Citation

Wood JM, Tyrrell RA, Marszalek R, Lacherez PF, Carberry T, Chu BS, King MJ. J. Australas. Coll. Road Saf. 2010; 21(3): 56-60.

Affiliation

School of Optometry and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia; Department of Psychology, Clemson University, South Carolina, USA; Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q), Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Australasian College of Road Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Visibility limitations make cycling at night particularly dangerous. We previously reported cyclists’ perceptions of their own visibility at night and identified clothing configurations that made them feel visible. In this study we sought to determine whether these self-perceptions reflect actual visibility when wearing these clothing configurations. In a closed-road driving environment, cyclists wore black clothing, a fluorescent vest, a reflective vest, or a reflective vest plus ankle and knee reflectors. Drivers recognised more cyclists wearing the reflective vest plus reflectors (90%) than the reflective vest alone (50%), fluorescent vest (15%) or black clothing (2%). Older drivers recognised the cyclists less often than younger drivers (51% vs 27%). The findings suggest that reflective ankle and knee markings are particularly valuable at night, while fluorescent clothing is not. Cyclists wearing fluorescent clothing may be at particular risk if they incorrectly believe themselves to be conspicuous to drivers at night.