Originally Posted by
79pmooney
... I looked carefully at the two riders. The woman with the bright jersey, again well up the road was easy to see. That blinking tail light? I had to look for it knowing exactly what I was looking for. The rest of her, her clothing and her black bike were near invisible in that partial light on a full sun day.
I wanted that woman to know how hard she as to see but I knew there was nothing I could say or do would accomplish anything ...
It's certainly incumbent upon every individual to ensure the contrasting factors actually "light up" a person visually. As you say, certain clothing and certain lighting won't always do it.
Hard to underestimate the value of a high-grade, extremely-visible hi-viz jersey or jacket.
Hard to underestimate the added value of high-grade tail lighting.
Visuals and contrasts can differ greatly, depending on the background, tree canopy, amount of sunlight/shade (dappling).
About all that can be said is: individuals need to actually adjust their choices based on the specific roads they ride on. As many have pointed out, not all hi-viz is made equal (in regards to good visibility with specific light conditions). As you and others have pointed out, only having lights won't be a panacea.
If I thought I could cleanly mount a hi-viz flag, I'd probably also add that to the list of precautions. As someone who doesn't usually exceed 12mph at any time, for me there's nowhere to go. It's be seen or else. And the wider pass-bys (with a given combination) are a dead giveaway. As you found in your incident, the one rider failed to ensure visibility ... and nearly paid for it.