Why should we wear Hi-Viz whilst out hacking?
- Thread starter Ashlea
- Start date
- Status
I am with the 'if you are on a road wear high viz' all it takes is the one time you cause an accident because the driver didn't see you, perhaps you and your horse are ok but someone in vehicle is killed. It doesn't take much nowadays for someone to sue you so I imagine you could be sued and help responsible?
I am lucky if I want to ride out then it is all off road (these days) however in the past when I road on roads it was with high viz, I just feel I have no right to take a chance with my pony or other peoples lives x
I am lucky if I want to ride out then it is all off road (these days) however in the past when I road on roads it was with high viz, I just feel I have no right to take a chance with my pony or other peoples lives x
In a similar thread a while ago I suggested that it was a good idea to wear hi-viz even when you only do off-road hacking. It makes you visible much earlier to other users of the common, forest etc. Dog walkers, other riders... gives people more time to catch their dogs and put them on a leash if they need to, gives other riders more time to adjust their speed and be prepared...
And it is so easy to remember - just put your hi-viz with your hat/gloves/whip/whatever it is you always use when riding. On top of your saddle? If you stay in the school you just leave the hi-viz , if you're going out, use it.
And who cares what it looks like?
And it is so easy to remember - just put your hi-viz with your hat/gloves/whip/whatever it is you always use when riding. On top of your saddle? If you stay in the school you just leave the hi-viz , if you're going out, use it.
And who cares what it looks like?
Me too. We never go out with some Hiviz on. It might not help on bends but it definately helps to make you more visible in ALL other road situations and Ive actually been stopped by a driver and thanked for wearing it!
How hard is it to put a flourescent hat band on exactly??
To me its just plain common sense!
Last edited:
I always wear hi viz stuff! Specially now as it gets dark so early!!
its doesnt hurt to put a hi viz bib thing on, its not gonna affect your riding... its just better to be safe then sorry
its doesnt hurt to put a hi viz bib thing on, its not gonna affect your riding... its just better to be safe then sorry
There are some very strange arguments being made here.
Drivers come around a blind bend so quickly they won't see you anyway hi-viz or no hi-viz....so hell, may as well just leave it off all the time. After all, EVERY driver wants to be Lewis Hamilton and is going to drive with reckless abandon and as we've already given into the fact that you are going to be hit by a car no matter how lit up you are, whether it be blind bend or straight road, what happens when the accident occurs and your insurance won't cover you because they see it as you making no effort to prevent the accident from occuring? Or if, God forbid, it ends up in a court of law because the driver wants to sue YOU for damages and you have no defense whatsoever because s/he can argue they couldn't see you? Not everyone who drives a car is a bad person, they can be just as traumatized by an accident as you, especially if you just 'came out of nowhere.'
What effort does it honestly take to put on a bib, hat band and boots? Honestly? How could it possibly be any more of an inconvenience than the above possibility?
Drivers come around a blind bend so quickly they won't see you anyway hi-viz or no hi-viz....so hell, may as well just leave it off all the time. After all, EVERY driver wants to be Lewis Hamilton and is going to drive with reckless abandon and as we've already given into the fact that you are going to be hit by a car no matter how lit up you are, whether it be blind bend or straight road, what happens when the accident occurs and your insurance won't cover you because they see it as you making no effort to prevent the accident from occuring? Or if, God forbid, it ends up in a court of law because the driver wants to sue YOU for damages and you have no defense whatsoever because s/he can argue they couldn't see you? Not everyone who drives a car is a bad person, they can be just as traumatized by an accident as you, especially if you just 'came out of nowhere.'
What effort does it honestly take to put on a bib, hat band and boots? Honestly? How could it possibly be any more of an inconvenience than the above possibility?
Last edited:
Those that dont wear it would wish they had the day they get hit by a car but then sadly it could be to late.
It's something I raised last year as a thread and felt so passionate about it I wondered if it should be compulsory.
It's amazing how many riders you do see out without hi-viz gear on and sometimes if I see riders without it I politely point out, (I tell them I'm a horsey person then I don't get abuse lol), that it is important and they are seen much more quickly. A lot of them don't realise it might affect their insurance cover, some just don't even give it a 2nd thought.
But what amazes me is surely they've come across riders with and without hi-viz gear on and noticed the difference?
-It's not just horse riders, cyclists should also wear some form of hi-viz gear.
If you contact the BHS you can get them to send you some hi-viz posters or leaflets etc which you could put up at your yard or local tack/feed shop, or hand out to those not wearing hi-viz.
With regard to the blind bends I was approaching one in the car and spotted a girl's hi-viz band on her hat just above the hedge, so in that instance it did help.
DebO
It's amazing how many riders you do see out without hi-viz gear on and sometimes if I see riders without it I politely point out, (I tell them I'm a horsey person then I don't get abuse lol), that it is important and they are seen much more quickly. A lot of them don't realise it might affect their insurance cover, some just don't even give it a 2nd thought.
But what amazes me is surely they've come across riders with and without hi-viz gear on and noticed the difference?
-It's not just horse riders, cyclists should also wear some form of hi-viz gear.
