Is this the highest visibility cycling jersey ever? Working on the theory that phone screens are brighter than cyclists and are seemingly more likely to draw a driver’s gaze, cyclist Jon Wyatt came up with this innovative design.
The idea came about following a recent exchange with Leigh Police who had published a tweet advising cyclists to wear hi-vis clothing.
Jon told road.cc that despite wearing hi-vis himself, he didn’t think it made much difference. “I’ve been riding on the road for almost 40 years and I’m confident it makes little, if any difference. It’s a rabbit’s foot that we just can’t let go of though – myself included.”
Jon recently had two different people pull out on him on two consecutive mornings.
Another commute, another idiot in a car pulls out front of me. I'm lit up like a Christmas tree. Your stupid advice doesn't work @GMPLeigh
— Jon (@samuriinbred) December 8, 2015
“My own experience is that people simply don’t look properly – usually because they are distracted by something. We all know how common mobile phone use is while driving – especially since as cyclists we can see down into cars as we ride past and see how many people have their phones in their laps.”
A friend commented the drivers had probably been looking at their mobile phones at the time and this sparked the idea.
OK. I've invented the highest visibility cycling jersey ever.
I guarantee all drivers will see you in this. pic.twitter.com/wxo6wa5QrK
— Jon (@samuriinbred) December 8, 2015
“If anything useful can come out of my post then it’s that if the police and charities really want to give out useful, life-saving advice, it would be to make yourselves visible but still assume that drivers haven’t looked properly at junctions, assume they are going to pull out, stay focused and be ready to take avoiding action.”

10 thoughts on “Cyclist invents ‘highest visibility cycling jersey ever’”
No Strava on the phone?????
No Strava on the phone?????
Just put a 17 inch laptop
Just put a 17 inch laptop screen in there and play sport channel. Everybody should be glued to your back
I’d be worried about drivers
I’d be worried about drivers coming alongside and trying to touch/swipe you.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Depends……
hawkinspeter wrote:
I’d be more worried about someone trying to shove a USB charging cable up my bum.
The only guaranteed option is
The only guaranteed option is to separate cyclists and motor vehicles, which will never happen as the councils can never find the budget for such “safety” measures.
Put a pothole on the jersey, drivers seem to give them more respect than they do cyclists.
Steve1965 wrote:
I like your logic. However…
I’d vote for a massive horse’s arse.
Stick a horse on the road and most drivers suddenly become the most cautious beings known to man.
Probably.
Brilliant!
Brilliant!
This is an amusing idea but
This is an amusing idea but reality bites; In the dark at this time of year, it is very difficult to see cyclists, especially amongst other traffic in my expereince. I am a very careful driver, I am constanttly on the lookout for bikes in both the daylight and the dark. There are certain circumstances where good quality lights are helpful – on roads with little other traffic or ambient lighting. In traffic I find that lights disappear to a large degree, as does hi-vis(which I’ve always considerd to be a daylight product). Reflective strips are a help, the bigger and more of them, the better.
I’ll continue both looking out for bikes in the day and dark, and dressing in hi-vis in the daylight with lights on gloomy days. I refuse to go out in the dark on a bike.
This is a terrible idea. You
This is a terrible idea. You might as well wear a disguise that looks like a bit of road and pavement. Human brains work on pattern recognition and the drivers brain is not going to register that as a cyclist.