Confession? Does anyone NOT wear hiviz?

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Equi

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I do. Just wondering if anyone does not and why?

I understand the hunters or people on some sort of organised hack/show not.

But i still see loads of normal out for a normal hack people not wearing one ounce of anything bright at all. Just wondering if its a mentality of "why should i" thing?
 
My hubby doesn't. . And his coat is sludgy green :(

His only defence is that we are on very quiet roads and he is on a grey horse.

I think he's silly though and he has a perfectly good hi viz waistcoat. Just can't be bothered or forgets to put it on most of the time.

Me and 5yo son always wear ours..

Fiona
 
I don't know is but at work I never think to put any on. It's bad I know and I should do it. My defence I guess is only a short amount on a road. When I am riding at home I always do. More road work tho. I need to get into a better mindset at work.
 
Nope. Our roads are far far too dangerous not to imo but plenty at the yard don't - if he inclined to say it's more of an "appearance" thing. But I value mine and more importantly my boys life more than looking like a model equestrian.

If we had good off road hacking I'd probably not be as fussy but I always think.. If I got thrown or hurt in some way- God forbid -I'd be easier to spot on hi viz.

This is my theory anyway!
 
I tend to only wear my hi-vis waistcoat if I'm riding on my own or I know the shoot is in the vicinity. I've only got about 200m of no through road to ride down before miles of off-road riding so traffic isn't usually an issue.
 
Kamikaze said:
I don't know is but at work I never think to put any on. It's bad I know and I should do it. My defence I guess is only a short amount on a road. When I am riding at home I always do. More road work tho. I need to get into a better mindset at work.
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Thats one thing i always wondered about work though - should it not be stipulated that the utmost safety of the employees is at the forfront? Hiviz for ANY road work would be that for me. We have Hiviz at work should we ever need to be on a road (the car breaks down etc..)
 
Honestly, I confess. Yes. Well, kind of.
I always wear it if it's dull, raining, foggy, dark or dusk etc but have ridden out without one in the middle of a bright day as we only walk across (or sometimes 1 minute down) a private road to a golf course before we reach our off road hacking.
 
I rarely wear it. My yard has hacking straight onto bridle paths and into woodlands - No roadwork necessary. If I venture further afield and have to cross roads, I do put hi-viz on myself and my horse.
 
I don't. I don't hack on roads very often, but I don't actually own any.

Edited to add:

LOL - actually I do, I need hi-viz for work sometimes (building sites), but pass on wearing it while riding.
 
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I always do but I was trying a horse the other day and ended up on the road for a few seconds without highviz and on a bay horse! We were over taken by a car at about 80mph. He definitely saw us however or I wouldn't have lived to tell the tale. Not something I would do deliberately ever.
 
You won't find many people posting that they don't. There have been previous threads along the same line, and the good old HHO sanctimonious police leap on anyone brave enough to 'fess up.

You guys are being delightful btw!
 
spacefaer said:
You won't find many people posting that they don't. There have been previous threads along the same line, and the good old HHO sanctimonious police leap on anyone brave enough to 'fess up.

You guys are being delightful btw!
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lol now come on HHO is full of understanding and liberal people!
 
Not only riders, but dog walkers need hi-viz. We have an elderly man regularly walk our lanes after dark. He wears a black jacket, black trousers and a black hat.. to add to the problem guess what colour his dog is? Yep.. black. He is a complete danger to himself and to other road users. I meet him every night on my way back from seeing to the horses and he never changes.. he doesn't even get off the road properly. How he has never been hit is a complete mystery to me!

I am very very tempted to give him a hi-viz sash to wear, but he isn't the sweetest tempered old boy and I am not sure how he would react!
 
Ladyinred said:
Not only riders, but dog walkers need hi-viz. We have an elderly man regularly walk our lanes after dark. He wears a black jacket, black trousers and a black hat.. to add to the problem guess what colour his dog is? Yep.. black. He is a complete danger to himself and to other road users. I meet him every night on my way back from seeing to the horses and he never changes.. he doesn't even get off the road properly. How he has never been hit is a complete mystery to me!

