Polite tabards and your horse

I think the main point we need to remember is that the reason we wear hi-vis is to draw attention to ourselves and our horses, so that other road users see us in plenty of time. As long as it is eye catching from as far away as possible then wear whatever brand or non-brand you are happy with as keeping safe is the priority for us all.
 
"Mine will be being returned to Equisafety for a refund if it transpires that they are not legal."

You'll be lucky getting anything back from that company.

Personally I didn't like the polite range from the start. When I see riders wearing it I cringe. Who on earth are going to believe your average horse & pony out there are going to be mistaken for police officers!?
I'm all for high viz & I wear my equisafety hi viz. but I'd never buy from that disgraceful company again once it falls apart (more than the products already have!)
 
I think they actually annoy a lot of road users, too - can't remember why (random link from here I think) but saw someone mention "those bloody Polite outfits" on a car forum - and thinking about it, yeah, I can kinda see why that would wind some types up.

I was really surprised these were legal when I first saw them, and even more so when I saw how popular and unquestioned they were. I'm used to them now - but not totally surprised there may be issues. More surprised it's taken so long!

I don't think anyone believes your kid on a pony is with the police, but it is that reaction we all have - even if we're doing nothing wrong, you catch sight of the uniform and make damn SURE you're doing nothing wrong! So that's a good response - but I can also see some types reacting badly when they realise they were fooled, no matter how momentarily - that's the sort who's going to charge past you waving fingers, and I probably prefer stupid over angry :)
 
Floxie said:
I think they actually annoy a lot of road users, too - can't remember why (random link from here I think) but saw someone mention "those bloody Polite outfits" on a car forum - and thinking about it, yeah, I can kinda see why that would wind some types up.
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'Some types' is right. However, I'm not sure that car forum members should be considered typical of most car drivers. In my (admittedly limited) experience, they tend to be the brash, cantakerous, grumpy, Clarkson-wanabe sort - for want of a better phrase, automobile supremacists. I'm not sure why they would want to be actively posting members if it were otherwise.
 
TBF I decided not to get one myself as I thought I'd be a bit peeved if someone had played with my head like that.... even though obviously I am the sort that would slow down for horses anyway.
 
There really shouldn't be an issue with drivers mistaking POLITE FOR POLICE and so there shouldn't be an issue with impersonating the police. Also, police chequers are black and white not blue and white as on the polite range.

The size of the font is such that drivers should be able to read it from a certain distance (20m?), if they have eyesight that complies with DVLA rules, and should therefore know that is says polite not police. So if a driver can't tell the difference, maybe they shouldn't be on the road.

I've never had anyone shout abuse at me for wearing my tabard from the Polite range. I'm going to continue wearing it on the roads whilst riding my hairy, muddy section D until told not to!
 
ester said:
TBF I decided not to get one myself as I thought I'd be a bit peeved if someone had played with my head like that.... even though obviously I am the sort that would slow down for horses anyway.
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Me too.

Plus in our county there is no mounted police branch so I doubt that they are effective in the slightest as people simply don't see the police on horseback so wouldn't be fooled for a minute.

Personally I very much doubt that there will be a prosecution relating to this unless there is some kind of aggravating factor. I just can't see there being any public interest in the police or CPS utilising resources to deal with such a matter. It is more likely that this will be resolved between the manufacturer and trading standards and that the items will either disappear from the shops or be redesigned.

There seem to be a lot of retailers reporting similar approaches from the police though, it seems to be resembling an internet hoax chain email thing as the reports are so similar. Even down to the policeman agreeing to pop back with a print out which as someone pointed out above doesn't seem a likely story. It would be interesting for some of the retailers to report which force this is and to verify the visit with a senior officer, I wonder whether there is something fishy about all this. I hope all the retailers concerned took the name and collar number of the officer in question.
 
If you wanted a refund, I would guess you would need to go back to the retailer and ask them to refund you, the retailer would then request a refund from Equisafety. I bought the exercise sheet a few weeks ago, but only used it twice - I doubt my tack shop would take it back, but it's not as heavily branded as the tabard, so I might get away with using it.

Looking at Equisafety's Facebook page, there were some queries from retailers about the range as some had large stocks and didn't know whether they were going to able to sell it - I think the stock answer from Equisafety was "we'll let you know".
 
Hexx said:
If you wanted a refund, I would guess you would need to go back to the retailer and ask them to refund you, the retailer would then request a refund from Equisafety. I bought the exercise sheet a few weeks ago, but only used it twice - I doubt my tack shop would take it back, but it's not as heavily branded as the tabard, so I might get away with using it.

Looking at Equisafety's Facebook page, there were some queries from retailers about the range as some had large stocks and didn't know whether they were going to able to sell it - I think the stock answer from Equisafety was "we'll let you know".
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If you only have the exercise sheet why not wear it but combine it with a pink or orange tabard with no wording or checkerboarding and maybe a pink or orange hat cover/hat band makes you look sufficiently different from the police to ensure there is no risk of confusion and if you were ever stopped you could say that you had taken steps to ensure you wouldn't be mistaken for the police.

Those with the tabards, cover the wording with plain reflective tape and add some pink or orange hi-viz (hat band, leg wraps, exercise sheet, arm bands etc) then you only have 1 element of "police type uniform" which is the checkerboard and would be unlikely to cause confusion.

The police statement on the thread in News specifically refers to there being three elements that go together to make the police uniform.
1. wording (the polite wording is clearly a problem as it is intended to look like police)
2. Use of exclusively hi-viz yellow
3. checkerboard

If all three elements are not present then you are unlikely to get into difficulty.

