Hi Vis jackets/arm bands where?

miss choc

New to cycling in the city and got my bike, lock and helmet for my now shortened commute to work I saw on the Dublin City cycling blog and RSA that they were giving out free jackets and armbands but it was last Winter just wondering when they start giving them out again I have emailed but not reply yet. I saw on some thread that Garda stations sometimes have free ones is that true?

Captain Havoc

miss choc wrote: »

New to cycling in the city and got my bike, lock and helmet for my now shortened commute to work I saw on the Dublin City cycling blog and RSA that they were giving out free jackets and armbands but it was last Winter just wondering when they start giving them out again I have emailed but not reply yet. I saw on some thread that Garda stations sometimes have free ones is that true?

That was another safety thing if I recall correctly, basically they'd pull you up for no lights, tell you to present yourself at your local garda station with lights on your bike and then they gave you an RSA hi-viz jacket. ONe of either Aldi or LIDL will surely be donig them in the near future. If you want one now, I'm sure Halfords have some for a couple of quid.

Raam

Whilst high-vis has it's supporters and can be useful in certain circumstances, don't let it trick you into a false sense of security. Plenty of people with high vis get into tricky situations. Arrive on the road armed with a sense of awareness, knowledge of the rules of the road, a road-worthy bike and you will be better served.

Cookie_Monster

Raam wrote: »

Whilst high-vis has it's supporters and can be useful in certain circumstances, don't let it trick you into a false sense of security. Plenty of people with high vis get into tricky situations. Arrive on the road armed with a sense of awareness, knowledge of the rules of the road, a road-worthy bike and you will be better served.

that and all black clothing looks much better too, you can pretend to be a ninja then

Doctor Bob

Bike shops tend to charge a premium for hi-viz stuff. Check hardware or builders' suppliers shops first.

Alternatively, Bike Week usually runs in June, and there are generally plenty of freebies available at events all over the country, if you can wait until then.

(Also, check your Private Messages.)

And +1 on Raam's advice.

mcmoustache

Helmet and hivis are a good idea but as was said above, don't rely on them for your safety on the road. A helmet+hiviz won't save you being sucked under the wheels of a bus if you try undertaking one.

Here's a few safety tips that I consider important. I've been commuting around dublin city centre for the past year so our situations would be similar. If other forum users have any other tips, please add them.

1. Never get yourself into a position where you are cycling along the left hand side of a bus. They won't see you and if they turn left, you'll be mangled under their wheels. Do this by overtaking (not undertaking) buses. Also, to prevent busses from dangerously overtaking you, keep out from the kerb. This forces the bus to overtake you correctly. Buses will still overtake you and pull in all of a sudden but if they do, check behind you and overtake them when it is safe.

2. Before any manouevre, look behind you and indicate. If you can't do it without falling off, get mirrors. The last thing you want is to pull out in front of a car or bike who's driver might not have time to stop. A helmet won't help you if you're knocked off the bike and a car ends up driving over you but checking to see that it's safe will prevent you from falling in the first place.

3. Watch the road near you as well as the road up ahead. You need to check for potholes and bad surfaces which can knock you off or give you a puncture. You need to look ahead to see if someone, a pedestrian or a vehicle is likely to do something stupid. Assume that they will and get yourself into a good position. Pedestrians and other cyslists are the worst for this.

4. Assume that you are invisible. Even with lights and hiviz, drivers will often only look out for other vehicles and fail to see you. You might have the right of way but a car could pull out in front of you at a junction and you could end up going over the bonnet if you can't stop in time. A helmet could help here but it won't prevent broken bones. Looking ahead as per point 3 will help prevent this from happening.

5. Car doors. Cycle lanes are seen as car parks by most people so you'll have to go around them. Go around them as per point 2 but leave at least a meter between you and the car. If the door opens and you are too close, you're going over. The helmet could help here to protect your head which might get planted into concrete. Also avoid undertaking loads of cars if there are also loads of other cars parked to the left of you. Capel St going south would be an example of this kind of road. A door opening there might not leave you enough room to take evasive action.

6. Obey the rules of the road. Not doing so adds to the perception that cyclists don't deserve to be on the road and are a danger to themselves and others. You might think that the traffic lights don't apply to you, especially pedestrian crossings, but every red light means a green light for someone else and they might not expect some muppet to break the light and walk out in front of you. Stay off the footpath. It's not for you, it's for pedestrians. This is advice about manners moreso than safety but safety is still an issue here. Also cycle lanes aren't bi-directional. If the painted bike on the road looks upside down, you're going the wrong way.


