12strings

Does anyone regularly wear black jersey and shorts? do you notice any perceived decreases in visibility to motorists from colored kits? I like black, but I don't want to be a moron and get hit just because of my black shirt.

rpenmanparker 

In bright daylight you should be fine. Dawn, dusk, nighttime, not so much.

intransit1217

Add some lights or buy some reflective material and sew it on.

ctpres

I wear contrasting color arm coolers and knee high socks. Black or dark kit equal white arms and white legs.

Looigi

Kind of depends on the conditions where your ride. Around here the roads are narrow and there are lots dark shadows from trees. Wearing black, going from a patch of bright sunlight into a shadow you disappear. The Sun's glare on a windshield can make it very difficult to see into shadows. I see it all the time on riders but more often walkers and joggers. You won't see road workers, utility workers or police directing traffic wearing black.

JerrySTL

I wear black shorts and tights. I have one black jersey and only wear it on bike paths. I like to wear brighter and contrasting colors when riding to be visible.

A few years ago I was a volunteer at a triathlon and was setting up the bike course at around dawn. I drove through a Yield sign because I didn't see anything and almost hit a guy warming up. He had on a black jersey, shorts, gloves, and helmet. He also didn't have any lights or reflectors. His bike was a dark color also. Fool.

K.Katso

I wear all black quite a lot, and I ride an all black bike. I haven't noticed that it is any more dangerous than wearing bright colors, as idiots can miss you even when you're wearing flourescent colors. If it's getting dark I throw on my lights.

10 Wheels

10 Wheels

Lights help much.

Dave Cutter

The color of clothing you wear is a fashion choice. Black bicycles and black clothing is very popular right now.

Of course bright colors may be more easy for a motorist to spot. But really how much safer are we really talking about?

Roughly 700 cyclist will die (mostly due to collisions with automobiles) this year.

About half of those deaths will be children. Mostly riding into traffic or crossing driveways while on the sidewalk.

Some stats I've seen put as much as half of the remaining adult cyclists deaths late at night (at bar closing time) or involving drinking by ether cyclist or motorist. I can't in my mind put deaths caused by drinking.... as a responsibility of clothing color (or even bicycling).

So we're down to 175 traffic accident related cycling deaths..... out of millions and millions of bicycle miles ridden by millions of cyclist (in America). I believe many of those accidental deaths are related to the difference in travel speeds of cyclists and motorist. Mainly because of the way the human brain is hardwired to relate to the world.

Motorist (and cyclist alike) will see an object or person and NOT make a [long term] memory of that object or person. Short term memories may last only as long as 4 seconds. This is the way the brain works and can NOT be changed or altered (we're just wired that way). Pedestrians, bicycles, other motorist, even stationary objects will seem to "just appear" when this occurs. This human factor... may account for up to 80 or 90% of the typical "accidents".

So.... maybe 50 bicycle deaths are caused by carelessness, or out-right recklessness. Would a bright yellow shirt of flashy red light fix that?

chaadster

Silliness. Of course black is less visible any time of day, in any conditions, anywhere. This is clear, obvious, and demonstrable fact.

Nonetheless, I do have one all black kit, though I restrict wearing it to big group rides and races. I don't care to assume additonal risk when riding alone when there are very attractive and comfy kits that up the viz factor.

Although a bit over-the-top, which is why I like it, I'm waiting for Elevengear.com to come back in stock on my size bib so I can get the full Two Tone Siren kit, which would be great for my solo rides:

chaadster

It's true you can't win if you don't play, so the question is not whether to play-- we all do-- but rather can you stack the deck in your favor? Or I suppose you could play to lose, if your life is that sh*tty.

Hypno Toad

I have a lot of black bike clothing and I have hi-vis gear too. Never notice a difference in drivers behavior. However, I always ride with lights on (day or night). I count on my lighting to alert drivers, not my clothing (and that depends on drivers paying attention).

If you do not have or use lights, hi-vis is a good choice when riding the roads.

And idiots will still punish-pass you in hi-vis jacket with lights... even as he was waiting behind you at a light for 2 minutes. He was a dangerous driver and no amount of visibility protects you from the driver that wants to 'make a point'. (this just happened this morning on the way to work)

indyfabz

So....Since when did deaths become the only concern?

Dave Cutter

There are places... I will not ride a bike. And times in some areas I think are risky for a cyclist. I know some superstitions promote the use of a blinky light to ward-off mishaps. I sometimes use a blinky... just to "feel" better.

I like red jerseys and have several different red-themed ones. However... about 15% of the driving public has a defect around the 400 nm of the color/light spectrum (making red hard to spot when the background is green). This fact wasn't known when red was selected as the color of choice for fire engines and stop signs.