ETA mixing reflective colours gives maximum visibility in all conditions so go for a bit of pink, a bit of yellow and some orange and be extra safe.
 
Pelican said:
Normal hi-viz without the 'imitiation copper' stuff on it will do exactly the same thing. The ONLY difference is that with the polite clothing, people will think it is 'police' at first glance. From 5 yards away, it's clear but not from 50 yards away!
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I would suggest that if a driver needs to be 5 yards away then they are either going much too fast or have a problem with their eyesight.

The latter could well be the case though as in my experience "Please pass wide and slow" clearly can be misread as "please drive as fast and close as you possibly can, and if you could rev and beep your horn that would be helpful too"
 
The trouble is that the mind often completes words given the other information around it/ can make sense of nonsense sentences by adding them etc. So no, it isn't just a question of eyesight.
 
ester said:
The trouble is that the mind often completes words given the other information around it/ can make sense of nonsense sentences by adding them etc. So no, it isn't just a question of eyesight.
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That's how most road signs work. It was part of the reason they don't have them all in capitals. Our brains complete town and city names faster that way.

Lets be honest - I don't know of anyone who didn't buy it without thinking for a moment "It'll make me look like a mounted officer, that'll slow people down".
So yes by thinking that you are impersonating an officer (even if you aren't performing a stop-n-search with horses like I watched on Saturday night in Glasgow!).
 
Kat said:
Me too.

Plus in our county there is no mounted police branch so I doubt that they are effective in the slightest as people simply don't see the police on horseback so wouldn't be fooled for a minute.

Personally I very much doubt that there will be a prosecution relating to this unless there is some kind of aggravating factor. I just can't see there being any public interest in the police or CPS utilising resources to deal with such a matter. It is more likely that this will be resolved between the manufacturer and trading standards and that the items will either disappear from the shops or be redesigned.

There seem to be a lot of retailers reporting similar approaches from the police though, it seems to be resembling an internet hoax chain email thing as the reports are so similar. Even down to the policeman agreeing to pop back with a print out which as someone pointed out above doesn't seem a likely story. It would be interesting for some of the retailers to report which force this is and to verify the visit with a senior officer, I wonder whether there is something fishy about all this. I hope all the retailers concerned took the name and collar number of the officer in question.
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On another forum I have seen a scanned copy of the document given to an Equestrian retailer, it has the officers name and badge number on it and is specifically titled "Police guidance to manufacturers and retailers of equine clothing that closely resembles police uniform"
 
Im going to carry on wearing mine. Just as some motor bike riders ride round on motor bikes that have the blue and silver checks on them and recovery vehicles and cash in transit vans are marked up likewise.
 
I have just emailed my local police force (Lothian & Borders) for clarification on the matter within this area. If they say it's ok, I will print out and carry the email with me at all times I'm wearing it. If they say not ok, well it's going in the bin which is a great pity as it really does work!! Maybe this is what everyone should do and then there is no more hearsay and various interpretations!
 
cm2581 said:
I have just emailed my local police force (Lothian & Borders) for clarification on the matter within this area. If they say it's ok, I will print out and carry the email with me at all times I'm wearing it. If they say not ok, well it's going in the bin which is a great pity as it really does work!! Maybe this is what everyone should do and then there is no more hearsay and various interpretations!
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No need whatsoever to bin stuff. That is just an over the top knee jerk reaction.

Just make yourself look different by modifying the hi-viz and/or accessorising it.

Cover the polite wording and wear at least one item of non-yellow hi-viz and the police would have a hard time arguing that there was any possibility of confusion. You could even use reflective tape to cover the checkerboard if you are really worried.
 
surreygirl17 said:
Whatever you do, DO NOT STOP WEARING HI-VIS even when not on your horse

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ing-high-visibility-jacket.html#axzz2K3tSS6S4


Nasty insurance company, but a word of warning to us all!
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Pedestrians SHOULD wear hi-viz, especially on a narrow unlit road. Saying that they shouldn't have to puts the entire onus on the driver which is often unrealistic. We all have a responsibility for our own safety - if I'm walking an unlit road at night, I don't want putting my safety in someone else's hands and be relying on a driver being able to see me with no hi-viz on - that driver could be not paying attention, or fiddling with the radio or just plain not see me in time.

I have passed my RoSPA advanced test, widely recognised as the most challenging and comprehensive advanced driving test you can take as a civilian - the test itself is carried out by serving or retired police officers. And yet I can still be 'surprised' (for want of a better word) by an invisible pedestrian at night, despite being aware there could be one around any corner on any stretch of road.

For me or any other driver to be completely safe and guaranteed not to hit someone who is walking in the road, in the dark with no hi-viz I'd have to travel around 30mph/40mph (I actually generally do 40mph on unlit A roads at night, and much much less on narrow lanes, 20mph or less most of the time) Even on a long straight, the pedestrian wouldn't come into your view in your headlights until they were about 45m away which may not be enough time to stop - and this is why:

Doing 50mph on an unlit road at night is actually pretty unsafe - at 50mph it takes you on average 53meters to stop.

Dipped headlights will only illuminate up to around 45meters clearly (although you'll have some light up to around 60meters) - given you should be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear, obviously 50mph is too fast.

With full beam on, illumination is up to around 150meters but obviously the further from the car, the weaker the light and dark items stilll won't be as clear to see as reflective ones. If cars are coming toward you, it's hard to see past them because of the glare from their headlights, which cuts your forward visibility again. Yet how many people slow down when a car is coming towards them?

So in this case, yes most of the blame is on the driver from what I know of the situation, but wearing hi-viz could have helped her avoid being hit by making her visible to this idiot a bit earlier.
 
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