No love for Hi-Viz?

I am so glad I was wearing my workman's jacket this afternoon. Shy is footsore, and is currently stabled. i took him out after the farrier had been for a walk along the verges to stretch his legs, me leading him (fortunately with his kimblewick in) and all was fine till were nearly home.

A tractor (that had already passed us one way) was coming towards us, and a huge trailer was coming up behind us - and Shy lost it. I tried to get hubs to get the trailer to stop and turn his engine off rather than creep up, while he was rearing and dancing around me... the tractor had the kindness to reverse right out of the way. I thank god they could both see me on the ground, and realised that Shy was having a tantrum :o

He only behaves like that when he's not getting enough exercise, he's usually bomb proof, so it's in the sand school until his boots arrived, but boy am I glad we could be seen.
 
Hi Viz not a cool look??

But your horse splattered over the road coz not seen by driver is a cool look?

Don't risk your horse's life because you worry about being 'cool'

We always always always wear high viz 365 days, even if hacking around the farm.

Used to just wear tabbard but ever since La bucked me off then ******ed off :-( she always wears Equisafety sheet. Trying to find a brown horse on Greenham Common (with concussion and bruised ribs) was not funny :-/
 
Glad to see so many people wearing hi-viz now. I always do as does my OH. We wear at least a hi-viz hat cover in summer too because of the many low flying aircraft and helicopters in our area, the pilots can take evasive action so as to avoid flying directly overhead at 200 feet.
 
I have a 'seconds' police jackt (zip slightly faulty). Cheap stuff is better than nothing but it is best to buy stuff with official ratings on it.
 
Lucindakay
That is absurd. Pass wide and slow doesn't mean pull out with out looking if the ways clear???surely its common sense and the wording shouldn't mean anything regarding a car being damaged?
 
I cannot abide it when riders criticise others for wearing high-vis, how ridiculous! Why wouldn't I want to do something to help keep my horse safe? If it's looks they're worried about, they'll look a whole lot worse if they or their horse gets squished!

Edit: deleted pic as came out huge!
 
Last edited:
amandaco2 said:
Lucindakay
That is absurd. Pass wide and slow doesn't mean pull out with out looking if the ways clear???surely its common sense and the wording shouldn't mean anything regarding a car being damaged?
Click to expand...

i know i thought it was ridiculous too but people will do anything to get any money they can, and that is why i think it is imperative that people wear hi-viz because if a driver does hit a horse without high-viz then insurance sometimes doesn't have to pay out (i have been getting all sorts of lectures from my friend involved in the crash!)
 
lucindakay said:
also my friend has been sued because she had a PLEASE PASS WIDE AND SLOW hi-viz and the driver crashed with someone coming the other way, their car was written off and now they are suing my friend because of her hi-viz, its ridiculous that they are allowed to sell them but then there are always those loopholes..
i'de suggest getting caution young horse or just caution horses...
happy hacking
Click to expand...


When you say your friend is being sued, have they actually won or are they just trying to wriggle out of responsibility. Pass wide and slow is not an instruction but advice on how to pass when you do go past. The highway code advises drivers to pass horses wide and slow, does that make them responsible?


I would be more wary of getting one that says caution young horse as then someone could argue the horse is inexperienced and unreliable and should not have been on the roads and you knew this.
 
I nearly crashed into a total of 6 riders on the lanes around the yard today, 2 were young children on ponies out with their mother also riding - no-one had hi viz on, but it's ok as one of the riders said we're from the local racing yard and we're professional riders so don't need it. !!
 
lucindakay said:
i think its silly not to, because in some cases insurance won't pay out because drivers can just say they didn't see the rider...
also my friend has been sued because she had a PLEASE PASS WIDE AND SLOW hi-viz and the driver crashed with someone coming the other way, their car was written off and now they are suing my friend because of her hi-viz, its ridiculous that they are allowed to sell them but then there are always those loopholes..
i'de suggest getting caution young horse or just caution horses...
happy hacking
Click to expand...

Would this be the same driver who crashed into wall because their Sat-Nav said "Take the next left" :D
 
zandp said:
I nearly crashed into a total of 6 riders on the lanes around the yard today, 2 were young children on ponies out with their mother also riding - no-one had hi viz on, but it's ok as one of the riders said we're from the local racing yard and we're professional riders so don't need it. !!
Click to expand...

Well that's okay then :rolleyes:.
 
criso said:
When you say your friend is being sued, have they actually won or are they just trying to wriggle out of responsibility. Pass wide and slow is not an instruction but advice on how to pass when you do go past. The highway code advises drivers to pass horses wide and slow, does that make them responsible?


