For the past three or four years, I have been riding with the same black textile jacket. As the seasons change and my jacket shows signs of wear, I recognize the need for a change in gear. In addition to warmer layers and gloves, I have been thinking about my visibility to other drivers. This week on the forum, a few topics got me thinking about reflective tape and high visibility safety vests.

My curiosity got the better of me, and I went shopping for reflective vests. I agree with a stromtrooper that the white helmet and neon reflective vest combination really helps the body stick out to others. My black jacket, black helmet and dark blue V-Strom have me feeling a little too stealth, but I am not sure I want to be radioactive neon green all the time. I was surprised to find a wide variety of safety vests with reflective stripes or material available for online purchase.

Another stromtrooper offered a link to this March 2006 study by the Motorcycle Action Group.

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG UK) has undertaken an investigation to identify the cause of accidents involving cars and motorcycles at T junctions in order to have a better understanding of this specific type of accident which regularly leads to the death or serious injury of motorcyclists. This paper focuses on ‘Sorry Mate I Didn’t See You’ accidents or SMIDSYs, which are also known in the literature as Right of Way Violations (ROWV) accidents.

Reflective Safety Vests

For roughly twenty-some dollars shipped, there is a wide variety of safety vests on the market. I looked for a vest big enough to outline the upper body but simple enough to stay out of the way. I can see an advantage to a center zipper style vest, however, to work well over another jacket. Most of the mesh vests are not entirely reflective, and only the stripes are made of reflective material. There are plenty of great deals on safety vests on eBay.