Dave Cutter

Oh come on! Are you hinting that you think accidents resulting in deaths and accidents that don't result in deaths don't collate?!?!? Or are you implying that you think cycling is just too dangerous to be legally allowed?

Of course there are injuries! By the thousands.... and the stats likely collate just fine. There are inherent risks in everything. If you can't accept the risks... buy a nice couch.

I accept that cycling is a blood sport. I accept that there will be blood. If I thought that bright yellow clothing would prevent everyday accidents.... all my clothing (suits and ties included) would be bright yellow. I wish life was so simple.

Dave Cutter

Yes! You can stack the deck! You can alter your own (cycling) behavior. Don't drink or drug while cycling. Avoid late night cycling (avoid any area where cycling may not be safe). Obey the laws and ride defensively. Stay fit and hydrated.

However... a stacked deck still gets shuffled. Nothing any cyclists does will alter the thought processes of a motorist. Risks are inherent to cycling. The only way to avoid cycling's inherent risk... is to avoid cycling.

indyfabz

Collate? Do you mean "correlate?" If so, that is what I am saying, and you have offered no evidence to the contrary. As to how you came up with your alternative question, I can only say God only knows, and even I am not too sure of that. Maybe you've gotten an early start to St. Patty's Day?

rumrunn6

as 10 wheels pointed out, color doesn't matter in the absence of light. on bright sunny days you disappear in the deep shade of trees especially when drivers are wearing sunglasses and if there is sun glare on the windshield, that's why I always use bright strobes front and rear. yeah I get looks from some other bikers when I'm not in the shade but that's not why I use them. and I wear bright colors because when there is light the bright colors are seen better. it's too bad tho cuz there are many nice looking black clothes out there

chaadster

The point is not to avoid risk, but rather to mitigate it.

eric1971

I have some hi-vis gear, but often wear dark clothing. I have a very bright tail light that I always use.

Agent Cooper

I'm not sure where you're headed here, but I'm reading this as "wear black because it doesn't matter anyway."

If that's the point your making, I respectfully disagree. When death or serious injury is on the line, wouldn't you want every percentage point you could possibly get in your favor? Even if the percentage is as small as you seem to believe it is? (And I don't think it's so small as you suspect.)

I think bright clothing helps, and I wear it. Not least of all because if the worst happens, I don't want to give some idiot driver ANY advantage or excuse. I want my lawyer or survivors to be able to hold up the brightest dayglo jersey currently made in front of the judge and jury while the driver tells the court "I didn't see him."

Carbonfiberboy 

The nice thing about black is that it doesn't show cycling dirt and grease. Try changing a tire in the rain or repairing a chain in full hi-viz and you'll need half a bottle of Shout to get the grease out. And nothing looks stupider than all-red cycling shorts after a couple of months. So that's why people wear black IMO.

OTOH, I used to wear blue and green jerseys until a motorist pulled out right in front of me because he didn't see me. I had time to lock up the rear and lay the bike down as I hit him, so just a little blood. I don't wear anything except bright colors now so I just use the Shout. I haven't had that happen again. I just hate riding with people who are the same color as asphalt. They are a danger to everyone. And judging from the small sample of my riding friends, they do get hit. I'd rather take more trouble with my laundry, thanks.

Fly2High

A few interesting things about color vision:

1. We do not see all colors equally. We are most sensitive to bluegreen (510 nanometers).


From this chart, blue and red seem to be the colors we are least sensitive to.

Exaggerate lightness differences between foreground and background colors, and avoid using colors of similar lightness adjacent to one another, even if they differ in saturation or hue.


If you lighten the light colors and darken the dark colors, you will increase its visual accessibility.



lots more good stuff here:
Lighthouse International - Effective Color Contrast

Basically, if you choose colors that contrast in tone both on your kit and to the surrounding colors, you will be more visible.

Color is lost as lighting levels drop. Everything turns black and white then. To be more visible, mix high and low contrast, not just colors to be more visible. for example, if you wear all medium intensity colors (same contrast levels), you will look gray in lower light conditions. Not something you want when light levels are dropping or in the early morning. Of course, high contrast will look more black and low contrast colors will look more white so if everything you wear is high contrast, you will end up looking all black in lower light levels. No different than wearing all black. In fact, wearing white and black would be far better than a High contrast red jersey which in low light looks dark gray or black.

Finally, do not mix reds and blues. The wavelengths are far enough apart that your eye cannot focus on both when adjacent. If you are blurry, you might not be as noticeable.

Frank

floridamtb

I like that for some sick reason