HiVis Clothing Increases Your Chances of Being Seen at Night by 8X!

High visibility clothing significantly increases the chances of being seen by drivers at night.

1. Reflective Properties: High visibility clothing incorporates retroreflective materials. These materials don't emit light themselves but reflect light powerfully back to the source. When a driver's headlights hit the reflective material on the clothing, it creates a bright beacon that's much easier to see compared to regular clothing that absorbs light and appears dark.

2. Increased Visibility Distance: Studies have shown that high visibility clothing can increase the distance at which a driver can spot a pedestrian at night by a significant factor. The exact increase can vary depending on factors like the specific clothing, lighting conditions, and driver attentiveness, but estimates range from.
3. Conspicuity: High visibility clothing often uses bright fluorescent colors like yellow or orange in combination with reflective materials. This combination creates a higher visual contrast against dark backgrounds, making the wearer more conspicuous to drivers.

Quantifying the Increase:

It's difficult to pinpoint an exact factor by which high visibility clothing increases nighttime visibility because of the various influencing conditions. However, research suggests a substantial improvement.

Here's an example: If a driver can typically see a person in dark clothing at 50 meters at night, wearing high visibility clothing could increase that distance to 100 meters (doubling) or even 400 meters (eight times) depending on the specific circumstances.