What the roads can do to you
06 Jun 2022
What if something goes wrong when you are riding out on the road? Where do you stand legally?
Stripey Corsa
11 Jun 2020
I was zipping to work on my Harley-Davidson. The traffic was chokka so I started overtaking it using an area of white diagonal stripes.
Get reflective
04 Feb 2016
Reflective clothing and strips help in low-light circumstances. Twice I’ve acted for people that probably would have died had they not had reflectives on.
Know your enemy
28 Jan 2016
Try to predict driver behaviour at junctions. You can actually be exuberant in filtering through London’s West End and the City because drivers expect bikes to be there and will look in their mirrors (they know that if they don’t they’ll probably get one torn off).
Don’t surprise people
21 Jan 2016
If you’re in an area where you’re likely to come into conflict with other road users then move at a speed that is not significantly greater than the flow of traffic. The last thing you want is to surprise people.
Twinkle like a fairy
14 Jan 2016
Fairy lights that modulate at 300-400 flashes per second will be perceived as twinkling. That’s important because the movement draws the eye, increasing your visibility, but it won’t look like it’s flashing.
You cannot be too colourful
07 Jan 2016
I’m not a big fan of day-glo green (the typical lime yellow colour of most hi-vis items) because it’s so common.
Master the art of reverse camouflage
31 Dec 2015
Don’t dress like a sniper hiding his form. Evolutionary we are programmed to recognise the human form so staying visible is a matter of mastering the exact reverse of camouflage.
Make some lateral movements
17 Dec 2015
The human eye struggles to perceive a small object coming towards it in a straight line, whereas moving from side to side greatly increases the chance of the eye picking it up.
Don’t put your faith in day-glo
10 Dec 2015
Does day-glo clothing help your visibility? The jury is out on this. There is mild evidence to suggest it may, and it certainly can’t do any harm…
