[ktache]

Quick one.

During daylight in heavy mist and fog, should I wear my Respro reversible ankle bands with the colourful fluorescent yellow/green side out or the 3M reflective side showing?

Which would be the more noticeable to you, the more aware cyclist drivers?

 

Topic

[Sriracha]

HoarseMann wrote:

HoarseMann wrote:

Well I once got pulled by the police for driving around with [b][i]only[/i][/b] front fogs on at dusk…

FIFY (I suspect?)

[MoutonDeMontagne]

hirsute wrote:

They seem to be using a variation of the proviz 360 jacket.

Yep, but the green broke up the silver, which otherwise would blend in with the grey when not reflective. Probably why Proviz introduced coloured versions. I have one of their softshells which I used to commute in the dark, rest was black tho, so not much use in fog! 

[quiff]

Also guilty, in teenage years

Also guilty, in teenage years, of using front fogs (or ‘driving lights’, as I seem to recall they were also known) not in the fog. But at least I knew how to turn off the rear one – I’m amazed how many people I see searing the retinas of following drivers in perfectly clear conditions.   

[OnYerBike]

First and foremost, a decent

First and foremost, a decent set of lights! In my experience, good lights are more visible than any amount of fluorecscent or reflective clothing/accessories, especially in fog. 

Assuming you have that base covered, I would lean towards reflective side out. In foggy conditions, most drivers will be using some form of lights and when caught in headlights I find reflectives stand out far more than fluorescents. The only risk is that if any drivers are not using lights, then the reflectives will achieve precisely nothing, where as a fluorescent might have achieved something. 

[HoarseMann]

Sriracha wrote:

Sriracha wrote:

So they are not really a problem if they are used sans-fog.

Well I once got pulled by the police for driving around with front fogs on at dusk on a clear day, I was an unwise teenager using them for their proper intended purpose; to display to all that you are not driving the poverty spec. model  – oops.

The sun was very low and behind me, so I explained to the officer, would make me more visible. Offered advice and sent on my way.

[Hirsute]

Thye sem to be using a

They seem to be using a variation of the proviz 360 jacket.

[Hirsute]

Except when drivers use them

Except when drivers use them in the rain, then it can be dazzling. It is also dazzling when the road is bumpy and where the fog light is not seated correctly in the lamp (although how anyone manages this is beyond me.)

[MoutonDeMontagne]

Reflective for would be my

Reflective for would be my shout, allied to some relatively bright clothing choice colours. One good thing about newer* cars is many of them have auto headlights and daytime running lights, so this give a bit more chance of the reflective standing out. Personally I think a bright coloured jersey is far more effective than Fluro anklebands as there’s more ‘real estate’ to catch peoples attention. 

As an aside, I was quite suprised driving the otherday, even in moderately murky light, just how well the Deliveroo riders green/reflective jackets showed up. as opposed to someone wearing a slightly grubby yellow PPE vest, and this was in daylight. 

*I live in an odd city where the age of a persons car seem directly linked to their sense of self worth, and so you rarely find one more than 10 years old. I appreciate this might not work everywhere! 

[Sriracha]

It’s only rear fog lights
It’s only rear fog lights that dazzle – they work by being very bright in order to be visible to drivers behind through dense fog. If you can adequately see the tail lamps of cars ahead then clearly you don’t need your rear fogs on, although this simple logic eludes many.

Front fog lights work by being low down rather than extra bright. By being low down they avoid blinding the driver with light reflected back by the fog (the water droplets comprising the fog act not unlike the glass beads of a retroreflector, just try using your main beam in dense fog). So they are not really a problem if they are used sans-fog.

[Sriracha]

I was just going on the
I was just going on the principle of not having all your eggs in one basket.

Pedal reflectors are highly effective in a headlight beam (especially if you are actually pedalling, due to the eye-catching reciprocating motion), but there does need to be a headlight beam.

Fluorescent materials need UV (daylight) to do anything special, and will not fluoresce under car headlamps. So in fog their effectiveness is only as a function of whatever UV percolates through in the watery daylight.

So I’d go belt and braces in the fog.

[HoarseMann]

ktache wrote:

I had put it down to incompetence, utter disregard to theirs or others safety 

It’s definately that too; the ones moaning about being dazzled by fog lights ’cause it’s not foggy enough are also the ones tanking along with no lights on ’cause it’s not *that* foggy – until suddenly it is that foggy and they’re going too fast.

[ktache]

I had put it down to

I had put it down to incompetence, utter disregard to theirs or others safety or remembering that when they turned their lights on for the fog that one time, they left them on while at work and couldn’t start the car when it was going home time.

[HoarseMann]

0-0 wrote:

0-0 wrote:

I think it depends if the driver is smart enough to switch their lights on when driving in fog. Some I past today, whilst riding in the fog, weren’t.

Given how much moaning there was on our works forum about people having fog lights on when it wasn’t foggy enough, I think it’s a badge of honour for some drivers to not put their lights on!

If the fog’s that bad, I would only rely on very bright lights being an effective safety measure (> 75 lumens).

For the ankle bands, I’d just stick with reflective in the dark and fluro when it’s light.

[ktache]

Of course, but the 3M will

Of course, but the 3M will always be more reflective.

And lots of other bright and reflective cloting.  Lots of lights too, and more than legally required bike reflectors.

You see, I didn’t see any other cyclists when on the road, so my lights didn’t light up anyone elses reflectives, or get to compare it with bright colours.

[Sriracha]

Fluo side out. You do have
Fluo side out. You do have pedal reflectors, don’t you?

[Author]

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