Another newbie question, feel like I'm asking way more than my share. Sorry. Do you wear brightly colored clothing to enhance your chances of not getting hit by a car? In my recent rides I've noticed a lot of riders wearing dark clothes. One gal I saw had a gorgeous black, white, and red road bike with matching bike jersey, shorts, and helmet. All primarily black. As she rode through some shadow areas on road she literally disappeared. Another rider with a lot of white on rode through the same scenario and was quite visible. The white showed up really well against all backgrounds. Trees, shade, the road, grass, etc. Lends one to thing white is a great color to wear. It appeared to work better than the bright safety orange and greens you see some riders and workers wear. Plus do the rear facing bike lights add another layer of protection during the day? Or with both of the above scenarios if a driver is not paying attention or you put your self in a bad spot is an accident inevitable. Fear I will lose the fight. Thanks.

As far as the bike light thingy, having seen a few videos of bike riders going in and out of shade, both with and without a rear light, I decided to use a rear light, in blinky mode, all the time. Not every one agrees, but I feel better doing it.

Anecdotally, with the front light in blinky mode, more drivers have yielded to me (sometimes even when I was stopped, and they had the right of way) than when I was using no light. Insufficient data to draw conclusions, just my observations so far.

I understand that in Germany, blinking lights are banned, as they believe they are a negative especially at night, but I don't ride at night at this point.

I am currently wearing an orange vest, so I can choose my clothes for comfort without regard to visibility. I agree that black tends to fade to near invisibility.

This is NOT advice, as I don't have enough personal experience to feel qualified to offer any. Just my limited experience.

yes & yes

Everything counts and can shift odds, however slightly. However, the starting point, even if one does everything wrong is still pretty good.

All in all, bicycling is and has always been pretty safe, and collisions are far from inevitable. The vast majority of possible collisions result in nothing more that some rubber ground into the road, and possibly some harsh words and/or hard feelings.

IME bicycling is another one of those things that validate the phrase "close only counts in horseshoes".

Ride smart, but don't ride paranoid.

I read an article about a study from a while back that concluded white was the best color for visibility, better even than neon orange and yellow. I'd link it but I don't recall where it was.

It may depend on one's riding.

Riding into the sunset, and pure white may be the worst color choice.

Perhaps the best would be some contrasting colors.

I am currently working on colorizing my wardrobe a bit, but the colors show grime much worse than dark colors. Unfortunately many of the packs I have found don't have bright colors and reflectors, although hopefully I can work on that too.

I haven't jumped to daytime lights yet. Most of the time they aren't needed. My night lights aren't bright enough to make any difference, and I believe many of the day lights are too bright for use at night.

No problem asking questions -- much better to ask than just lurk hoping someone else mentions what you are curious about.

I think wearing brightly colored clothing, or at least clothing that contrasts with your expected environment is a good idea. As stylish as some of these grey and black outfits can be, I'd rather be seen as a dork, then be overlooked while looking cool. The key to standing out really isn't any particular color, it's being different than your surroundings. Out here in the southwest, everything is brown and tan for much of the summer. At mid-day, a black outfit would actually stand out pretty well, probably just as well as white. If you're going to be riding in a forest with lots of green, I wouldn't wear green, even if it's a bright day-glo green. Bright orange and bright blue both work well, as you don't get much orange, or really any blue in nature.

I don't think wearing bright colors will save my life, but I do think it makes me more visible, and that extra bit of time or notice may make all the difference in the world. My real concern is for texting / and or drunk drivers. I don't think there is anything that would have a realistic effect on either of those two groups.

Rear blinky lights are a whole different can of worms. There isn't any doubt that they are visible for a long way off (miles in some cases). The debate is whether or not they act as kind of a beacon for drunks to home in on, mistaking them for taillights to be followed. I personally use one when I'm riding, but I've heard enough arguments for the "target fixation" theory that I would consider them to be a mixed bag safety wise. In daylight, they're probably a great idea, even into early evening. I would be hesitant to use them later at night as the percentage of drunks on the road increases. This, among other reasons are why I don't ride at night. If you look at the statistics, way too many bike fatalities happen at night, and if you correct for the fact that there are way fewer cyclists at night, the risks shoot way up.

who does not look shall not see

you dont run into trees mailboxes or cars parked, so why wouldnt you see a cyclist... IF you were looking


studies have shown that having long blonde hair works better than any kind of light, reflective clothing or crazy **** like usa flags...

