the Ferret
Daily rider since May 1965
There ya go. See how visible you are? Those are my next helmet and jacket purchases.
Are there exceptions to ATGATT?
- Thread starter dc112675
- Start date
There ya go. See how visible you are? Those are my next helmet and jacket purchases.
ChucksKLRST
Team Colorado
So true but one (cage drivers) has to actually look to be able to see a motorcyclist in HI VIS. One must look out there windshield to see, not at there phone. No look, No see, Hi Vis is irrelevant.
Completely agree.....I call it doing my part. A guy that teachers with me turned in front of a black cruiser with a rider wearing all black. He said he never saw the bike and was judging the distance between himself and the black pickup behind the cruiser. The headlight matched up perfectly.
The rider did look cool up to the point of the crash. That teacher has commented many times that he wished the biker were wearing the HiViz helmet and jacket I wear.
My avatar is old. I was wearing a hi viz helmet but now also wear a hi viz Stich for everything except commuting. I wear my old gear (seen in my avatar) for that. I completely agree about being seen. I try to give myself every chance I can.
My approach to ATGATT - I have a couple of one piece suits, (1) hi-vis yellow, (1) red, so the pants go on with the jacket, helmet is habitual as breathing, ditto with gloves and footwear (seasonally adjusted). As seen in my avatar. My Ski Patrol Gear is about the same (skiing speed is 15-20 mph).
Be Wise, learn from others' experiences or at least Smart, learn from your own experiences.
Ride Safe Regardless (RSR)
Be Wise, learn from others' experiences or at least Smart, learn from your own experiences.
Ride Safe Regardless (RSR)
Last edited:
st11ray
2006 ST1300
I wear a black & white helmet, black jacket, black pants and ride a black bike. I don't want them to see me. If they see me, they have something to aim at. I prefer stealth mode. It's worked well for 37 years and a few hundred thousand miles.
I'm a believer now in ATGATT all the time now. I wasn't even moving, so distance of the trip had no bearing here.
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?143831-Went-down-yesterday&highlight=
It reinforces, to me, that at the very least I WILL always have my helmet on from here forward. I used to take a block and a 1/2 ride to fill up, then back to the house with no helmet.
Soon, I'll start looking for some cooler gear for the upcoming scorchers this summer.
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?143831-Went-down-yesterday&highlight=
It reinforces, to me, that at the very least I WILL always have my helmet on from here forward. I used to take a block and a 1/2 ride to fill up, then back to the house with no helmet.
Soon, I'll start looking for some cooler gear for the upcoming scorchers this summer.
I've ridden off and on since I was 8 years old. Crashed more times than I care to think about and not sure how I survived. Worse crash was a low side on a clover leaf. Was wearing a helmet but had literally 1 minute earlier taken off a leather riding jacket. Broke my left arm in multiple places, and had quite a bit of road rash on right arm. Had I not been wearing a helmet, I'm sure I would have been a vegitable or dead. The road rash took longer to heal than the broken arm, and was almost as painful. If you want to find a sadist, just show up at an E-R with road rash...
Now, I ride ATGATT. New jacket is a Hi Viz TourMaster Transition II and helmet is light silver AVG Modular.
As has been said, what's right for you is your choice.
Now, I ride ATGATT. New jacket is a Hi Viz TourMaster Transition II and helmet is light silver AVG Modular.
As has been said, what's right for you is your choice.
No kidding....When I went to the ER with my collarbone broken in several pieces from a lowside, the first thing the nurse did was roll her eyes.
Not really, just don't enjoy misery any more, besides, we don't have nice sand around here............
.........ff
the Ferret
Daily rider since May 1965
Step 1 taken today. Picked up new HJC CL Max 2 IS BT... White lol
Oh tell me about it! When I had my rash (the time that started me wearing full gear) I was amazed that my nurse must have also been a magician. Somehow the nice soft gauze she showed me turned into a wire brush when she started cleaning the dirt out of my rash. She was a particularly cute nurse so I tried to be all manly about it. That lasted about 2.5 seconds.
My usual attire.
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
hmm... my, visually plain black Dainese 2-piece GoreTex combi might fool you there with its braided-in reflective 3M patches, which will literally flare up when hit by a light beam...
