bright colors make us safer?

Frank Knox said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

Some thoughts on color and safety from an officer of a cycling club:
"It may seem intuitively obvious that brighter colors
would be more visible than darker colors to drivers of
cars and trucks. I am not certain that there is any
scientific evidence that wearing a brighter color
reduces the likelihood of a cyclist getting hit. Are
some colors better than others? Everything I have
seen is anecdotal. So, while a brighter jersey maymake you feel
better, it may not make you any safer."

Oh, great. Now's there's gonna be a run on gray-beige jerseys and shorts.

And blinkies???
--
BS (no, really)

In article <[email hidden]>,

Frank Knox said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

I know when I am driving my car during the day, cyclists in neon colored
jerseys are much easier to see. Cyclists wearing dark colors can be
almost invisible on a shaded forest road or in cloudy or rainy weather.
At night, bright lights are more important than bright jerseys.

I don't know of any formal accident statistics, or if that is even possible.

You don't think that seeing a rider on the road will help avoid accidents?
I'd say there has to be some corralation between accident rates and
visibility. Besides, there has to be some study out there that proves or
disproves this. Have you checked the DOT?

"Frank Knox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

Some thoughts on color and safety from an officer of a cycling club:
"It may seem intuitively obvious that brighter colors
would be more visible than darker colors to drivers of
cars and trucks. I am not certain that there is any
scientific evidence that wearing a brighter color
reduces the likelihood of a cyclist getting hit. Are
some colors better than others? Everything I have
seen is anecdotal. So, while a brighter jersey maymake you feel better,
it
may not make you any safer."

Quoted message said:

"Frank Knox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

Some thoughts on color and safety from an officer of a cycling club:
"It may seem intuitively obvious that brighter colors
would be more visible than darker colors to drivers of
cars and trucks. I am not certain that there is any
scientific evidence that wearing a brighter color
reduces the likelihood of a cyclist getting hit. Are
some colors better than others? Everything I have
seen is anecdotal. So, while a brighter jersey maymake you feel better,
it
may not make you any safer."

"Mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You don't think that seeing a rider on the road will help avoid accidents?
I'd say there has to be some corralation between accident rates and
visibility. Besides, there has to be some study out there that proves or
disproves this. Have you checked the DOT?

Yes, checked the DOT. Also, tried hard to find such info on the net.

Frank Knox said:

Quoted message said:

"Frank Knox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

Some thoughts on color and safety from an officer of a cycling club:
"It may seem intuitively obvious that brighter colors
would be more visible than darker colors to drivers of
cars and trucks. I am not certain that there is any
scientific evidence that wearing a brighter color
reduces the likelihood of a cyclist getting hit. Are
some colors better than others? Everything I have
seen is anecdotal. So, while a brighter jersey maymake you feel better,
it
may not make you any safer."

"Mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You don't think that seeing a rider on the road will help avoid accidents?
I'd say there has to be some corralation between accident rates and
visibility. Besides, there has to be some study out there that proves or
disproves this. Have you checked the DOT?

Yes, checked the DOT. Also, tried hard to find such info on the net.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sullivan/bike/colorbv.html is another opinion
on color.

I know that when emergency vehicles are painted that chartreuse color it
is supposed to be the most "attractive" color to the human eye and would
assume that goes along with being noticed. The principal of blinking
lights is also operating on the premises of being seen.

"Frank Knox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

Let's do an experiment. Who wants to be one of the subjects that wears
black? Please go ride 5000 miles and report back in a year. Thank you.

RichC

"Mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You don't think that seeing a rider on the road will help avoid accidents?

Who knows, maybe the accident-reduction of bright colors is offset by
injuries inflicted by hostile drivers who aim at bikes, or drunks who tend
to steer towards the brightest object in their field of view.

RichC

"Frank Knox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

What you really should be asking is if more brightly coloured helmets
reduce head injuries.

*ducking*

🙂

--
'We'll be singing, when we're winning:
I get knocked down But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down.'
-chumbawamba

Works for me. The point is to gather attention well before cars get
to you. I don't know if it works in heavy traffic, but when it's
isolated it's good to let the dozing driver know that something's
way up ahead there, many many seconds before he really has to notice
it.

I guy on a bike wearing a brown jacket and jeans is pretty invisible
against trees or in shade until cars are almost on top of him.

That said, the best color is white; and unless you only cycle in the
day, non-dayglow. Dayglow relies on UV, which it reradiates in the
visible spectrum, thereby looking bright. But there's no UV in
headlights. (There's lots in twilight though, which is where dayglow
really shines.)

So anyway, in the winter, I wear a white sweatshirt and sweatpants,
which works against almost every background, except snow when we have
that.

I have a dayglow slow-moving-vehicle triangle on the back of the milk
crate, which catches the daytime duty. Sweatshirt for night.
--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

loki said:

What you really should be asking is if more brightly coloured helmets
reduce head injuries.

Red helmets are faster.
--
Ben Pfaff
email: [email hidden]
web: http://benpfaff.org

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Frank Knox said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

Some thoughts on color and safety from an officer of a cycling club:
"It may seem intuitively obvious that brighter colors
would be more visible than darker colors to drivers of
cars and trucks. I am not certain that there is any
scientific evidence that wearing a brighter color
reduces the likelihood of a cyclist getting hit. Are
some colors better than others? Everything I have
seen is anecdotal. So, while a brighter jersey maymake you feel better, it
may not make you any safer."

No offense directly intended to the guy who said this, but this is just
stupid. It doesn't even pass the laugh test.

..max

--
the part of <[email hidden]>
was played by maxwell monningh 8-p

In article <[email hidden]>,

Rich Clark said:

Who knows, maybe the accident-reduction of bright colors is offset by
injuries inflicted by hostile drivers who aim at bikes, or drunks who tend
to steer towards the brightest object in their field of view.

There is a bit of truth to that -- esp. as it relates to lighting,
drunks and nighttime.

..max

--
the part of <[email hidden]>
was played by maxwell monningh 8-p

do not spam said:

In article
<[email hidden]>, Frank
Knox <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

I know when I am driving my car during the day, cyclists in neon
colored jerseys are much easier to see. Cyclists wearing dark colors
can be
almost invisible on a shaded forest road or in cloudy or rainy
weather.
At night, bright lights are more important than bright jerseys.

I don't know of any formal accident statistics, or if that is even
possible.

Well, maybe when accident reports are written, a note could be made of how
visible a cyclist should have been. Sometimes it is noted whether a cyclist was
using lights. Why not bright clothing or reflective gear?

Every study I've seen says the most visible color is flourescent pink, probably
because it's so unnatural. Even flourescent yellow can blend in with some
natural landscapes, like autumn leaves or mossy forests. Also, at least at
night, reflective tape is usually recognized as such, and as a hazard to be
avoided.

Matt O.

loki said:

"Frank Knox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

What you really should be asking is if more brightly coloured helmets
reduce head injuries.

*ducking*

If you were wearing a helmet, you wouldn't need to duck. Personally, that's a
big reason I wear one -- to avoid abuse from petty, self-righteous
finger-waggers.

Matt O.

Mon, 22 Nov 2004 14:15:36 -0500, <[email hidden]>,

Rich Clark said:

"Mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You don't think that seeing a rider on the road will help avoid accidents?

Who knows, maybe the accident-reduction of bright colors is offset by
injuries inflicted by hostile drivers who aim at bikes,

Who's counting those? Are there more of them than the simply stunned
ones who might be attracted to bright shiny objects?

Though fewer in number, the completely stunned ones probably still out
number drivers that actually attack cyclists. I have few memorable
occasions of having been menaced or threatened by nasty scud jocks.

The inbred and buddy with their busted right side mirror on the black
Ford pickup never got a backward glance for their efforts in last
Friday evening's rush hour. After their second feint, I dropped them.
It may have had something to do with the pink jacket. Occasional
shouted comments are heard but it's extremely rare.

By and large, I notice drivers' gazes pausing longer and even getting
more room while wearing pink compared to yellow. They think you're
feeble minded or something. Orange vests might have the same effect.

Quoted message said:

or drunks who tend
to steer towards the brightest object in their field of view.

That's true at night and drunks probably hit road construction signs
and personnel more frequently in daylight than do sober drivers.
--
zk

Mon, 22 Nov 2004 15:54:48 -0500, <[email hidden]>,

Matt O'Toole said:

Even flourescent yellow can blend in with some
natural landscapes, like autumn leaves or mossy forests

Yellow and Hi-Viz Green makes for lousy flagging tape in the bush.
Pink or Orange were best, in that order.

For colour blind people it appears yellow would work best.
--
zk

"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If you were wearing a helmet, you wouldn't need to duck.

Matt O.

Actually I often find quite the opposite to be true during trail riding...

*bonk* ... doh! ... didn't duck enough!

--
Scott Ehardt
http://www.scehardt.com

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 13:48:40 -0800, Zoot Katz <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

Quoted message said:

Who knows, maybe the accident-reduction of bright colors is offset by
injuries inflicted by hostile drivers who aim at bikes,

Quoted message said:

Who's counting those? Are there more of them than the simply stunned
ones who might be attracted to bright shiny objects?

Is this a good time to mention the theory of BIG?

http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/misc/big.html

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Frank Knox said:

Do any of you know of any evidence that bright colors make us safer?

All I know is that the rednecks around here like to scream "Lance" at me
when I wear my yellow jersey, and that's good enough for me. 😄

As a motorist, I've almost hit many a cyclist around here at twilight when
everything starts to muddy together. Invariably they were wearing dark
colors. Sure, they should have had lights and reflectors, but a simple
white sweatshirt would have done the trick here in the city.

During the day, colours certainly help, I guess the lighter ones are
better, and dressing garishly is always good for a laugh and might attract
attention and therefore safety--but I think that one's behaviour as a
fellow traficant is equally important.