If you contact the BHS you can get them to send you some hi-viz posters or leaflets etc which you could put up at your yard or local tack/feed shop, or hand out to those not wearing hi-viz.
With regard to the blind bends I was approaching one in the car and spotted a girl's hi-viz band on her hat just above the hedge, so in that instance it did help.
DebO
Last edited:
The resuce helicopters round here use heat seeking as well as an ordinary cameras, take that one with a large pinch of salt!
What annoys me about this whole debacle, is the fact that the great "god car" and its driver is being absolves again and again for bad driving and their lack of care on the road.
Not seeing another road user is no valid defense in law, all the barrister will say is "My client was there to be seen" This is a very old defense.
If our children ger run over outside their school because they are not wearing high viz, and the car driver says "I didn't see him" this is no defense as the driver should have been looking out for kids running into the road outside a school.
You should expect to see a herd of cows or a horse or a 40 ton artic around a blind bend. Will I have to put little hi viz jackets on all my sheep when I want to move them up the road?
So it appears, then, that you don't care about your responsibility to other road users, and neither understand nor are concerned about the concept of contributory negligence.
JUST the attitude we need to encourage consideration and cooperation from other road users and highway authorities, isn't it?
I absolutely agree with you, Wally - but I think that litigation and prosecutions in the past few years, mainly involving the 'other' vulnerable non-motorised road user, the cyclist, has led to many worrying decisions, albeit mostly reversed on appeal.
However, what concerns me more is the litigation culture. People will dig up bones like a terrier where sums of money are involved and I can imagine a court case where a rider's lack of hi-viz could be deemed contributory negligence by a magistrate, whose legal knowledge may well be not very extensive, or by insurance companies bargaining over damages. Whether this is so in law or not no doubt needs to be tested - but who is willing to be a test case in this sort of matter?
Hi viz is actually very fashionable anyway...my sister's friend was round our house on Friday and saw my tabard and asked if she could wear it out clubbing! Apparently it is all the rage to have something that glows up under the lights!
I feel almost proud wearing my tabard etc, like I am showing the world I am a responsible horse rider who understands she is not the only person to use the roads I use. Maybe that sounds silly and maybe you can tell that with or without hi-viz, it's just how I feel about it. I also feel it is a bit of a 'safety blanket' as I am not that confident on the road, and I find it reassures me to think I have an extra 3 seconds should Mr or Mrs Speedaholic come along.
Plus putting reflective ankle things over Doey's brushing boots has kept the boots really clean! Her loaner is very happy I am not bringing them back covered in mud anymore!
I feel almost proud wearing my tabard etc, like I am showing the world I am a responsible horse rider who understands she is not the only person to use the roads I use. Maybe that sounds silly and maybe you can tell that with or without hi-viz, it's just how I feel about it. I also feel it is a bit of a 'safety blanket' as I am not that confident on the road, and I find it reassures me to think I have an extra 3 seconds should Mr or Mrs Speedaholic come along.
Plus putting reflective ankle things over Doey's brushing boots has kept the boots really clean! Her loaner is very happy I am not bringing them back covered in mud anymore!
Not horse related but this is very true. I am currently being summoned to court over a road traffic accident that happened almost four years ago, the guy reckoned he could make a quick buck and is claiming over £50k for 'loss of earnings, loss of his buisness, and the expense of the break up of his marriage'
If he is so much of an a*** to drag up an accident this old, it is no wonder his marriage broke up, nought to do with me! And I wish I was in a job that made £50k in six months (time he was off work)
hold on one min!!!! am i the only person in here who dont wear high viz???NO will be the answer so why dont u say whatr u have to to the other person???? who are you to tell me about my attitude?
if i choose not to wear hi viz then that is my choise and no one elses ok. no one has the right to tell me what i should or shouldnt do! oh ounless it was law but it aint. (sits and waqits for the next troll to jump out the pc)
For those affected by low flying aircraft some safety advice
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/A...yHelicopterLowFlyingSafetyAGuideForRiders.htm
As a driver we should slow down before bends anyway (most don't of course), and going down rural roads you should expect all sorts of things ie tractors, cows, sheep, horses etc and drive cautiously, but most drivers think it's an excuse to speed along a country road, especially bikes, plus they're less likely to be caught speeding.
However, most horse riders are riding about in country lanes up against hedges which more often than not are similar to darkish coloured horses, or similar to the dark clothes some riders wear, which means they are less visible which is why it is even more important to be seen whether it be in the winter or summer. Horses are somewhat more unpredictable than sheep or cows. So everything a person can do to be seen more is a good thing.
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/A...yHelicopterLowFlyingSafetyAGuideForRiders.htm
As a driver we should slow down before bends anyway (most don't of course), and going down rural roads you should expect all sorts of things ie tractors, cows, sheep, horses etc and drive cautiously, but most drivers think it's an excuse to speed along a country road, especially bikes, plus they're less likely to be caught speeding.
However, most horse riders are riding about in country lanes up against hedges which more often than not are similar to darkish coloured horses, or similar to the dark clothes some riders wear, which means they are less visible which is why it is even more important to be seen whether it be in the winter or summer. Horses are somewhat more unpredictable than sheep or cows. So everything a person can do to be seen more is a good thing.
- Status
newrider.com