Hi-Viz - Pink or Yellow?

[dalidaydream]

I've just bought a new pink hi-viz waistcoat because I thought I'd read on here that it showed up more in sunny weather particularly when you go in and out of the shade. I wore it this afternoon for the 1st time and I'm not kidding I felt invisible - I've never known so few drivers slow down for me and I'd thought I was highly visible. Bear in mind also I was riding a coloured cob with a white backside the size of the Isle of Wight!

On the basis of today I think I might just stick with the yellow which does seem to slow drivers down. What do you think?

 

[MissChaos]

As far as I recall, it's actually orange that shows up most and then yellow and then pink - I'd personally reckon there's more margin for differences in shades of pink, too, so some brands might be less visible than others. Stand to be corrected if I'm wrong!

 

[kal40]

My family say they can find me from miles away with pink so my vote is for pink.

 

[Loulabelle007]

Pink. Never felt invisible. Although it is good quality hi vis, hasn't faded at all ( as pink can have a habit of doing).

 

[Archiepoo]

ive just changed from yellow to pink cos i think its more noticeable in the dappled light of the lanes and woods i ride, the yellow stuff sort of blends into the greens of the trees

 

[Ranyhyn]

I read somewhere it's good to have a mix

 

[Enfys]

As far as I recall, it's actually orange that shows up most and then yellow and then pink - I'd personally reckon there's more margin for differences in shades of pink, too, so some brands might be less visible than others. Stand to be corrected if I'm wrong!

Correct on that one. There is a reason why practically all road/rail/construction workers etc were orange...it has been proven to be more visible at a distance. Here, the deer hunters wear orange so that they don't shoot each other!

Wikipedia says: Safety orange (also known as blaze orange, vivid orange, Caltrans orange, or Omaha orange) is a hue. Its deeper, more saturated shade is known as international orange. Safety orange is used to set objects apart from their surroundings, particularly in complementary contrast to the azure color of the sky (azure is the complementary color of orange, and therefore there is a very strong contrast between the two colors). The color is commonly used for high-visibility clothing.

Yellow hi-viz is what has most frequently been available for riders/walkers/cyclists and that it is also the colour the Police wear so perhaps drivers take more notice of it than the pink or lime green. Although in one discussion on a cycling forum they are arguing that lime green is most effective. http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-311070.html

I used to make hi-viz polar-tec fleece quarter sheets (heavy duty, non static stuff, great for winter), day-glo orange, or pink, on one side and black on the other. There didn't seem to be a preference for colour choices. I always used the orange. I know for a fact that they could be seen from miles away because people often commented that they'd seen an orange blob belting over the mountain across the valley and knew it was me.

Basically I guess, anything that makes a driver think "Oh there's a yellow/orange jacket, or what the hell is that idiot wearing?" etc is better than nothing at all.

What do drivers themselves think?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I read somewhere it's good to have a mix

I agree with this. I have a yellow hatband, a pink tabbard and a yellow V-bandz mesh sheet. I have had some super comments from people including 'I could see you from space' and 'where's my sunglasses?' Just the effect that I was aiming for.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Wikipedia says: Safety orange (also known as blaze orange, vivid orange, Caltrans orange, or Omaha orange) is a hue. Its deeper, more saturated shade is known as international orange. Safety orange is used to set objects apart from their surroundings, particularly in complementary contrast to the azure color of the sky (azure is the complementary color of orange, and therefore there is a very strong contrast between the two colors). The color is commonly used for high-visibility clothing.

Fantastic - my mare is 'safety orange'.

 

[Captain Bridget]

I belong to a walking group who plot our route by putting up arrows and when it first began they did a test of which colour was best, pink, yellow, lime green or orange, and orange came out best. They're very obvious, and these things are a third of A4 card so not that big. If there was more availability I would probably mix orange with yellow.

 

[noblesteed]

If you buy your Hi Viz from a company like Equisafety you will find that there is a European safety standard for fluorescent fabric shades. Only YELLOW and ORANGE can carry this EN safety number.
So pink Hi Viz is a load of rubbish, it is there just for fashion. You can't see it when driving anywhere near as well as yellow and orange.

Personally I wouldn't be seen dead in pink anyway!!!! But I do have a gelding.

 

[jroz]

All my Hi-Viz is orange.

 

[monkeybum13]

If you buy your Hi Viz from a company like Equisafety you will find that there is a European safety standard for fluorescent fabric shades. Only YELLOW and ORANGE can carry this EN safety number.
So pink Hi Viz is a load of rubbish, it is there just for fashion. You can't see it when driving anywhere near as well as yellow and orange.

Personally I wouldn't be seen dead in pink anyway!!!! But I do have a gelding.

Imo pink hi viz stands out much more than yellow hi viz on some grey horses.

 

[noblesteed]

Mine's grey!

He looks ace in orange.

Pink's for teenage girls anyway.

But if someone has gone to the trouble and expense of testing something to EU safety standards I would think that they would be reliable in saying yellow and orange are safest. I mean we expect our Hats and BPs to be tested, why not Hi-viz?