I am very very tempted to give him a hi-viz sash to wear, but he isn't the sweetest tempered old boy and I am not sure how he would react!
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haha i get the same, but the ownes always have a hiviz vest on. You see them, and focus on them, only to be met by a black dog 2ft into where you thought you were safe passing!
 
equi said:
haha i get the same, but the ownes always have a hiviz vest on. You see them, and focus on them, only to be met by a black dog 2ft into where you thought you were safe passing!
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This is indeed the problem with hi viz of any kind ,including road signs. They draw te eye away from the hidden hazards such as the cyclist without lights. I do use high viz but ride as if I didnt.
 
equi said:
haha i get the same, but the ownes always have a hiviz vest on. You see them, and focus on them, only to be met by a black dog 2ft into where you thought you were safe passing!
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Round here it's the jogger with headphones on (oblivious, you can follow for a mile down single track road if daylight) and not a scrap of any colour other than black bar a tiny bit of hi viz on the side of the trainers, then the black dog is on a retractable lead and on the other side of the road from the jogger....
 
Frankly, the onus is on drivers to be aware of their surroundings and drive safely and considerately, instead of speeding, faffing about on their phone, chatting to passengers, or other homicidally stupid stuff. No amount of hi-viz will help against any of that. Bear in mind that if a vulnerable person (EG - young child; person with dementia) were to wander off from those caring for them, they are very unlikely to spontaneously burst into hi-viz. Nor are cattle, sheep, or deer, and they're all common enough encounters. If you can't spot a dog walking beside its owner then you shouldn't be driving - and before anyone starts whining about it being dark, that's why you have headlights.
 
I have to admit, I do not own a single item of high vis. And all of my hacking is done on beach tracks, the roads to the beach and the beach itself. To be fair though, I do have a very large, very grey (white) horse, and if its a overcast day I make an effort to wear a green hoodie I own. I do also live in a town where we can ride five abreast (basically the whole road) on the back roads with not a care in the world as the roads are very quiet. I've thought about getting something bright, but it's never occurred to me to need it.
 
Nope. I have a five minute walk up a quiet country lane when I hack out.
I've hacked on busier roads in the past without.

I'm a terrible horse owner, obviously.
 
we can go straight out in a country park so no i don't wear any if i'm going there, my horse is actually scared of the exercise sheets???? no idea why. Of a weekend we do sometimes hack out on an industrial estate which is all closed up over sat/sun but we do make sure we can be seen when out here
 
equi said:
haha i get the same, but the ownes always have a hiviz vest on. You see them, and focus on them, only to be met by a black dog 2ft into where you thought you were safe passing!
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Mike007 said:
This is indeed the problem with hi viz of any kind ,including road signs. They draw te eye away from the hidden hazards such as the cyclist without lights. I do use high viz but ride as if I didnt.
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I wear High Viz on my horse, on my bike and even when out jogging, Heavens, even my dog has a high viz jacket.

Other people? Nope, I'm sorry, it is their responsibility to high viz themselves too, not expect me to fade into the background.

That said, I have been known to hack to local show (a few hundred yards) with none, and also if I finish a schooling session and walk down the lane to cool off. Those occasions I may well be without High Viz.
 
Kaimar said:
Frankly, the onus is on drivers to be aware of their surroundings and drive safely and considerately, instead of speeding, faffing about on their phone, chatting to passengers, or other homicidally stupid stuff. No amount of hi-viz will help against any of that. Bear in mind that if a vulnerable person (EG - young child; person with dementia) were to wander off from those caring for them, they are very unlikely to spontaneously burst into hi-viz. Nor are cattle, sheep, or deer, and they're all common enough encounters. If you can't spot a dog walking beside its owner then you shouldn't be driving - and before anyone starts whining about it being dark, that's why you have headlights.
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I can assure you I am not speeding, faffing on my phone and rest of the above but had a few situations seeing some prat without hi vis (and walking on wrong side of the track on top of everything) nearly in the last moment. Road can go up and down, there are bends and spot a cow is quite a big difference than spotting a dog.

We have got a blind! person walking around a very bendy and pitch balck lane (he has got a radiolocator stick of some sort an no hi vis) First time I spotted him (thanks heavens, he was walking on correct side) when he turned around with a torch no bigger than a match.
Back in Portugal I only saw a woman carrying a child on a bend, in a dip, when light reflected on her bare legs in quite close range.

If I hit, yes its my fault and I have to live with concequences but why one wouldnt protect himself and pet and live?

Or last night in the village 2 people walking on the pavement with 2 dogs. One dog on the pavement, other on the road. Owners and the dogs are wearing hi vis. Easy to see easy toavoid.
 
I always wear it. Even when I come off the (tiny stretch of) road and onto the thousands of acres of off-road riding we have on our doorstep, because I want the air ambulance to be able to find me if I ever need it!
 
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