Why should we wear Hi-Viz whilst out hacking?

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Ashlea

Ashlea

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Sep 18, 2008
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Heres why:

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You can hardly see a thing - and thats a light grey horse on a very dark background! If he werent keved up to his eyeballs in hi-viz, you'd hardly see a thing until maybe its too late!

I know its a bad pic - sorry about that - they were on the other side of the field and I tried zooming in to get the shot (field was only 1 acre)....it wasnt misty/foggy, just grey skies- imagine trying to spot him if it were misty though! If only the shot were more in focus, but I wanted to prove a point, and thats all I have to my aid.

Im not demanding that all riders wear hi-viz - but I think that everyone should be aware of how difficult it can be to spot a horse - especially when on the road on miserable days, and the traffic is going at speed! Not all drivers keep an eye out for horse and riders, and all too often I see riders on the road in miserable weather (even in the dark) without hi-viz gear - and all too often I hear of them getting caught out; sometimes its fatal!

You'd think, being a light grey horse against a dark back ground, he'd be easy to spot, but unfortunately, thats not always the case.
 
The quality of that photo is dreadful, I am certain with my own eyes I could see a grey.
 
.:o.
I know its bad quality....but the point is, being grey, hes most likely to be spotted - and even so, its not really (IMO), that easy to see (granted, the pic quality is dreadful)... If you were scanning quickly, and he werent in hi-viz, he'd be even harder to spot - bad quality pic or not!
 
Well done for making a very important point.
I see so many riders out and about without any hi viz clothing on. It only takes a moment to put it on and could save your life.
 
If it is foggy or drizzly that is about what people would see through the car window from a distance so the fact it is a bad quality photo makes it more realistic. Even a grey horse won't show up as much as the flourescent colours of hi viz.
 
A bad still photo is not a fair comparisson to a real life situation as the human eye is designed to react to movement. So a bad still does not really prove anything.
 
I recently read a rather scary study which appeared to demonstrate that motorists gave cyclists who wore large quantities of hi-viz a LESSER clearance when passing, than they did the cyclists who wore no hi-viz.

How this would relate to riding horses on the road I have no idea, but of all road users we probably share the greatest similarity regarding risks, problems etc with cyclists.
 
i dont wear hi viz(pls no jumpers lol) i wouldnt be out on the road if cars had to use their lights.and im sorru i cant see how wearing hi viz will stop a car speeing round the bends on lanes ect
 
I don't ride on the roads in the dark or half light or when it's foggy. I always wear hi-viz no matter what the weather as bright sunlight, shady patches or even just a dull day effect visability.
 
Liz1949 said:
I recently read a rather scary study which appeared to demonstrate that motorists gave cyclists who wore large quantities of hi-viz a LESSER clearance when passing, than they did the cyclists who wore no hi-viz.

How this would relate to riding horses on the road I have no idea, but of all road users we probably share the greatest similarity regarding risks, problems etc with cyclists.
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I think drivers are just giving less consideration to everyone, but at least if they see us they have the choice.
 
tabithakat64 said:
I don't ride on the roads in the dark or half light or when it's foggy. I always wear hi-viz no matter what the weather as bright sunlight, shady patches or even just a dull day effect visability.
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I always were hi-viz these days as to not is not fair on the drivers, they need every chance to see us. My bay mare is completely invisible next to a hedge.
 
Got to be honest here, I do wear a hi viz jacket! and other rd users do adjust there speed! which is all I would expect these days!

I did here a rather scary story a few weeks ago a rider came off her horse and the horse, left the owner, got injured by a car! not fatally thank god!
Anyway, from what I can gather!
The rider was wearing hi viz, but the horse was not!
Insurance company refused to pay out?

I really dont know, how true it is, or which company it was/is?
But I did check allthe small print on my policy, and could find nothing to suggest that this may be the case!
Anyone else heard of anything like it? I'm told the owners are appealing!
I think I would!
 
I get a LOT more respect from drivers when I'm in my hi-viz than when not.

I do always wear it in winter (and usually a tabard in summer as well) + don't let any of the kids ride out without ... I am turning into an old moany!
 
Everyone who rides on the road SHOULD wear hiviz im a rider and a driver and i for one wont ride without it.When im driving i see quite a few people out without hiviz and on gloomy days or even bright sunny days they just dont show up especially if they are riding dark horses.You owe it to yourself,your horse and other road users to wear it. Imagine if someone hit your horse and then turned around and said sorry i didnt see you till it was to late,if hiviz wasnt effective then the police,ambulance etc wouldnt wear it would they, remember the saying cars dent horses die!
 
montys helper said:
i dont wear hi viz(pls no jumpers lol) i wouldnt be out on the road if cars had to use their lights.and im sorru i cant see how wearing hi viz will stop a car speeing round the bends on lanes ect
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Maybe it wont stop the car speeding round bends but it will give the driver the extra 3 seconds to see you if your wearing hi viz to slow down!
 
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