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

I'm 36!

Hattie and I are swathed head to toe in pink hi-viz. I bought her the V-bandz pink ear bonnet, the birdle/rein pink reflector set, pink quarter sheet. I have bright pink over reach boots that i bought in Canada for her and then Tesco hi-viz pink brushing boots. I wear my pink "Whoah! Slow down!" tabard and my pink hat band.

We wore all this stuff hacking all the miles to the shows we went to this summer and cars always slowed down for us. We got lots of comments about our pinkness from drivers and walkers too so it's obviously eye catching!

 

[monkeybum13]

Pink's for teenage girls anyway.

Don't be so silly.
I'd much rather see someone wearing pink hi viz than no hi viz at all.

 

[rascal]

Nico and i have orange, him being black he needs all the help he can get. He also has a bright orange headcolar he wears on the road.

 

[noblesteed]

I wouldn't put pink on a gelding tho

It doesn't matter how much it contrasts with your horse, the important thing is the distance in which drivers can see it from in compromised natural light.

I am merely maintaining that the yellow and orange hi viz have EN numbers and the pink do not. Therefore I would assume that they have been tested and deemed the safest colours. Maybe they didn't test the pink one in Europe, who knows.

I asked my OH who is a physics graduate and he reckons orange and yellow are easier to see because they are in the spectrum and pink isn't. He said some other scientific things too but it all washes over me these days... he isn't really sure and so I have given him the challenge of finding out. That will keep him from watching a few episodes of farscape anyway...

 

[Britestar]

I have always used yellow Hi Viz, and my riding partner has used orange. A couple of weeks ago, I bought us both the Polite hi viz tabbards - and I've seen a massive difference in how drivers pass us.

And these are the same drivers that pass us most days when we are out - amazing.

 

[starryeyed]

^ The polite ones are amazing!

I have both, a pink hi viz set and a yellow one! The pink stands out a lot more on my grey than the yellow, so I tend to put that on her - but use yellow on my others. What I love about my pink hi viz though, is that the reflective strips are ridiculously effective, so even if the pink isn't as bright as the yellow, you see us from miles away!
I'd happily add orange to my collection but I don't tend to see much of it about.

 

[hairycob]

On our yard I can stand in the fields & see riders coming down the 3 Shires Way from some distance.
Orange is highly visible all year round.
Yellow is highly visible other than when against a background of rape.
Pink is visible when the sun is shining or when rape is in flower, no good at all in dull weather other than against rape.
It's not the colour of the horse that is important, it's the background scenery that you blend into.

 

[unbalanced]

I was wearing my polite coat and hatband and horsey was wearing her entire polite ensemble (exercise sheet, leg wraps and neck band) and we were in our western saddle and bridle walking down the village high street. We were approached by some pedestrians asking about lost or stolen credit cards or something, so it evidently works!!! Maybe we looked like the mounties with the western tack though...

 

[NOISYGIRL]

I use pink am plastered in it, when I've gone riding with my friend I've noticed her blending in more with the hedges in yellow

Orange is good too

Edited to add my horse is a gelding and I'm 41, when wearing all the pink including the flashing blue light on the front, red on the back, equisafety exercise sheet, tabard, boots, tabard, head band, pink hat on horse with years, you can visibly see the drivers slowing down much sooner/quicker

When I have to replace it though I will look into what is available in orange, as my horse is chestnut would suit him lol

On that note, where are the people who have orange getting it from ?

 

[dalidaydream]

On that note, where are the people who have orange getting it from ?

Ditto this. Blimey, I'd completely forgotten about orange and green. So much choice.

I was wearing pink waistcoat with reflective strips and yellow hatband and still felt invisible so think for now I'll go back to my trusty old yellow. I will certainly consider orange in the future.

 

[Miss L Toe]

The Polite range is effective because it looks "official"

 

[Capriole]

On that note, where are the people who have orange getting it from ?

a few orange bits here I found earlier http://www.nagsinrags.co.uk/page1.html

I go for the scattershot approach and wear a mix of colours, dont do matchy matchy

I cant see why the sex of my horse is relevant to the colour hi viz he wears, I must say.
Pink, yellow, orange... all I care about is not getting hit by a car.

 

[halt_at_x]

I saw 2 riders out today wearing high viz, riding along a track with a yellowing hedge behind them. One was wearing yellow, the other pink. The yellow was the easiest to spot.

 

[tallyho!]

I'm off to find a JESTER suit in local fancy dress shop... I reckon I'll be given a wide berth by drivers according to all the advice on this 'ere thread

I will post a beaming photo of me and my spotty carousel horse asap xxxxx

 

[lhotse]

Having spent the last 8 months watching construction workers build a new supermarket from my works window (lucky me!!), I definitely think that 'British Rail' orange catches the eye before yellow in pretty much all light conditions, especially rainy dark days and at dusk. A girl on our yard wears a pink tabard, and to be honest, it's barely noticable to me.

 

[lhotse]

http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/c/170603/1/all-orange-hi-vis-including-rail-underground.html