I am a strong disbeliever in the "Target Fixation" theory. If it was real, every drunk would drive into every car with tail lights ... or at least, every car using a turn signal. They would also drive into cops at roadblocks.

If a driver is so drunks/he will drive into ta blinking light, said driver would rive into Anything and not know it was there.

A blinking light seems more likely to get noticed ... based on a few things I have read (none directly involving bikes) and my own experience passing cyclists. it will take a ton of actual science to change my mind.

As for colors ... meh. I tend not to wear black or dark gray at night, but i also assume any car out at night has headlights ... and I have full lights myself.

That said, my favorite warm garment used to be a black hoodie and no one ever hit me when I was wearing that. Maybe passing drivers assumed i was strapped.

I think being predictable is a part of riding safely. Another part is being visible. High intensity yellow or orange are highly visible which for a small target such as a cyclist is a very good thing. You are right to give consideration to safety.

a bliking light will attract more attention but will be harder to guess its speed/movement, basic physics

reminds me, riding to the park with a baseball bat also makes for very polite drivers...

Alertshirt (bright yellow/green, the kind road workers use). If wearing rain/winter gear, it's yellow. If out after dark, an ANSI reflective vest over the top.

Up front, solid headlight in the winter/dark, strobe in daylight (500 or so lumens either way).

In the back, at night one light set on solid and one flashing. In daylight, both flashing. Running with only a single taillight is a non-starter for me, since I wouldn't know if my taillight stopped working, so I want some backup.

One solid/one flashing helps drivers to judge distance/closing speed and if you believe in target fixation may help with that too.

there must be a good reason safety clothing is not white. my guess is that the usual (yellow, green & orange) colors don't occur naturally so they are sure to stand out. plus I think the day-glo green color can be seen by most color-blind ppl

Being a slug I've been smoked by every bike rider ever on my commute home on the highway, and I've noticed that when they're 1/2 mile or more ahead of me, the last thing I see isn't their very bright taillight, it's their hi-viz jersey/shirt/panniers. That's why I wear hi-viz shirts and don't bother with a light on sunny days. I tend not to ride at night, but early in the morning I use my blinky light on the theory that the light will get their attention enough to see me. So far, so good.

I always wear the hi-vis yellow/green whatever it's called. I seem to recall that a study revealed it was the most distinct color under low energy street lighting cities were converting to, among them, sodium vapor. Many locals have changed the color of emergency vehicles to this color rather than the traditional red.

This...

Hi-vis yellow/"light green" is by far the most visible color to my eyes. If there's any light at all I can see other people wearing hi-vis yellow hundreds of yards away -- cyclists, pedestrians, road construction workers. Doesn't matter if it's bright contrasty daylight with deep shade, overcast and grey, near dawn or dusk, against almost any backdrop. It really pops.

Hi-vis orange is pretty good, but not quite as eye catching as yellow. It's rarely found in nature or manmade structures so it tends to pop against most backgrounds.

Ditto white -- in many circumstances. But as another poster mentioned white isn't quite as visible against very contrasty surroundings in bright daylight, typical of rural blacktop when facing into the sun. My helmet is white but I don't assume it's always more visible.

I usually run my Cygolite Hotshot 50 on the most economical rapid triple-flash mode in daylight. It's not particularly visible from any angle other than directly behind. That's the drawback of that intensely focused parabolic reflector -- poor side visibility. But if it nudges drivers off my tail on a narrow two lane blacktop, it's good enough.

And I usually run a white blinky -- 255 to 300 lumen peaks, depending on the light -- in daylight, sometimes one on both the bike and my helmet. Seems to get drivers' attention in high distraction situations, such as parking lot exits where drivers are looking to leap into traffic just as I'm approaching. I've seen that drivers see me and hesitate when they were about to floor it -- their cars lurch and rock back, a sure sign they'd floored it and slammed on the brake. I experienced more close calls when I didn't run the white strobing light -- I'm talking fractions of a second differences, but it counts.

