Q. I’ve been challenged as to why cyclists wear dark clothes which makes us difficult to see against a dark road. It was suggested that it ought to be a legal requirement to wear hi-viz jackets.
Is this outrageous?
A . As with many things, there are two sides(at least) to this. I have written before about the advantages to cyclists of being visible and not to wear clothes the colour of tarmac, so it might seem that I agree with your contact.
However people have been complaining for years about cyclists wearing brightly coloured Lycra clothing, too.
There are several sorts of cyclists, including club cyclists who wear the Lycra and probably also have bright flashing lights now that these have become lightweight, and relatively cheap. Some people object to these as being distracting.
Other cyclists are just getting round town, to shop or visit friends and family. There are also people who just can’t afford to drive, so cycling or walking is the only option for them.
The idea that legislation should exist governing what clothes any of us should wear smacks of the authoritarian control that some Middle Eastern regimes adopt and is, I hope, not likely to happen here.
The law already requires motorists to wear seatbelts, and motorcyclists to wear helmets, and cyclists are already required to have reflective pedals and to have a bell of some kind.
On the whole subject of clothing, my wife has complained that all the outerwear available at the moment seems to be in ‘Earth colours’ and if we look around the streets nearly every pedestrian is wearing those dark colours, so if they step off the footpath whilst looking at their phones any approaching motorist is unlikely to see them.
Indeed, just the other day in gloomy daylight I had such a phone user step in front of me as I cycled.
Had there been an impact I would automatically have been assumed to be at fault because the pedestrian is the more vulnerable.
By the same logic, if a cyclist is hit by a motor vehicle, the driver is initially considered at fault.
We have also to recognise that past the age of about 40 our eyesight and reaction time depreciates which is why at a later period in our lives when we have to renew our driving licence we must answer a medical questionnaire.
Electric scooters are even smaller objects to spot in the road, often ridden by dark clad youths wearing hoodies. If anyone ought to be required to make themselves highly visible it could be them.It is not legal for them to be ridden on public roads, so the chances of an enforceable law being created for them is remote.
The result can be the vulnerable party ends up in hospital, or worse, their family can be caused distress and grief, and the motorist also caused stress and possibly suffer PTSD.
Many years ago, in London, an elderly lady stepped into the road in front of me and we saw each other at the same moment. She went to step back as I stopped and she fell over. She was unhurt but as I cycled on I was trembling all over from the near miss.
So, yes, I think, for our own safety we should wear light coloured clothing if we can , and possibly reflective items and a flashing rear light, too, but I don’t think that it is a good idea to make special clothing a legal requirement.
Reverting to the less affluent cyclists, can I ask, is it reasonable to require them to buy specific extra clothing just to go and visit family?
However there are reflective “Sam Browne” belts and sashes readily available for a few pounds which are easy to wear and to pack away when not in use.