why do they do it? (hi vis)

Kitsune said:
LOL en guard Pastie, you want a war of words eh eh eh!!

If this is a battle of wits - you came unarmed!!! :p TOUCHé
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PSML! Kitty, play nicely!
On the subject of Hi Vis - I have it from reliable sources that I look rather nice in my ''fetching wotsits'':D as my range of fluorescent green outfits is locally known:p
 
:p
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One point that is important to remember is that today's motorists are so used to see road workers and cyclists wearing Hi-Viz that they almost expect anything else that is not a vehicle to be covereed in Hi-Viz.

If you have any concern for the safety of your horse then Hi-Viz is an essential piece of kit.

We all know there are occasions such as in low bright sunlight that blinds motorists where Hi-Viz is not that effective but most the time it will ensure motorists see you 3 seconds earlier.

My advice to anyone riding out either on the roads or in the middle of nowhere is to always wear Hi-Viz. You owe it to your horse your family and yourself.
 
In reply to a previous question re: contributory negligence, I work in a personal injury claims dept and if you fail to wear a seatbelt and your injuries could have been prevented altogether then you will have a 25% deduction. If your injuries could have been reduced, then 15% will be deducted. I am not sure on hi-vis - I would say you are more likely to have damages reduced if you fail to wear a hat as it is a more direct piece of safety equipment - but i dont deal with horse claims, just motor. Ive just tried to find case law but cant find any on either of those issues. i know that one or two of my colleagues will certainly give it a try when dealing with a hatless horse rider for failing to safeguard themselves.
 
Pedantic said:
"Wretched" Hi viz, mmm, think that about sums up the attitude of certain riders, wish I lived in nowhere land so I could be totally immune to accidents.

Couple of bimbos' yesterday on the road, noses in the air no viz on, didn't thank any cars that passed carefully including me, or smile a thank you to anyone, ignorant or what, mind you they had massive tits, so maybe that was there viz and body protector in one ;), certainly caught the eye of male drivers, not that I noticed of course (clears throat) :rolleyes:
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thank you, i do not ride anymore as i am wheel chair bound!! that doesn't mean i am not allowed an opinion!! i called the Hi Vis wretdhed cos of all the aggro it has caused on this thread, also, if i could still ride i dont think the yellows and pinks will be particularly on the hills facing me which add up to 25,000 odd acresof unfenced mountain. so, with that thank god i do live in nowhere land as you put it. ( sorry for the poor typing, i only have one working hand-)
 
Speaking as someone who frequently toddles down memory lane, bear with me.... Years ago I used to ride out with no hi-vis in a smart little velvet hat with elastic under my chin. Later, when I wanted to look cool and experienced I cut the elastic off my hat (I know - really clever). Years ago there was much less traffic on the roads and in the country you generally only met cars driven by country people who expected to see horses on the roads and whose daughters, sons, sisters, wives, husbands etc. might well be riding one of those horses. They generally slowed down or stopped for a nice chat.
Nowadays, cars driven by boy racers and commuters whizz past with no thought as to what might happen should the horse they are skimming past decide to jump out in front of them when scared by a menacing paper bag (or more likely round our way a discarded burger box rolling tumbleweed style along the verge). I once had to explain to a very nice lorry driver who stopped because my horse was dancing around on his tiptoes with his eyes on stalks, that this behaviour was nothing to do with his lorry, which my horse wouldn't give a second glance to, but was all because of the terrifying drain cover that had just jumped out up at him.
Nowadays I wear my hi-vis vest - and fasten my chin strap. Whether it makes a difference I really don't know, but personally I'd rather err on the side of caution.
 
rosiefronfelen reminds me of another user who will post something rude/inflammatory/patronising and then decide that everyone is being mean to her. Sorry rosiefronfelen, but you insinuated that people using hi viz are lesser horsemen with less control over their horses. Not a very responsible attitude!
 
Who was it on here that came off on a bridlepath (or not on the road anyway), really banged her head hard - quite a nasty concussion I seem to remember, was off for several weeks with it, and who was found by the air ambulance because she had her high viz on...?

If you've ever tried to spot someone on the floor in traditional (ie dark coloured) riding clothes, you'll know how hard it is!
 
zefragile said:
rosiefronfelen reminds me of another user who will post something rude/inflammatory/patronising and then decide that everyone is being mean to her. Sorry rosiefronfelen, but you insinuated that people using hi viz are lesser horsemen with less control over their horses. Not a very responsible attitude!
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zefragile-thank you for that,i neither meant to be rude/inflammatory/patronising or anything else!1 i hacve not insinuated anything either about folk wearing Hi Vis being lesserhorsemen blah blah- ih i have then please re-quote me!!i have bigger shoulders to bear people"being mean" to me, my worst enemy is myself and the black hole called depression, so if youwish to continue in this vein to me, carry on-
 
As a driver I can really appreciate riders wearing Hi Vis, honestly it does make the difference!
Of course I don't want to hit a horse, I don't drive like a maniac down country roads, but I do have a largish vehicle that takes up most of the fen roads width around me, so in order to pass anybody, I need to get onto the verge - to do that, I have to spot them first early enough to slow down and pick my way on the grass verge.
I had a very near miss last night, driving along a straight road with sun behind me at around 8.30 pm I came across a man going for a hack on a bay horse, wearing forest green colour clothing, no hi vis, I hit the brakes hard when I heard shod feet clattering on tarmac - at that point I still could not see him:( He was lucky I had all my windows down and was just rolling down the road slowly...
I did, however, see the girl hacking in opposite direction about 200 yards further down the road - she had a tabard on...
 
