A photo that wil make you think twice about Hi-Vis

Sadly not a rare occurence. There is a certain stretch of road I go down that regularly has invisible riders and/or leaders. Black shetland with dark clothed owner yesterday. And people leaving a local showground to ride home, all without hi vis too :mad:

Just wanted to add, the same goes for cyclists too. And those thin bands of hi vis that leisure cyclists wear, or bright green lycra as worn by the racing ones, are no better than not wearing any either.
 
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No need to wait for winter for a hi viz ex sheet - I got a brilliant mesh one from Lidl last year so use that in summer!! Can't believe people still ride without hi viz tbh...
 
Bloody hell.

SVMel said:
Can't believe people still ride without hi viz tbh...
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I think it should be mandatory for insurance if you have an accident on the road.

It's so cheap, there's no excuse for not having any. If you can't afford to spend a couple of quid on a bog standard workman's tabard, then you shouldn't have a horse.
 
hnmisty said:
Bloody hell.



I think it should be mandatory for insurance if you have an accident on the road.

It's so cheap, there's no excuse for not having any. If you can't afford to spend a couple of quid on a bog standard workman's tabard, then you shouldn't have a horse.
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Thats not the only excuse not to wear it, I've heard before from a group of 14-16YO that it looks stupid. I replied with, it would look better then seeing you and your Horse splatterd over the road.
 
What a great picture to really bring it home to people.
I had my closest 'near miss' some years ago in summer on a bright and sunny day, riding down a narrow road with some overhanging trees.
Driver wasn't doing anything wrong, just did not see us at all, we were passing under a tree with dappled shadows on the road and bright sun.
It was very scary, luckily horse was amazing though, and no harm done.
I wasn't wearing hi viz as I thought it would be ok on such a bright day, big mistake!
Never hack out without it now.
 
I have to admit I agree hnmisty. There's no excuse for it. So many things invalidate insurance for car drivers, motorbike riders etc, why not horse riders?? But then it should be mandatory for all to wear a standard riding hat at least on the road and it's not.....
 
I met a hich hiker on the A15, all in black, on the road at 11pm! But I always wear Hi vis and tell my parents off for not wearing it when cycling. People can lack common sense a lot of the time!
 
There isn't really an excuse anymore, it should definitely be mandatory by law.

Especially now the horse wear companies have brought out snazzy and 'cool' ways to wear hi-viz such as bandages and noseband covers.
 
niagaraduval said:
That's scary ! I looked for ages before seeing the horse ! Really makes you think doesn't it. I will be investing in a hi viz exercise sheet this winter :)
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Surely that's the point though - hi viz isn't just for winter, shadows and showers can hide horses in summer just as much as gloom in winter. I appreciate that exercise sheets may be too warm for summer but that's no excuse for the rider not to wear something. Lets not give drivers the excuse that they didn't see us.
 
It seems to be worse on certain areas. I've moved to an area with very little off road riding and the roads are narrow bendy lanes with high hedges.
You'd think local riders would be very safety aware but the opposite seems to be true. Hi viz is a rarity around here.

It sometimes seems that nervous 'happy' hackers are festooned in Hi Viz covering every inch of horse and rider, with the brightness of a pantomime dame, while at the other extreme, the more vain amongst competiton riders and hunters seem more likely to wear none, seemingly under the impression that they look so awesome that motorists will be drawn to stop and stare in admiration.

I like the middle ground. Sufficient hi viz to be seen, without scaring local wildlife.
 
To slightly play devils advocate, drivers should not be driving into areas they can't see. It might be a horse and rider, but it might equally be a cyclist, or mother with a toddler/baby in a push chair, or an escaped cow. If you can't see clear road ahead you shouldn't plough on into it
 
I would strongly suggest not riding out when the sun is bright and low as even Hi-Viz won't show up. Sadly the drivers are blinded by the bright sunlight. I always recommend riders to wear long sleeved hi-viz jackets so that their hand signals can be clearly seen by other road users.
 
horserider said:
It seems to be worse on certain areas. I've moved to an area with very little off road riding and the roads are narrow bendy lanes with high hedges.
You'd think local riders would be very safety aware but the opposite seems to be true. Hi viz is a rarity around here.

It sometimes seems that nervous 'happy' hackers are festooned in Hi Viz covering every inch of horse and rider, with the brightness of a pantomime dame, while at the other extreme, the more vain amongst competiton riders and hunters seem more likely to wear none, seemingly under the impression that they look so awesome that motorists will be drawn to stop and stare in admiration.

I like the middle ground. Sufficient hi viz to be seen, without scaring local wildlife.
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Yes I have a middle ground sort do approach to.
There are some people I see round here who ride covered from head to toe in high viz but with such awful insecure positions that they would be in capable of coping with the unexpected that's really scares me .
While its a no brainer to wear hi viz it's still the drivers job to driving in an apporiate way for the conditions .
I think pink is supposed to be the best in bright sunlight.
 
hollybear said:
What a great picture to really bring it home to people.
I had my closest 'near miss' some years ago in summer on a bright and sunny day, riding down a narrow road with some overhanging trees.
Driver wasn't doing anything wrong, just did not see us at all, we were passing under a tree with dappled shadows on the road and bright sun.
It was very scary, luckily horse was amazing though, and no harm done.
I wasn't wearing hi viz as I thought it would be ok on such a bright day, big mistake!
Never hack out without it now.
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This happened to me only the other way round, I was driving. Almost at yard when suddenly saw horse and rider hidden by shadows from trees, it really made me jump. The rider was from our yard, when I saw her later and said how difficult it had been to see her, she snootily replied 'didn't matter because I saw you'.

Well yes it did matter, I was driving slowly as knew there would likely be people hacking along road.
 
Happens all the time around here. We have several who don't wear a riding hat at any time riding in school or when hacking out!!!. One did wear a woolly bobble hat in the winter!!!!!!! Words fail me. It should be a legal requirement that cyclists, riders etc should wear high viz.
 
gmw said:
Happens all the time around here. We have several who don't wear a riding hat at any time riding in school or when hacking out!!!. One did wear a woolly bobble hat in the winter!!!!!!! Words fail me. It should be a legal requirement that cyclists, riders etc should wear high viz.
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Where do you stop with these legal requirements ,
Drivers are allowed dark grey cars , should they be covered in high viz ? I don't need the government sticking its nose into my desisions about my safely .
 
V. scary pic.

I'm the variety of rider that likes to scare the wildlife if I'm out on the road. Don't care how daft I look - just as long as people see me in time to avoid me.

Pink stuff can be usefull at this time of the year - yellow can sometimes blend into the bright greens and yellows of emerging foliage.
 
Someone needs to invent a little transmitter device that a horse rider wears and that gives a warning beep (like my GPS warns about speed cameras) to any car with a receiver that's within a certain number of yards. At first it would have to be 'opt in', so that motorists who wanted to be warned about 'mobile hazards' would have to buy the receiver - and obviously the rider would have to buy the transmitter. I would certainly buy one if my route frequently took me along country roads. Ultimately, if it was shown to save lives (and money), it could be offered as a built-in by car makers. It shouldn't be outrageously expensive though - it's very basic technology.
 
I always wear a fluorescent tabard when I hack out. you can get them for just a couple of quid at b&q, and they are light so don't get too hot. I also have a massive pink fluorescent puffer jacket in the winter! I also occasionally put reflective boots on my horses.
even if I hack on the farm with no traffic, I still wear one, if I was to fall off and someone or a helicopter needed to find me, fingers crossed this never happens!, I would be much easier to spot.
but I used to know a number of younger girls who thought it looked too un-cool to wear
 
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