I don't fool myself that any of these is foolproof. Like Lone Watie says of Josie Wales, I'm just looking for an edge. If sharing the road with vehicles is a gunfight, a near miss is still a miss.

There is some research to suggest that light at the 555 nanometer wavelength triggers the greatest number of cones in the human eye - this is basically the hi-vis yellow/green we are familiar with.

White isn't bad in some conditions, but last month I was riding in some rain/drizzle/fog conditions and I noticed that most riders disappeared into the mist not too far ahead of me. The ones I could see the best were those wearing yellow or yellow/green. White, black, blue, red, all disappeared rather quickly. Bright orange was a better but not as visible as the yellow/green. I also noticed that even when the riders disappeared, I could still see some of the bright blinky tail lights in the haze. Just my observations. I was wearing a hi-vis yellow/green vest and running a Cygolite Hotshot blinky that day.

Some great insight here. A lot of the road crews and emergency workers are in that yellow/green color combo now and indeed it is pretty visible most anywhere. One area I noticed where white caused grief was in urban areas where it blended in with light colored brick, siding, store signs, etc. Pretty obvious other colors best there. The bike light fixation theory is interesting and food for further thought. I never ride at night where it would be a no brainer. Day use, I'll sit on the fence for now. Might snag some type of shirt/jersey with that electric green for piece of mind in urban areas, white for on the road in rural green areas. Great discussion all, thanks for sharing

There could be other factors at work though. Most people wearing HiViz are relatively stationary, standing around at roadworks or walking slowly in warehouses. Cyclists though are moving with the flow of traffic in and out of shadows as has been stated. Perhaps in that case white is easier seen? I wear a white tanktop when it's warm weather and a bright yellow jacket on cold mornings. On the bikeways though I wear whatever I feels more comfortable.

One fact is clear though! By not buying all that expensive fashionable Lycra I have saved enough to buy a new bike

Fixed that for me.

Seriously, by cutting back on the craft beer for a few months I was able to afford a good used road bike this month.

At $5-$10 a pint while lounging around with friends after a ride that stuff added up last year. So I started just buying whatever was on special at the pub -- usually Lone Star, which ain't fancy but tastes okay and is refreshing after a hot ride -- and started buying 12 packs of New Belgium Citradelic or Voodoo Ranger at the grocery store, usually only $13 or $14 for a 12 pack. Actually saved enough money in six months to buy a $200 road bike.

Another vote of confidence for Hi-vis safety yellow here. This is based on comments from my co-workers who see me wearing it on the road... They are often amazed by how far away they can see me, especially compared to how much later they see cyclists in lesser colors. My own eyes tell me the same thing when I'm on the road. Good stuff.

I have yet to spot a cyclist because of their lights during the day. I always see the rider first, at night a different story. I read an article somewhere that stated hi-vis socks were the best thing to wear in order to be seen because of the up and down motion of pedaling.

I'm glad you said USED bike. I was worried for a second there

It's amazing where we spend our money, and there is nothing wrong with forking out $500 for a set of state of the art bicycle clothes, if they add something of value. I think thin Kevlar weave would be more practical as far as gravel rash goes but there must be a reason why they don't have it. it's in all our motorcycle pants now. Cordura Nylon is good too.

One of my neighbors once asked me why I wore shirts that blended in perfectly with the trees and grass (I wear neon alert colors, QUITE distinct from foliage)

I asked if she is color blind. Turns out she is.

I've had drivers thank me for wearing yellow jerseys. That never happened the years I rode a white one. (Might also be Portland vs Seattle where I used to live.) I make it a point to avoid patterns, no matter how bright. Way too likely to disappear in mottled light like under trees.

I also make it a point to pay attention to what I see driving. For me, red often disappears. Black is usually bad. Greens not so good in spring and summer, oranges in the fall. White really back when there's snow. (These in northern states.)

Ben