Is Wearing A Reflector Necessary During The Day Or At Night Only?



Reflectors don't do a darn thing during the day, how many automotive reflectors do you see beaming back at you going down the road during the day? Perhaps if your lucky enough to get the sun to hit it at the right angle you might get a glare but it's only momentary as the position of the bike and eventually the sun changes cancelling out the effect entirely. At night when headlights hit the reflectors is when they work, and they don't work that great then either! Again go down a row of parked cars when it's night and see just how well those cars reflectors work...not very well you will notice, and that's the problem with reflectors on bikes too, they don't work all that well.

If riding during the day is what worries you then you're better off wearing neon (fluorescent) lime (which is a combo of yellow and green which works the best for combo day/dusk rides but neon yellow works best in direct daylight) top, that color stands out better than any other color with neon yellow coming in second. Then if you're really concerned then get a really bright rear tail light like the Serfas TL80 which for the money is the brightest tail light on the market...currently, and set the light to flash mode.

Lights are an active device, much more crucial than reflectors which are passive, rely heavily on lights and just have some reflective stuff to add to the effect of the lights.
 
Speaking as a driver I would suggest wearing it both times. There have been quite a few times when I had no idea a cyclist was up ahead until I saw their reflector.
 
I would opt for being as safe as possible under all circumstances. You never know when those reflectors might save you from an accident or even safe your life. I know of a case in Australia where a cyclist avoided being rammed by a truck in broad daylight only because he was wearing a reflective west, and the driver of the truck happened to have his lights on due to difficult visibility conditions. In other words, there was a lot of dust in the air.
 
I would personally say that it depends on what you are wearing, what the weather is like and how late or early it is. If it is foggy or over cast then I would say wear it, if you are wearing all grey then again it can't hurt. And if it is very early in the morning then I would recommend it too, people are a little bit asleep so any warning you can give them will be good.
 
This brings up a good point. I will discuss this with a friend because he is a active rider of both bike and motorcycles. He always wears a reflector jacket or vest on both bikes.

He once told me that because he is ex military that he will get health benefits if he gets into a bike accident and is wearing a reflector jacket. I know that applies to the motorcycle, but I see him wearing it while cycling. This could be just his own personal habit, but it could be more then just that. I need to ask him again if that applies to cycling as well.
 
joshposh said:
This brings up a good point. I will discuss this with a friend because he is a active rider of both bike and motorcycles. He always wears a reflector jacket or vest on both bikes.

He once told me that because he is ex military that he will get health benefits if he gets into a bike accident and is wearing a reflector jacket. I know that applies to the motorcycle, but I see him wearing it while cycling. This could be just his own personal habit, but it could be more then just that. I need to ask him again if that applies to cycling as well.
Its true. They do have special health insurance that stipulate in a motorcycle accident they need to be wearing a reflector jacket or they are getting limited coverage only. A friend of mine was wearing an open toe footwear and he hit a bad bump while shifting with his left foot. That bump in the road took if half of his left foot. He got limited coverage because he wasn't wearing his reflector jacket.
 
Well in Europe I think it is mandatory to wear it at night, the police even can sue you if you don't wear on.

It should be enforced by law to wear it during the day too, I guess. But they are so ugly and big, the vests I mean. On time me and my friend wanted to open a little shop where we would sew and make nice and fashionable reflective vests in every size thats on the planet.
 
It is advisable that we should wear reflective jackets even during the day. When the day is cloudy, you will realise how you really need it. We should make it a habit so that we never forget them at home. It will also be of great importance if one is involved in an accident.
 
Reflective material will do nothing in broad daylight unless by chance the sun hits it directly then it might appear a bit different then nothing, but that's sort of rare. However neon green safety vest does make you stand out better, and it comes with reflective strips which will be useful at night. See this if you fail to believe me: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ScotchliteNA/Scotchlite/Design-Lab/How-Scotchlite-Works/

Depending on where I'll be riding and the time of day or lighting conditions depends if I wear a neon green with reflective stripe vest or not. If I'm going to be riding in the daytime and off the streets then I wear whatever. If however I will be on city streets and or county roads mostly and during the day I will wear a neon green or yellow jersey, white works great too if it's extremely sunny. If I know it's going to be rainy or heavy overcast or be riding after dusk and into the darkness then I wear my reflective neon green safety vest. HOWEVER, I do not count on reflective devices, or what's known as passive lighting, if I'm going to be out in those conditions I use my lights both front and rear. Reflective stuff, being passive, only is useful under certain limited conditions and then only at night, depending on backlighting conditions and the aim of an oncoming car's headlights it's very possible that your reflective gear won't even show up so don't count on that stuff. The reflective and or neon color is just an added precaution, but it's the lights that do 99% of the work of keeping you visible.
 
