Do you realise how invisible you are

Pedantic

Pedantic

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 November 2007
Messages
7,596
Location
Derbyshire
Visit site
I always wear a hi viz vest and hi viz leg bands and martingale on his lordship, this is because invariably some of my ride will mean road work, meaning side roads and sometimes main roads, my saturday morning ride means crossing one main road, straight over a dual carrigway onto the central reservation then over two more lanes then the slip lane which goes onto the roundabout, beleive it or not this is an official route straight off a Bridleway, the blue and white signs direct you over all this which is th A6 and A50, this morning after crossing all this lot I carry on along the A6 which also has a horse sign on it, it is a 40mph road, a bus comeing towards me was going nice and steady and obviously showing consideration for me, however a total twat behind the bus decides to overtake and floors it on my side of the road
mad.gif
mad.gif
I cant swear enough as the F key on my keboard seems rather worn, well it's not like you can miss me with all my viz gear on, can you ????? anyway, later on when driving home in front of me is a dark horse with a rider wearing dark clothes with no viz gear or light clothing of any description, do these riders not realise how invisible they are to motorists, or is it an attitude of "it wont happen to me " makes my blood run cold thinking if they had been me earlier, I knew the driver saw me, but if he hadn't maybe he would have driven further onto my side of the road and !!!!, it's not the widest of roads
frown.gif
 
I am often teased about the hi viz I wear. Martingale, boots, tail guard, saddle cloth and hi viz jacket and hat strap. I dont care anymore but when I come across dark horses, with riders wearing classic dark clothes along a very very dark lane I cringe.
 
I never wear any viz clothing and don't really think about what colour my clothes are.
Where my horses used to be kept, the yard owners used to make fun of people that wore the high viz stuff, and so none of us ever wore any. Even though, we'll probably be the ones that end up squished on the tarmac.
 
I always wear High viz - Human Leg Bands, Arm bands, Tabard, Hat band.

Horse: Stirrup Reflector, Bridle band, Tail guard.

Ild rather look silly than be squished.

Nick.
 
I know this is going to seem like a really obvious/daft question but what exactly about high viz clothing do people make fun of??! That it looks 'silly'? Or...what? I'd never go out without it no matter what anyone said, the roads that I ride on are dangerous enough without being invisible as well.
Also general question does riding without high viz in any way invalidate insurance?
 
I think you really only appreciate the difference Hi-Viz makes when you are the driver of a car. Its very common to see people riding around here with no Hi- Viz on - on lanes that are narrow, often with shade from trees, bright sunlight etc etc all helping to make the biggest of horses and riders invisible.

I wear my hi-viz all the time out hacking - that way I can feel fully justified in shouting at the tw*ts that don't slow down etc stuff along the lines of 'Are you blind?......'
 
I dont care about the rider getting squished, it's the horse that I worry about, the horse trust's us to look after it and take care of it, I couldn't abuse that trust over vanity or what some other person)s idiot remarks were, "apparently" we are "supposed" to be the more intelligent of the two animals, I often wonder .....
 
I get the mickey taken out of me too when I hack out in my hi viz - ok it is pink and my mare has a pink rug but we do a lot of road work and on busy roads so I would rather get lauged at by the people in my yard that dont really ride out and if they do only on bridleways which is very limited, if it means that drivers see me sooner and give me more consideration then thats fine by me...although some pensioners today decided to shout at me when I asked them not to overtake me as we were going past a new carwash that my mare hadnt seen before so wanted to make sure she didnt sit on their bonnet but they were obviously in too much of a hurry so wound down their window and shouted loads of abuse. NICE
shocked.gif
 
I always wear hi-viz out hacking. At the end of the day i put mine and my horse's safety above being seen wearing something that might not be thought to be 'cool' or whatever. I've lost count of the number of people i see out hacking without any hi-viz on. They must surely realise how difficult it can be to see them sometimes!
 
OH and I went to give carriage rides at a school event today. On the way we went past a horse show, and obviously met a number of riders on their way. Not one single rider had hi-viz, and most were in dark clothing too. One girl was even riding her horse with no saddle but an outdoor rug. the weather was wet and misty, a fairly narrow and windy but well-used road. It beggars belief!!
mad.gif
 
Polly92, sorry mate but I can't believe you and the people on your yard could be so naive and stupid. Have you got a death wish? OK high viz doesn't look cool, but neither does laying in the road covered in blood with a dead horse next to you. Get a grip, start a trend, set an example, do it for charity, but PLEASE however you do it get yourselves some hi viz and start wearing it. You will be spotted by drivers 3 seconds sooner , I know it doesn't sound much but it will make a big difference between life and death.
 
I agree pedantic and you do not realise until you are on your way home from work in the evening when the sun is bright and low. There are times you truly cannot see through being blinded for a few seconds and not everyone has the sense to drive slowly on country roads like I do...some still insist on doing 60mph because they can.
I wear high viz and so does my horse every single time I ride no matter how hot it is, what time of year it is or how clear a day it is. I sweat my ar*e off in the summer as I wear my back protector too and a full high viz jacket...but I want me and my horse to have a chance at least.
 
