Be seen! From invisible to visible!

Imagine this was YOU in traffic.. notice that nothing stands out in this picture except for the reflective materials on the helmet, vest and jacket; the bikes, REGARDLESS of color all blend into the background! Make yourself VISIBLE!

If you've had the fortune to buy a scooter from me personally, more likely than not, you've been perplexed at the statement that "the color of your scooter isn't going to save your life." I'm not sure why, but it seems that folks have it in their head that a brighter colored scoot is going to have more visibility than one of a darker tint. I've called foul on it before, but now there's a study that's been recently released that examines the correlation between rider conspicuity and crash related injuries.

It's a six page long study, but it's worth the time so if you're a current rider, or someone thinking of riding you should definitely read the results.. Here are a few of the highlights:

When looking at "crash related injuries occuring mainly in urban zones with a 50 km/h speed limit, during the day, and in fine weather":

• Wearing any reflective or fluorescent clothing had a 37% lower risk of injury


• Use of a white helmet was associated with a 24% lower risk than a over the use of a black helmet


• NO associated risk when operating a vehicle of a certain color

When looking at those stats, it may seem as if may not mean a lot considering how many scooters and motorcycles you see on the road, but if you figure in that, according to the study, 3000 people die and about 30,000 people are seriously injured on the world's roads DAILY, you may have second thoughts.

Check out the study here.