Study: Bright Colors Save Lots of Motorcyclists' Lives
Research from New Zealand reaffirms the value of bright motorcycle helmets, reflective clothing, and daytime headlight usage. Just choosing a bright-colored helmet can cut your crash risk by 24%. By Art Friedman.

Wearing a bright-colored helmet can cut a motorcycle rider's crash risk by a quarter, according to a new study by researchers in New Zealand, and combining that helmet with reflective clothing can improve the odds in your favor by more than a third. This reaffirms past research that has shown that traditional dark-colored motorcyclist clothing works against riders in terms of accident avoidance.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal offers the following conclusions:

# "Compared with wearing a black helmet, use of a white helmet was associated with a 24% lower risk ... We found similar associations for red and a combined group of yellow and orange helmets..."

# "Drivers wearing reflective or fluorescent clothing had a 37% lower risk of crash related injury than those who were not wearing such materials...the protective association seemed to increase with falling light levels..." :

# "Voluntary use of headlight in daytime was associated with a 27% lower risk of crash related injury..."

in addition...
light colored helmets and clothing are cooler than colored ones because light colors reflects more sunlight than dark colored ones. dark colored helmets and clothings does not quite reflect the sun's rays thus it absorbs more heat.

Another informative thread. I make it a point to wear my reflectorized half-vest when I ride at night...Less pogi points but helps people see me at night. ;)

in addition...
light colored helmets and clothing are cooler than colored ones because light colors reflects more sunlight than dark colored ones. dark colored helmets and clothings does not quite reflect the sun's rays thus it absorbs more heat.

True but there is an exception, loose black jackets. I used to wonder how come so many desert people wore black robes but was told that the sunlight on the black clothes create an updraft inside. I have a very thick black jacket that I expected to be very hot but it turned out to be surprisingly cool. The waist is very loose so I am guessing that the updraft principle is at work.

Frank, I guess it's still in the color. Dark colored items tend to get warm readily when exposed to sunlight, but cools faster than light colored ones. Plus, if your're wearing your leathers. The insulating properties takes effect. So wearing black leathers, heats up readily but cools faster. But, I do admit black is the least conspicious of the colors. I wore an orange jersey once and people start staring. At least orange does the trick. Didn't try lime green though, but I guess it would still work.

When it comes to visibility, especially in low light conditions, there is no doubt that black is the worst color.

Read this in a motorcycle article. Ther was a test that proved that the thing that makes a motorcyclist most visible is a yellow helmet. The color of the jacket also added to visibility as does the color of the bike. But in degree of visibility itwas hemet first then jacket and lastly the bike.

Frank, thats a very interesting updraft theory on the black jacket. i guess that works! dont know with a bike jacket though, which must be tight fitting to avoid it flapping in the wind.

nice thread! i learned a lot again today, salamat!

You can see from my avatar that im almost 50% lower risk rate! :O . Very informative thread indeed! :)

When it comes to visibility, especially in low light conditions, there is no doubt that black is the worst color.
good thing pongki wears a yellow jacket and rides a yellow bike.:D
lab u pongki!!!! mwah! :hug: :k

mas ok kung meron reflectorized na nakakabit sa damit o jacket.
san ba may nabibili nun?

mas ok kung meron reflectorized na nakakabit sa damit o jacket.
san ba may nabibili nun?

this too, is exactly what i am looking for. i remember seeing one rider wearing a jacket with reflectorized strips on the arms and back lining of the jacket.

I was recently contacted by a manufacturer of reflectorized graphics stickers for helmets. It sounds like just what we need and they are sending me samples to test. I will of course let everyone know the results.

Ihave my blue jeans repaired by sewing a 3M reflective clothing around on both legs, and it is very visible day or night for incoming or motorist behind me. Reflective vest are also a great gear while riding our bikes. I have seen motorcyclist even wearing slippers, so please think of our safety even if we look like robocop.

Agree, making yourself visible while riding is one more priority a rider must think of.
Riding on slippers is kinda uncomfortable for me.

im just wondering where can we buy reflectorized jacket or 3M reflectorized na tela?

thanks

Snifah, this night help.:)
http://www.motorcyclephilippines.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54309&page=2

ok naman siguto ang silver jacket.. ito lagi suot ko..

pagawa kau sir ng reflectorized na sticker kay DBEnz