Same with the silver patches on the heels of my Daytona boots and the SHOEI sticker on the back of my black Multitec (but I do own a white Neotec as well ;-) )
The none/use of high-viz gear (nuke yellow, etc...) has been discussed ad nauseam, turns out that the rider's body stays visually "hidden" on his motorcycle (just take my avatar shot as example), yet the complete silhouette of an approaching bike just blends in with the background, remains hidden behind a telegraph post, the trunk of a tree, the A-column/outside mirror of the car sitting at the stop/yield sign...
We've even tested it during motorcycle safety trainings, rider with conventional black vs rider in bight yellow clothing approaching from like 1/2 a mile... from a distance the yellow does not stand out at all...
Even a white helmet will just blend in with a bright/silvery sky behind...
So one could raise as many colours he wants, riding defensive and foresighted is the only thing that works for increasing your safety...
BakerBoy
It's all small stuff.
MartinB, regarding high-viz... Are all accidents and risks solely from the front? No. Is riding defensive and foresighted the only thing that works for increasing your safety? No.
From the side or rear, the high-viz color is highly noticeable without having to be lit by light. My seeing a rider wearing high-viz in actual road conditions was the proof I needed and led me to get high-viz. Better to have it and it perhaps not be useful in some situations, than not having it in any number of situations where it is useful to be seen.
From the side or rear, the high-viz color is highly noticeable without having to be lit by light. My seeing a rider wearing high-viz in actual road conditions was the proof I needed and led me to get high-viz. Better to have it and it perhaps not be useful in some situations, than not having it in any number of situations where it is useful to be seen.
Yes. Always dress for the crash. Since I am on the highway 99.9% of the time I dress for a significant initial impact with the pavement and a 70mph slide on concrete.
If I were doing your short commute I would dress for a very hard impact with the pavement and at least a 30 foot slide on concrete. Someone could hit you from behind or the side or turn left in front of you if they are talking on the phone or texting. Your knees and hands will likely be most vulnerable.
If I were doing your short commute I would dress for a very hard impact with the pavement and at least a 30 foot slide on concrete. Someone could hit you from behind or the side or turn left in front of you if they are talking on the phone or texting. Your knees and hands will likely be most vulnerable.
Last edited:
JQL
Growing old disgracefully :)
Are there exceptions to ATGATT?
It depends on how much (unnecessary) pain you are prepared to put up with.
Remember, most accidents occur close to home.
It depends on how much (unnecessary) pain you are prepared to put up with.
Remember, most accidents occur close to home.
the Ferret
Daily rider since May 1965
I agree with Baker boy, actually seeing another rider wearing HI VIz was a revelation for me. They were shockingly noticeable, as in "WOW you can really see that guy". Also coming from the Highway Traffic Safety Business I know how important Hi Viz clothing is for safety of Highway workers, if fact it's mandated by law in many countries that they wear it for their own safety. If it works for them, it will work for us. My Hi Viz safety vest also has federally mandated reflective stripes which light up when hit by headlights, many square inches of it, compared to the minimal piping on a normal motorcycle jacket.
I might point out also that not all the bikes we ride cover up our bodies. My CB 1100 is a naked bike and I am easily visible riding it from all sides and angles, and sport bikes riders can be seen easily too. I agree when riding our ST's that part of our visibility is shielded by a full fairing from the front and a trunk from the rear (if we have one), but ANY increased visibility is better than none IMO. Having seen it first hand, I'm convinced.
I might point out also that not all the bikes we ride cover up our bodies. My CB 1100 is a naked bike and I am easily visible riding it from all sides and angles, and sport bikes riders can be seen easily too. I agree when riding our ST's that part of our visibility is shielded by a full fairing from the front and a trunk from the rear (if we have one), but ANY increased visibility is better than none IMO. Having seen it first hand, I'm convinced.
On the flip side
......Not a big believer at all in High-Viz colors; no such thing as being seen without recognition; you are still invisible. Nothing works (neither loud colors nor loud pipes) as well as defensive and foresighted riding.
When I was working as a LEO my city did a year long study and looked at all the then current studies concerning high viz colors. They then painted all the cities safety vehicles high viz fluorescent colors. Traffic accidents increased, no one yielded or got out of the way of cop cars, ambulances, or fire engines, with lights and sirens blaring. Three years later they looked at the data and re-painted the Cop cars black and white and fire engines red.
Last edited: