Reflective clothing is important for cyclists because is the way to protect themselves riding in cities or on the road. One of the biggest problems that cyclists face is being ‘invisible’ to the driver’s eye, particularly at night. Though you are four times more likely to be hit whilst cycling at night that does not mean that cyclists are immune to accidents in daylights. Locations such as tunnels can simulate darkness so it’s important you always take the appropriate precaution.
Basically, whatever time you’re out on your bike, you should always take steps to remain safe whilst cycling and the reflective clothing is important for cyclists ad it becomes practically obligatory.
When trying to decide what to wear during the day for cycling, it’s best to go for a fluorescent colour. These colours work best due to the way the sun’s rays react and make them glow. This doesn’t mean you have to fully deck yourself out in neon colours, introducing a bright yellow or green top will make you more visible.
Apart from brightly coloured clothings, you also have the option of wearing reflective clothing. This is perhaps more appropriate for night time. Reflective clothes function like a light. If a headlight, for example, is shone upon reflective clothing, it will shine it back. It practically does as it is described.
Reflective Clothing.
We will take a closer look at reflective clothing to see what it can do for you and how it can keep you safe. As the number of vehicles that travel day and night increases, it’s becoming even more important for cyclists to keep on top of ensuring their own safety.
Reflective clothing, like neon apparel, is supposed to attract the attention of the driver so they take note of the cyclist.
If a cyclist chooses to wear reflective clothing on the top and bottom half of their body, they will create a human shape which will be reflected back toward the driver. This image will register a lot easier to a driver who will instantly recognise it as a cyclist. Drivers only have a few seconds to register an object they should avoid, reflective clothing worn across the entire body has a higher chance of achieving this.
Reflective items are not only limited to apparel. It is possible to wear reflective accessories upon your wrist or ankle. Wrist accessories can be very useful as cyclists use their arms to indicate directions. Having a reflective band upon their hand will make it more obvious which way they are turning and notify the driver of this also.
More information on reflective clothing.
Commonly referred to as reflective clothing, it’s real name is High-Visibility or more simply HV. Perhaps one of the most recognisable reflective items are the high visibility vests that are usually work by construction workers or anyone employed in a job where physical safety is incredibly important as there are risks.
Reflective clothing was not tried out until 1964 on the British Railways. There was a study completed in Australia in 2009 that concluded that reflective clothing is more effective at keeping you safe than neon clothing. Particularly, reflective strips seemed most appropriate for cyclists.
A more modern study held in Canada in 2013 found that wearing reflective clothing can reduce risk of a collision by 38% and, as the number of accidents is raised each year, is important to take measures to reduce it.
Though sometimes cyclists refuse to wear reflective clothing due to doubt that it will ensure their safety and sometimes even because of how it looks, it’s very important to make safety your number one priority.
There are plenty of options out there for a cyclist if you want to focus on reflective clothing rather than neon. You can opt for reflective clothing specifically made for cyclists or even more a high reflective vest that you can place over your ordinary clothes. Whatever you do, take the time to decide what is going to be most effective for you and make sure that you use neon and reflective materials in order to keep you safe instead of seeing them as fashion choices. Vests are not fitting well for you, but that is not important!
There are plenty of accessories in neon colours as well as made with reflective materials.
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