rosiefronfelen said:
zefragile-thank you for that,i neither meant to be rude/inflammatory/patronising or anything else!1 i hacve not insinuated anything either about folk wearing Hi Vis being lesserhorsemen blah blah- ih i have then please re-quote me!!i have bigger shoulders to bear people"being mean" to me, my worst enemy is myself and the black hole called depression, so if youwish to continue in this vein to me, carry on-
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Oh good grief, how embarrassing :o I meant pastie2, I'm so sorry!
 
On another note I'd be interested to know what would happen if a car hit you and you were wearing dark clothes. Or if they only saw you at the last minute and swerved hitting someone else. Let's say the car driver or someone else is badly injured and they say they couldn't see you. Could the rider be held liable for the damage if their 'invisibility' was deemed to be a cause??

I don't see many riders on roads round here as there's plenty off road hacking but there's loads of cyclists. I'm forever cursing them for being really difficult to see. None of them wear high vis and they really should. One last week was very lucky. It was a long straight and someone coming the other way pulled out to overtake. The car suddenly shot back in behind the slower car and it wasn't till I was very close to the cyclist that I saw him as well. Obviously other car driver hadn't seen him. No wonder, he was wearing ARMY CAMOFLAGUE!!! How stupid can you get?? Oh, and no helmet either. This was on an A road at a busy time of day.

As for the I'm a good Horsewoman so don't wear it comment I read further back? That's like saying 'I'm a great driver so I won't bother putting my lights on when it's foggy / heavy rain etc'. If people don't want to wear any then fine but that's not a reason not to. Personally I think anything that helps people see Horses on the road should be worn. I also wear it in certain woods where there's lots of walkers so they can see me coming and I don't give anyone a fright. I've had an elderly couple thank me in passing for doing just that as it gave them warning to get their Horse shy dog out the way. It is of course not an excuse not to thank drivers (I always do). I doubt the BHS (and the MOD have supported it) would put so much effort into high vis campaigns if it wasn't effective.
 
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The dog walking comment is a good point, high viz gives me an extra minute to recall my dog and put him on his lead when I am walking in shared areas:)
 
yup, we have a fenced area that is well used for people letting their not quite so controllable dogs off.
it is the only bit of offroad we have and can only go up and back.
lots of other footpaths for them to use so if they choose to come up with us and hence cant let dog off I don't feel so bad and am sure it has helped in past :) Doesnt stop them parking in front of the gate so we cant get out again though ;)
 
The forest I walk in is totally shared so you can bump into each other anywhere:) Live and let live and all that, I'll put Henry on his lead, but a couple of extra moments to do that can be much appreciated at times (he's a spaniel, and there are phessies in them there woods:eek:)
 
I will always wear it when hacking, maybe because I work for the ambulance service. If you're out hacking, fall off, don't know where you are, it really does help if the ambulance staff can spot you. Contray to popular belief we can't pinpoint a mobile to an exact location, and if you're seriously injured a few minutes could make a massive difference
And I would always wear it because as someone on this forum once said (Kerelli?) "I don't want to be holding my dying horse on the floor while saying "sorry I didn't do everything I could"
If you're not wearing it, you're not doing everything you can to help a car see you. Not that I think a car should need help, but there's idiots out there, don't give them ANY excuse to say "I didn't see her"
and I don't understand if you have total off road hacking you might not see the need but what if you fall off and your horse runs on to a road? and again with the ambulance?
 
Actually, I think Pedantics Avatar, shows quite clearly how important Hi Viz is, you can quite clearly see the hi-viz jacket on the bike, sadly not so clearly the horse they are leading in hand on the left.

You can see how easily a car could see the bike and then hit the horse!
 
Yea, that peice of road is in a public park with Equestrian facilities, with no through traffic and a 10mph speed limit and a sign saying give way to horses, not that anyone stuck to 10mph, we still had a few areshole drivers, but if it was a highway I would not have been leading him on my bike, and I would also have been on the outside, just thought I would clear that up, but as you say it shows a big difference visibilty wise.
 
I was convinced of the benefit of hi viz just before I bought my first horse. I was on my way to the saddlery to buy grooming kit etc. The saddlery is on a small, rural business development accessed by a narrow track with a hedge down 1 side. It was lunchtime in January & a bit drizzly. At first I thought the rider (weaing a tabard) coming towards me was riding down the middle of the track to make sure she was visible, I pulled over so she could pass safely. It only then that I noticed the other 2 horses. Case made as far as I was concerned.
 
Of course car drivers need help to see you, there seems to be this overwhelming attitude on this forum and others that other people are responsible for your safety whether they are car drivers, dog walkers whatever. It's not always the drivers fault if you can't control your horse or you have not made yourself visible enough to help someone see you and give them the valuable seconds they need to be able to react to your presence then the rider must morally bear some responsibilty for what results.
 
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