Reflective Vest in the day time?
 

I know that it is pretty much SOP to wear a reflective vest after dark. I was thinking that the face plant that I did just before Thanksgiving might have been avoided if I had been wearing my vest. I don't generally wear it during the daylight hours. I wasn't wearing it when I faceplanted.

This morning I decided to wear it on my way home. I was wondering how many others wear their vest during the daylight hours.

Thoughts??

I do most of the time. I have 3 versions:
a neon windbreaker --for colder weather
a neon vest --for warmer weather
a neon mesh vest--practically a piece of Fred lingerie; for really warm days when I want nothing adding warmth but still want visibility. As always it's the grey matter that provides true safety, but all this neon stuff helps.

I use this on the end of my rack bag and fender.
http://www.adventurecycling.org/stor...y-triangle.cfm
You can't miss me.:):):)

I don't have anything really reflective (except for on my bike). I wear regular clothes. If you have it and it makes you safer then wear it.

I have a hi vis yellow windbreaker with reflective piping I wear in this weather. Warmer weather, I pretty much only wear the vest at night, but I carry it in my trunk bag as it doesn't take up much room. How would a vest have prevented a faceplant? Guess I missed out on that story.

I wear a mesh green class 2 safety reflective vest during the summer month. I have had many drivers backing out of their driveway who saw me before I saw them and they stopped. I believe they saw my vest more than my regular clothe or my bike.

During the winter month, I wear a LaCrosse insulated yellow safety vest. It is water resistant and has thinsulate to keep me warm.
http://workingperson.com/workwear-1/...20-106330.html

I wear my high viz vest until it's too hot, or a high vis coat when it's too cold.

It isn't so much the reflective during the day, as the hi-vis. I have a hi-vis (and reflective) vest for warm weather (including a second attached to my backpack, for when I ride with it), and a hi-vis wind shell for cooler weather. I'm considering a true jacket for cold weather (which would also be hi-vis).

I do think people are conditioned better to look for the screaming hi vis colors because of all the highway worker safety campaigns.

In daylight or low light conditions, the hi-viz color is probably more beneficial than reflective elements. When cars have their lights on, the latter are generally more important.

Right.
No benefit to reflective unless it's dark and is reflecting light.
I have an Illuminite jacket which is great at night but no visibility benefit during the day because it is largely black - although it does have some red bits which stand out against the black.

Mesh Hi viz vest day and night. Its got blinkie lights too, thats about as Fred as it gets

I have a High Viz thermal jacket (hoodie) it is a Class 2, I also have a Class 2 Vest that I wear when it is too warm for the hoodie.

I will wear the vest when road conditions dictate, usually in heavier traffic.

Aaron :)

I wear a high-vis jacket most of the year (Sept-May), which is quite valuable, day AND night. The difference is noticeable, motorists do pay more attention to me.

I wear my class 2 safety vest unless I am wearing my class 3 rain coat. I think the dork factor helps more than the visibility; I look more like a poor person who is going to work at a construction site than a "serious" cyclist. Around here the hatred for people who ride bikes for pleasure is pretty severe.

I love my Gerber hi-viz EMT coat for low-light conditions. Any conditions, really.
http://www.gerberouterwear.com/product.html?id=89 :thumb:

High vis vests most of the time. Reflectivity can be on the vest and on the bike but it's the flourescent yellow/green that sticks out and helps define my shape during day, night, rain. I had a yellow Bellweather with mesh back that was perfect for hot weather but the zipper is blown out. Right now in the cold weather the vest I'm using is one of those flourescent yellow/green jackets with removable sleeves.
I'm exposed to the most traffic during the day/morning/dusk and that's when I've had most of my near misses when people simply don't see you even though the light levels are high enough that lights aren't needed or providing reflection.
You know the situation,car pulling out from parking lots with cell phone to head, turning left from the other lane across your path, cross traffic merging just as you're coming into the intersection. BRIGHT flourescent vest does a lot more good than reflective vest.

There's a reason that highway department and other public safety employees wear high-vis vests on the job... Hell, even the guys who round up shopping carts in the Wal-Mart parking lot wear these vests. It makes them stand out from the background, and also in our benefit, it accustoms drivers to looking out for these sort of vests.

A high-vis vest is a good thing to have if you're riding during the daytime. They're pretty light, can be folded and stuffed in a seat bag or jersey pocket, and most will help at night by adding reflectors, and showing a human shape. For the most part, it's a good, cheap invest ment in your safety. Be Visible...

"Let's Get Visible"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7DBf_Uxfeg


LCI Night Ride – How Visible are You?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epZdXfvrRmU

I just picked up a Nathan Streak vest. Very light weight and bright with reflective bits scattered around. Never really considered getting a high-vis vest till I saw this one. Don't even know I'm wearing it.
http://www.amazon.com/Nathan-Streak-...1222431&sr=1-1

During the daytime (when it is light out) fluorescent clothes increase visibility, at night they are not so useful. Reflective materials are great for low-light conditions though.

Also some flame bait from some random website:
Fluorescent vests give bike riders a false sense of visibility at night, and were not a significant improvement on black clothing, according to a recent Australian study.

You might want to consider those reflective & hi-viz lime belts/suspenders worn by joggers and traffic/motorcycle cops. Wearing those over street clothes during the day would probably be more comfortable during various times of year.

The one I wear is high vis and reflective w/LED's.

Yep, I wear it on the way home,that would be 3 in the afternoon. Some might consider it overkill.... so be it.

Strange though, I do not wear it when I am out joy riding. **********???

3ss

This made plenty of sense to me, and bears out my own observations, both in relation to the severely diminished value of 'hi vis' colors at night, and in relation to the value of motion with regard to identifying a subject in the dark. Reflectors on fronts and backs of bikes seem all but useless, but pedal reflectors tend to stand out. Likewise, runners wearing the reflective waist belts are not as visible as runners with good sized reflective bits on their shoes or pants.

supposedly, the military did some studies some time in the past, and determined that the 'color' which is most visible under the greatest range of light conditions is: White. This does not diminish the value of reflective gear at night, or hi vis gear in daylight, but if you are stuck without specialty gear, wear white, esp. at night.

I think the distinction needs to be made between fluorescent and reflective. The article states reflective vests are more effective at night than fluorescent vests, but not as useful as reflective leg bands. I use both, reflective vest and bands, at night and other when vehicles are likely to have their lights on.

I wear my work safety veswt all the time. If I'm not wearing it I have to stuff it in the pannier so I might as well wear it.
In summer I often wear just the vest - no shirt