I don't want to make it seem like cycling in an urban environment is dangerous. It isn't if you keep your whits about you. I just want to show that awareness is the most important aspect of road safety. A helmet will only help a little in the grander scheme of things.

Everyday I see cyclists doing stupid and dangerous things and helmets aren't what they need. It's new brains.

silvo

2 euro shops sell loads of hi vis for much cheaper than bike shops. DIY shops too.

tomasrojo

Tesco sell adhesive strips of reflective material for next to nothing. And they also sell strips of a cheap Velcro knock-off. You can make armbands from those, if you like. I used these to make reflective wrist-bands, which is my only use of visibility aids during times of good visibility, to enhance visibility of signalling and frantic emergency waving.

mcmoustache

tomasrojo wrote: »

Tesco sell adhesive strips of reflective material for next to nothing. And they also sell strips of a cheap Velcro knock-off. You can make armbands from those, if you like. I used these to make reflective wrist-bands, which is my only use of visibility aids during times of good visibility, to enhance visibility of signalling and frantic emergency waving.

That seems like a good idea. I don't do it at the moment but I think I'll give it a go. Straps on the arms and ankles should be fairly noticeable given that they are moving about more than a hiviz vest.

langdang

I have this jacket - pretty much the most aggressively bright jacket I could get my hands on. This is visible to 99% of morons, but I met the other 1% yesterday evening on the way home :rolleyes: - VERY close call.

tomasrojo

mcmoustache wrote: »

That seems like a good idea. I don't do it at the moment but I think I'll give it a go. Straps on the arms and ankles should be fairly noticeable given that they are moving about more than a hiviz vest.

That would be my take. Moving bright points are conspicuous, which is more important than merely being visible. (I would argue that if you're wearing non-sombre clothes on a sunny day and a motorist doesn't see you, I don't find it very likely that they'd see you wearing static hi-viz either, since they clearly failed to notice you, rather than couldn't discern you from the background.)

miss choc

Thanks for all the tips havent cycled in 15 years and that was in the country so have to get aquainted with the city esp all the taxis, buses lorries etc. Taking it easy to start with and going short distances first and will build up gradually. I dont need to go into the city centre for work just Collins Ave which is quite wide around DCU area. Any junctions that look a bit scary to cross by bike I just get off the bike and cross over the pedestrian pathway until I get a bit more confident.

tomasrojo

Calm and alert is the way to be.

mcmoustache

miss choc wrote: »

Thanks for all the tips havent cycled in 15 years and that was in the country so have to get aquainted with the city esp all the taxis, buses lorries etc. Taking it easy to start with and going short distances first and will build up gradually. I dont need to go into the city centre for work just Collins Ave which is quite wide around DCU area. Any junctions that look a bit scary to cross by bike I just get off the bike and cross over the pedestrian pathway until I get a bit more confident.

That's a good idea till you get more confident. The area around there is pretty good with the wide roads as you said. The traffic won't be too bad either. It's a good place for learning about looking behind you and practicing overtaking buses which have pulled in to pick up passengers. After a few weeks, the city centre won't be all that daunting either.

By the way, what kind of lock do you use? The main types are chain locks, cable-locks and U/D-locks. The reason I bring it up is that bikes get stolen all the time but a good lock used correctly can prevent you from being a victim of theft.

petethedrummer

http://wiki.boards.ie/wiki/Locks_%26_Security

Civilian_Target

miss choc wrote: »

New to cycling in the city and got my bike, lock and helmet for my now shortened commute to work I saw on the Dublin City cycling blog and RSA that they were giving out free jackets and armbands but it was last Winter just wondering when they start giving them out again I have emailed but not reply yet. I saw on some thread that Garda stations sometimes have free ones is that true?

Much more important than a helmet or hi-vis would be a set of lights. It's a legal requirement to have them when you cycle at night (neither helmet or hivis are mandatory) and I don't see that on your list.

http://wiki.boards.ie/wiki/Bike_lights

miss choc

I have a white head light, red back light and reflector and bought a U Lock one from the Oxford brand seems pretty sturdy and reliable

mcmoustache

miss choc wrote: »

I have a white head light, red back light and reflector and bought a U Lock one from the Oxford brand seems pretty sturdy and reliable

A good U-Lock when used correctly will keep your bike very safe. I recommend the wiki page that petethedrummer posted. There are some very good videos there. The main thing is, when you use a U-Lock, don't leave room on the inside to insert anything.

You sound like you know what you're at so I hope you enjoy all the benefits of cycling for years to come.