I would be more wary of getting one that says caution young horse as then someone could argue the horse is inexperienced and unreliable and should not have been on the roads and you knew this.
Click to expand...

its currently going on, it happened october time.
thats a good point i never thought of it like that i thought more if the horse did flip out they were warned that they were inexperienced, maybe getting one saying caution horse and rider is the way forward.
 
lucindakay said:
maybe getting one saying caution horse and rider is the way forward.
Click to expand...

Caution horse and rider has always seemed a bit pointless to me, I always hope the drivers can tell it's a horse and rider ;)

I have a jacket that has a "please pass wide and slow" flap I can either tuck away or display. After a few completely non scientific experiments, it does seem that more drivers slow down when I'm wearing the flap on display.

So I will do what keeps me safer rather than what keeps me from being sued. I'd rather argue the rights and wrongs in court than not be around to tell the tale.
 
criso said:
Caution horse and rider has always seemed a bit pointless to me, I always hope the drivers can tell it's a horse and rider ;)

I have a jacket that has a "please pass wide and slow" flap I can either tuck away or display. After a few completely non scientific experiments, it does seem that more drivers slow down when I'm wearing the flap on display.

So I will do what keeps me safer rather than what keeps me from being sued. I'd rather argue the rights and wrongs in court than not be around to tell the tale.
Click to expand...

haha yea, totally agree to be honest most drivers won't even read it but whats safest is the best for all involved, but my friend is going through hell atm, but at least she still has her horse :)
 
benson21 said:
The Police said if we hadnt of been in hi vis, the driver could of claimed he didnt see us, therefore getting away with dangerous driving. I can give many many valid reasons to wear hi vis, can anyone give a valid reason not to?
Click to expand...

This happened with a truck driver that hit a cyclist local to me a few years ago.His defence was that he didn't see him as was early morning and light not good.Police said that the fact he was wearing light coloured clothing and hi viz gave them good grounds to challenge that argument.

Your last sentence sums it up for me as well,I can think of many good reasons to wear it but not a single reason not to.

Looks don't really cut it do they,I mean who looks good in jods (unless they're one of those sickening slim but still shapely people!!) but we all still wear those.
I don't suppose ridiing hats are a particularly flattering look,but again we still wear them (well those of us that have and would like to keep our brain cells do anyway;)).

As for BP's,well I defy anyone to look good in one of those,but they are still worn when appropriate and save an awful lot of injuries I should imagine.
It's not about looks,it's about safety surely??

I only usually wear a tabard on my very loudly marked spotty lad,although would have no problem wearing other stuff if needed,but I feel a tabard is enough for what we do.Plus if I had to get off and lead I feel it's more important that I am seen than the horse,and he has his own visibility in his pattern,I don't.
Takes two seconds to put on,but could save our lives,seems like a win,win scenario to me.

I wear yellow BTW,not sure why really but just seems like the brightest and most visible option to me.
 
I remember my mum telling me when she was a girl she went out with her friend on their ponies and a truck driver thought her friends pony was a deer and put his foot down, the horse was mince meat luckily the rider got away with just a few broken bones.
There are some real ***** out there, I meet some everytime I go out.

I look like a banana with all yellow : hatband, 4 leg spats, tabard, 4 stretchy bands (for arms and round riding boots). I would like to invest in some matching yellow exercise sheets although we don't use them, I will have to wait until I am in a better financial situation before splashing out, but me and my horse are very very visible and I have had some good feedback on how visible we are when out and about. My black horse becomes a moving christmas tree. It also helps with the evil hunters that shoot everywhere and anything that moves.. (have had some very very scary encounters).

An accident just happens too quickly.
 
Years ago my horse and I nearly came a cropper on a bright sunny day on our own lane when our neighbour didn't see us by a hedge.

Now this is one of the good guys, driving slowly, knowing we were likely to be there, knows how to pass horses etc. He was so upset.

Since then we have always gone out with at least hi-viz on the horse's legs and something on the rider.

So OP, there's only 3 words to describe such people - 'more fool them'
 
I always ride in hi-viz, why would I put my horse at risk? For people that dont, thats fine its their choice, but most insurance companies wont now pay out if you have an accident whilst out hacking if you are not wearing at least 2 forms of hi viz. I have this as part of my terms and conditions.

Apologies if this has already been said on a reply, but my eyes have gone squiffy with reading all the replies!
 
annagain said:
I read some research the other day about hi-viz (can't find the link now, typical!) It said drivers see hi-viz wearers 3 seconds quicker than non hi-viz wearers. If a car's travelling at 60 that 3 seconds equates to roughly 75metres. At 30 it's just under 40 metres. That's a hell of a lot of extra space to stop, slow down or take avoiding action.

