According to recent research from an Australian university, cyclists are at greater risk of being struck by a car due to driver's inability to see them, particularly when riding in poor light, and the report notes that clothing that is reflective, not high-visibility, is your safest bet to being seen on the road. Philippe Lacherez, who is a post-doctoral fellow at the
School of Optometry and Vision Science at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) conducted his research among 184 cyclists – most of them Australian – who had been involved in a collision with a car. The results showed that in many cases the driver "looked, but didn't see" the cyclist in time to avoid the collision.
"We found that crashes disproportionately occurred during low- light conditions such as at dawn, dusk or at night."
"We're concerned that this means cyclists are making themselves more vulnerable by not being adequately visible to an oncoming driver.
"... cyclists could enhance their chances of being seen with reflective clothing..."
Dr Lacherez warns that fluoro clothing, while conspicuous during the day, was not visible in low light. "Our previous research has clearly demonstrated that when cyclists add these strategic reflective markings it leads to a large increase in visibility, which in turn leads to motorists recognising a cyclist on the road much earlier. This simple step could make cycling in low-light much safer."
Kids Bike Clothes and Accessories with Reflective Panels for Safety
We've designed a simple, yet comfortable, kids t-shirt for use when cycling - it has reflective panels on the sleeve sides, and the back, and also the ByK logo is fully reflective on the front. This, teamed with our kids riding gloves and helmet will help keep your kids safe while riding their bicycle.
Check out our full Accessories Range: