Misrepresenting the title of the article aside, I would love to see further analysis about the different types of high visibility fabric on the market too, as they certainly aren't all made equal.
As a cyclist, in terms of colour I'll only ever buy yellow kind, because as a driver I feel like this stands out much better than any others (greens, oranges, pinks). And I make sure to buy items which are as bright as possible.
I also strongly feel that the current trend for using "silver" retroreflective fabric for entire products (as opposed to contrast panels) is a really bad one. In my experience as a driver, the light bouncing off, for example, a completely retroreflective jacket appears "flat". This reduces any perception of depth and means it takes noticeably longer to process and understand what it is am I looking at and react accordingly.
Yep. This is too much of reflection for the driver's eyes.
In the old not so good days a driver could encounter at night a horse driven buggy with no lights or reflective elements whatsoever. Just few days ago at night while going downhill on a steep road I have seen a well camouflaged hiker walking on my side of the road and stepping aside luckily in time.
I will take reflective vest on a biker/pedestrian/hell, even on a horse anytime I am driving/biking and can hit them after spotting them too late.
As a cyclist, in terms of colour I'll only ever buy yellow kind, because as a driver I feel like this stands out much better than any others (greens, oranges, pinks). And I make sure to buy items which are as bright as possible.
I also strongly feel that the current trend for using "silver" retroreflective fabric for entire products (as opposed to contrast panels) is a really bad one. In my experience as a driver, the light bouncing off, for example, a completely retroreflective jacket appears "flat". This reduces any perception of depth and means it takes noticeably longer to process and understand what it is am I looking at and react accordingly.
Just a random video, but imagine seeing just this jacket from 30 metres away - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVfUkCSw9Ew