The same research suggested different colour hi-viz for different times of the year / conditions. You should avoid green in summer (blends with grass and hedges), orange in autumn (leaves turning red) and at sunset and yellow in bright sunlight or foggy conditions. Pink is also not great at sunset. The same goes for different coloured horses - you should wear one that contrasts with your horse, so no orange on a chestnut, yellow on a palomino or a grey or pink on a bright or reddish bay. Green is good on all horses - but not in the summer!
Click to expand...

Was it from the BHS?

http://www.horseaccidents.org.uk/Advice_and_Prevention/What_To_Wear/Hi-viz.aspx
 
pansymouse said:
Pink is designed to be seen in bright light, yellow in low light and orange in both. Workers in the most dangerous occupations usually wear orange.
Click to expand...

There's a lot of debate regarding Hi-viz colours. Rail workers tend to wear orange but motorway workers including the motorway police and ambulance services tend to wear yellow.

I just wonder if anyone can point to acknowledged scientific research on the isssue?

For horse riders I'd suggest a mixture of orange and yellow.
 
I always wear either my JoyRiderz pink jacket or my very bright yellow gillet but have nothing on the horse mainly because he isnt mine and his owner doesnt have any. I keep debating whether to buy a sheet or not. I want to but I dont know if that would be frowned upon seeing as he isnt mine. At the moment I just dont hack him in bad conditions which is pretty much all the time. He's a very white grey so I like to think we dont blend in too much but if he was mine I'd have everything going. I cant believe people dont.

Cyclists not in high vis really irritate me. It does make a hell of a lot of difference and I cant believe anyone would think otherwise. Those stupid tiny lights on the back half covered in mud really do not make you visible in winter conditions. My husband is an evening runner and has the brightest running top I have ever seen. Its amazing. There is some good stuff out there.

I also think the pink on a dark horse looks great! Not that that's the point but it still does! Each to their own and all that.
 
annagain said:
It was something very similar but it was a bit more in-depth than that. But same principle. It was probably the same research that informed this piece too.
:
Click to expand...

okay, here's some in-depth information from the Transport Research Laboratory:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives....ombined_Conspicuity_Final_Report_Complete.pdf

Some parallels with horseriders

The HSE say "To be effective HV clothing should be of a colour that will allow the wearer to stand out against the ambient background".

During a hack we may encounter different ambient backgrounds and therefore I still think that a mix of yellow and orange offers the best possibility of being noticed.

I'm surprised that this subject has reared its head so early in 2013. I suspect it won't be the last time this year!

Most of the seem to be aware of the benefits of wearing high visibility clothing: drivers can see us earlier, pilots undertaking military low-flying exercises can see us earlier and where possible avoid us and in the event of becoming injured, air ambulances can see us more easily.

So what is the problem with wearing high visibility clothing for all riders? It looks like we need to get to the bottom of the problem and find out why...

What would persuade those riders who currently "don't" - "to"?
 
I work in 'road death' so needless to say, I will always wear hi-viz in all weathers at all times of year. In particularly dull weather, I am also often found to be wearing a clip-on flashing light as flashing lights are more noticeable than a solid light. Road safety is a big thing in our household!

There are many, many research papers relating to conspicuity of pedestrians and cyclists so I figure the same applies to all road users, including horses.

In order to be able to avoid (in this case) a pedestrian, a driver must first be able to see them!

It's not rocket science, mainly common sense and like some others have said, I will not hand anyone the defence of not being able to see me. Plus, I like living :)

I haven't seen any research on colours but I prefer yellow as I personally see it before all other colours on the road, orange is worn on the railways and pink....... well it's better than nothing ;) :D
 
I'd rather look stupid and alive than cool and dead. One of my tabards is pink with flashing lights, it makes drivers look twice, even if it is to smile.
 
I refuse to hack out with anyone not wearing hi-viz, partly because I don't want to be associated with their stupidity, but mainly because in front or behind, they'd partially obscure MY hi-viz! I wear yellow, and I've got a flashing belt thing that goes round your waist and over your shoulder, but haven't yet used it as I don't hack at the moment.

You can make your horse's hi-viz even more hi-viz by adding brushing boots if you don't already - I've noticed that a moving object is even more visible.

I was quite excited to find that Rockfish, who make pretty cool hi-viz wear, do t-shirts and polo shirts in yellow or pink with reflective strips - just the thing for our hot British summers ;)

http://www.rockfish-store.com/category/2/hi-vis-clothing.aspx

I keep my tabard in the car boot in case of breakdowns :)
 
irishdraught said:
I haven't seen any research on colours but I prefer yellow as I personally see it before all other colours on the road, orange is worn on the railways and pink....... well it's better than nothing
Click to expand...

Research on colours at
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.g...t_Complete.pdf

But any hi-viz whatever the colour is better than none.

If bought from industrial/professional safety suppliers it also isn't that expensive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top