Would You Wear a Safety Vest While Riding?

By Austin Lott - November 11, 2019

**Wondering if you should wear a high-visibility safety vest while riding? H-D Forums members weigh in with their experiences.**

Whether you commute, hit the Interstate, or just ride on the weekends, being seen while riding is a big deal. One inattentive driver can take a bike down before they even realize they’ve made a mistake. I commuted off-and-on in Los Angeles and had more than a few close calls. No doubt anyone with more serious miles in the saddle can attest to as well. HD Forum member BigRed117 has gotten more safety conscious and asked his fellow forum members their thoughts about wearing a vest:

So as I have gotten older I have become much more safety conscious and now wear a safety vest day or night. The other weekend I went on a Toys for Tots ride. I overheard some “********” comment to his buddy about my ***** equipment. I just wondered who wears a safety vest not living on a military base where they are required. I find it makes me more noticeable than when I don’t wear one.

A number were in favor of wearing a high-visibility vest.

“Riding doesn’t scare me. Like you the older I get the thought of getting hurt doing anything concerns me more than it ever did, not just riding. Riding time gives me a chance to get away and think about things. Most of those times the thoughts are reflections of the past, my wife, kids and grand kids and the life I now enjoy. Work never concerns me when I am riding. I have pondered many times out riding, especially pushing the limits what the thoughts of my loved ones would be at my funeral if I was killed on my bike doing something other than just cruising. The thought of any one of them thinking “Pops got killed riding his bike while doing something stupid, I guess that was more important to him than me.” All of this tends to slow me down. None of my family have a problem with me owning and riding a bike again, but they do have expectations that I will do it as safely and cautiously as possible. This is the reason I wear as much safety gear as I can, its for them more than it is me … A safety vest for sure makes us more visible. Any advantage of having an accident avoided by being seen where otherwise we might not have been is worth everything. It makes sense to me,” said Cbyway.

“I have a safety vest; but only wear it at night or when riding on crowded metro area freeways.
The main reason I bought it was because a year or so back I almost ran over a gal laying in the road after a minor crash. Luckily she was laying just out of my lane or I very well could have have hit her. Dressed in all black on a dark morning I didn’t see until I was right up on her,” said bad tappets.

“I’ve been seeing more and more guys wearing hi-vis stuff. Nothing wrong with that.
There were 4 kids waiting for the school bus the other morning, and it was still kind of dark out. One of them had a hi-vis backpack, and he was the first one I saw when I was still two blocks away,” said RHPAW.

Several people were initally confused by BigRed117’s use of the term “safety vest” when they’re commercially known as “high visibility” vests.

“At first, I wasn’t sure what the OP meant by ‘safety vest.’ I was picturing something with armour or inflatable crash cushions. After reading I see we’re talking about reflective vests. I ride for fun on the weekends and M-F every day in all weather to work. I wear a reflective vest sometimes on the weekends and always to and from work. I couldn’t give a flying f#@$ what anyone thinks about what I’m wearing,” said UrbanRunner, who posted a shot of his own vest.

Though not everyone was on-board with the idea of a reflective vest.

“as someone who once was required to wear one, I think they are useless.
The one time I was hit, I was wearing my vest, hit from behind while I was turning into a driveway by an inattentive driver (before texting while driving became as prevalent as it now is, she was just a dipshit)
I now don’t bother with the vest, if they cant see the *** end of the bike lit up like Christmas, then well, I need to take affirmative action, and not rely on a passive device for ‘added safety’
Funny thing was when I was hit, I saw the hazard, knew she was going to whack me, and still didn’t take appropriate action (like continuing on straight, and not turning) this was inside my first year of riding, and now keep a tight look on all other motorists, and if their actions appear threatening, I take action to self preserve. Don’t rely on others, or some magic piece of gear to save you,” said ScottinAZ.

The conversation about high-visibility safety vests led to a general discussion about bike safety beyond the “loud pipes save lives” chorus.

“Ive already posted my thoughts on the safety vest, however I feel the need to comment on the other ‘safety equipment’ that has been brought up since.
Dont let all the bright lights, and hi-viz, and other whizz-bang gadgets lull you into a false sense of security. I see this attitude in other places as well. I used to work in kitchens and the number of people doing dumb stuff with the “anti-cut gloves” on was phenomenal. same attitude, this piece of gear will save me from harm.
the best thing out there to keep you safe is the couple of ounces of grey matter between your ears, and the miles behind you making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when the **** is about to hit the fan,” ScottinAZ added.

A few had a little fun with the naysayers, who were concerned that no amount of reflective striping or flashing lights will wake up the texting/drunk/stupid drivers of the world.