,
B: They've made my journey easier.

WIN WIN

Bugger!

I've had a car pull out directly in front of me before which ended up with a multiple fracture of the colarbone. Still have the plate and pins in today. I had headlights on and was wearing a full length hi-vis waterproof jacket. Driver said he looked and didn't see me. If they are going to see you then they will see you. If they aren't looking then they won't.

[keith_d]

Glad you're OK. Bikes can be replaced, bikers can't.

Don't bin the leathers until the insurance has paid out and you've banked the cheque. The insurers may well want to see them.

Keith.

[punyXpress]

[QUOTE=Paul the 6th;2418587] with my high-vis, (why the hell does it always disappear!)

cos you're in cage-driving mode?

I think theres an important thing to note with hi-vis... the aim is to give yourself a contrast with the background, so hi-vis is worth wearing at night, but you need to be aware that you may become less visible with the sun behind you compared to black.

Stig picked up on an interesting point though, which is worth expanding on - there are a number of people who just don't look, but there is also one of the lovely brain tricks that you might have played on you where you struggle to see the unexpected. The dancing bear in the basketball video is one version of that, and it affects motorcycles because we only make up 1% of traffic - drivers are expecting to see cars, and so rarely miss them.

I'm not a fan of hi-vis, mostly because I don't like the idea of passive safety measures - I'd rather focus on actively keeping myself out of trouble.

Originally Posted by hollayzfr1

In future I will never ride in trainers and jeans again. I'm just thankfull I wasn't wearing that last night, or.....

...or you would have died from exposure before you even got to the scene of the accident.

****ty junction, ****ty road layout (what was wrong with the old layout?) and ****ty luck. Sorry mate.

Sorry to hear about this, glad you are ok!

As for the High vis, someone has already said it, if the cage drivers aren't looking for you they wont see you. Even if they claim they were looking.

It's one of the reasons I dont tend to commute on the bike and not ride in the dark - I think a lot of car drivers think of bikers as a "summer hazard" and while I know a lot of people ride all through the seasons car drivers anticipate us less in the pouring rain or dark evenings.

Hope you dont ache too much over the next few days!

Sorry to hear this. So glad you're ok