I only wear a hi viz tabbard, but because of this post I have actually just been on ebay and looked at some other hi viz items such as breastplate, leg wraps, rein covers and tail cover - will buy next payday.

I won't be risking my life or my horses life just for fashion ffs!
.......Well said Kareef.
 
I like the leg wraps as they catch your eye as the horses legs move and only take a minute to fit, when ordering from robinsons though I go for the large size as the small would barley fit a budgies leg, his lordsips legs are only pony size, they are made in china so maybe that explains the funny sizing, bound feet and all that
crazy.gif
 
Pedantic, I think your sig pic shows how good high viz is, as who ever's in your pic really stands out but you cant really see the horse. (hope that's not your horse!)
I always wear at least a tabard, im thinking now I should go and buy some more bits such as a tail guard and hat cover.
 
That is me in the pic leading his lordship from the fields to the yard on my bike, but it is a public park with a riding school and diy livery yard, the road is signed with10mph and give way to horses, vehicle access is only for people with any business there, it is not a through road.
 
I always thought it could potentially invalidate your insurance if you weren't wearing hi viz because the car could claim it didn't see you in time. Quite apart from the fact that cars see you 2-3secs sooner, I wear hi viz even off road so the helicopter can see me if I fall off in the woods.
 
I am ashamed to say that I fell out of the habit of wearing hi-vis....... A few days ago, I was driving and saw a hi-viz vest in the distance with probably a horse underneath it. It wasn't until I'd halved the distance did I see the horse and rider which was next to it.

This morning I dug out my hi viz vest and put it on.
 
Can i please add to this that over time Hi Viz fades.

Out in the car the other day I spotted a grey horse on the road in the distance. It took me about 5 or 10 seconds to spot the rider, and she was wearing a Hi Viz vest.

Perhaps on her grey she needed more Hi Viz? I don't know, i pondered it all day but can only assume her faded vest was the reason i didnt spot her sooner.

Hi Viz vests cost very little. perhaps at this time of year when we're not spending so much on food / rugs is the ideal time to buy? go onto ebay and type in Hi Viz. Don't necessarily look under 'equestrian' as there's a comany on there that sells vests for £2 each and another company who will print whatever you like on them. Look for Hi Viz tape too. It's simple to brighten up a set of old brushing boots with this, or attatch some velcro and make leg and arm wraps for yourself. It's not the actual fabric that catches a driver's eye, it;s the plastic stuff on them, so go for a vest with loads of that on.
 
I always have hi-vis in the winter but stopped wearing it once the summer was here UNTIL - a couple of weeks ago I was out riding on a very sunny day. Most of the hacking is roadwork on country lanes with intermittent tree cover, a car came round the corner and the lady stopped and told me that she didn't see me until she was almost next to me. This was because of the glare of the sun and going from the light to the shade of the trees etc. Luckily she was on the other side of the road and wasn't haring along at 60mph so there was no immediate danger but I had no idea I was so invisible.
I have to admit I wear mostly dark clothing and the horse is dk brown so we aren't particularly visible but I just assumed as it was sunny I would be perfectly visible.
Been putting on the hi-vis to go out ever since!

Not sure what I was more surprised about - being invisible or meeting a nice friendly/helpful driver!!!
 
Yes, the cheap stuff does. You really need to look for stuff with the correct kitemark type codes. Unfortunately I can't remember what they are
blush.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I never wear any viz clothing and don't really think about what colour my clothes are.
Where my horses used to be kept, the yard owners used to make fun of people that wore the high viz stuff, and so none of us ever wore any. Even though, we'll probably be the ones that end up squished on the tarmac.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well try thinking about it from now on. I don't understand why people think hi-viz is uncool, but if you are fussy, equifleece do a nice range.
It does make an amazing difference to your visibility to a driver when you're riding on the road.
If there's a choice between wearing uncool hi viz and being squished on the tarmac, I know which I'd rather be!
 
I use Equifleece and it's great, their short fleece jacket is amazingly fashionable and very very bright, lasted ages, others at the yard say they can see me coming back along the lane a mile off!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I dont care about the rider getting squished, it's the horse that I worry about, the horse trust's us to look after it and take care of it, I couldn't abuse that trust over vanity or what some other person)s idiot remarks were, "apparently" we are "supposed" to be the more intelligent of the two animals, I often wonder .....

[/ QUOTE ]

Completely agree with this, people not wearing high vis is one of my biggest pet hates. It's so simple, yet could mean the difference between life and death- what's so difficult to comprehend?!
 
I never used to wear hi-viz clothing and never put any on horse. But now i'm riding a dark coloured horse and have no option but to ride on roads to get to bridleways, both horse and i go out looking like xmas trees, day or night! I'd rather look stupid that have an accident, because i know what would come off worse between horse and a car!
 
i wear my hi viz when riding and leading, in the winter i have a big puffy hi viz coat and from a distance i look like mounted police so that normally slows the cars down hehehe its only wen they get close they realise its not as i ride a 13.2 pony lol!!!


definatly for hi viz... it saves lives!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top