My panniers came with reflective patches, but I don't use a vest. Now that there's daylight when I leave home for work, but still before sunrise, I turn on my rear blinkies to attract motorists' attention, but turn them off as soon as I enter the bicycle path.
 
I feel that reflectors are not necessary during the day, what's the point? During the night yes, we need to be properly visible, but at the same time we are not removing them when we are riding during the day right?
 
oportosanto said:
I feel that reflectors are not necessary during the day, what's the point? During the night yes, we need to be properly visible, but at the same time we are not removing them when we are riding during the day right?
A lot of reflective stuff is built into cycling seat bags, clothing, shoes and even helmets, you can't remove them so you just wear them knowing they're not doing any good during daylight hours; but and some bikes come from the factory with reflective pedals and attachments to the wheels these can be removed. I don't have any reflective things attached to the bike, the only optional reflective thing I put on when I ride at night is my leg bands, and my safety vest. Leg bands combined with the shoes reflective quality is interesting, if car headlights hit this stuff at the right angle the driver sees this glowing up and down motion and for some reason older drivers see this stuff better than non moving reflective gear.

Speaking of safety vests, you can get the Home Depot or Lowes brand vests for under $10, but get the mesh fabric design, it allows air to pass through. This is what I wear: http://www.homedepot.com/p/ERB-Large-S363-Class-2-Mesh-Economy-Vest-with-Zipper-Closure-in-Hi-Viz-Lime-61446/204491419 Of course you probably don't want to wear this on group rides, but if you're commuting during the day the neon green will stand out better than just plain clothing, and at night the wide reflective bands will have some limited capability. Home Depot even has a reflective stripped neon green moisture wicking tee shirt for $20. Again it's lights you want to depend on, the reflective stuff is just additional filler.
 
In my city it's considered mandatory for those who ride at night. Those who are negligent will pay a fine if caught. But very few people actually get caught. Speaking of me, I'd support this policy. I've seen some riders drive fast enough to cause a serious accident If driven carelessly.
 
artyarson said:
In my city it's considered mandatory for those who ride at night. Those who are negligent will pay a fine if caught. But very few people actually get caught. Speaking of me, I'd support this policy. I've seen some riders drive fast enough to cause a serious accident If driven carelessly.
What I've found any place that I've lived or traveled to the cops don't seem to really care if a cyclist is out after dark without any lights or reflectors, not sure why that is, I think they should be ticketed. Where I live a lot of cyclists run around at night playing ninja but sometimes cars find them. So hwat do the cops do around here if a car hits a darkened cyclist and technically the driver is at fault? The cops put 100% of the blame on the cyclist because they had no lights or reflective gear.
 
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During the night it should be mandatory and I'm pretty sure it is where I live, although I never wear it, be it night or day. I've never been stopped so I'm not even sure if it is illegal. Of course, during the day it just feels useless to me, but during the night it might actually be good to have one on. Maybe it can help during the day when it's foggy? I don't really know, I'm just guessing here.
 
Froze, I feel exactly the same way. If a regular cop notices a rider without any equipment requierd, I highly doubt he would start a chase. I mean those cops with no cars, just the one who watches his small part of the city. But in case of an accident the blame lies straight onto a rider. And he even risks to be fined twice.
 
artyarson said:
Froze, I feel exactly the same way. If a regular cop notices a rider without any equipment requierd, I highly doubt he would start a chase. I mean those cops with no cars, just the one who watches his small part of the city. But in case of an accident the blame lies straight onto a rider. And he even risks to be fined twice.
Wherever I've lived I've seen cops observe cyclists with no lights and not one attempt to stop them or even the very least say something...nothing. The funny thing is I've had cops pull along side of me at a stop or light and comment how well they can see me, but they won't take the effort to pull up to a cyclist with no lights and or reflectors and say, hey, you need to have some lighting before yourself get killed.
 
It can't hurt to wear it, even during the day. Especially if you're cycling in a place with heavy traffic, every little bit helps if it makes you more visible. There's to telling who's driving to work distracted or overtired, so in my opinion it's better to be a little over prepared :)
 
I'm not so sure how beneficial it can be wearing a reflector during the day, but I guess it won't harm you if you wear it anyway just in any case. As for the night, no need for me to say that it is a must.
 
You should always use a reflector regardless of the time of day. Being seen is very important when sharing a road with motor vehicles. Safety first.
 

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