Misfits, Dad's Army Types et al...
Discussion
Stick Legs said:
A mate of mine who commutes all year round by motorbike wears pink high viz.
He says it is noticeable how much nicer people are to you in pink high viz rather than orange or yellow.
He started after he was dangerously cut up by a van after the same van gave his wife (in pink) a wide berth.
It would appear sexism cuts both ways:
Pink, possibly a female rider.
‘Good sexism’ = I’ll be kind & give her more room.
‘Bad sexism’ = Silly cow will probably do something stupid.
Either way, more space & consideration.
Network rail emergency response vehicles use pink/blue battenburg. He says it is noticeable how much nicer people are to you in pink high viz rather than orange or yellow.
He started after he was dangerously cut up by a van after the same van gave his wife (in pink) a wide berth.
It would appear sexism cuts both ways:
Pink, possibly a female rider.
‘Good sexism’ = I’ll be kind & give her more room.
‘Bad sexism’ = Silly cow will probably do something stupid.
Either way, more space & consideration.
r3g said:
Well, based on where the minibuses were parked, yes.
The problem is that the Walt-ism is getting everywhere. Now you've got school Heads being Walts and forcing their Walt tendencies onto the children to make them look important when nobody cares. The hi-viz has become a status symbol of perceived importance and 'look at me' attention-seeking when just doing normal life stuff, to the point where actual dangerous situations where they would be of benefit to make you stand out are now a waste of time because you are surrounded by 1000 other people also wearing them who are in no danger whatsoever, so everyone gets ignored.
It's at the point now where you'd be more visible if you weren't wearing one
I agree, Hi-Viz is now practically ineffective as far as safety is concerned as it's everywhere. I ride a motorbike and wear a hi-viz jacket on dark rainy mornings but i'm not fooling myself as I fully expect I just blend into the background as there's so much hi-viz about, everyone and their dog (literally) wears it.The problem is that the Walt-ism is getting everywhere. Now you've got school Heads being Walts and forcing their Walt tendencies onto the children to make them look important when nobody cares. The hi-viz has become a status symbol of perceived importance and 'look at me' attention-seeking when just doing normal life stuff, to the point where actual dangerous situations where they would be of benefit to make you stand out are now a waste of time because you are surrounded by 1000 other people also wearing them who are in no danger whatsoever, so everyone gets ignored.
It's at the point now where you'd be more visible if you weren't wearing one
Drumroll said:
Besides most schools now have a policy that when the children are in "public areas" they wear Hi vis tabard.
Again what is the problem with it?
My problem with it, is that it impresses in the minds of the children that the 'outside world' is an inherently dangerous place, and something they need to be protected from. No wonder we are in the middle of a mental health epidemic.Again what is the problem with it?
I think it absolutely ridiculous that kids should have to put on hi-viz to go for a walk, let alone those tethers that some schools use.
(parent of 10 & 12yo)
Red9zero said:
Office building next to ours had the lead stripped off their roof one weekend while they had scaffolding up. Gang of blokes in a van wearing hi vis, so no one queried them - including our security guard, who sat and watched them 
I'm a mechanical and electrical engineer and I work for a loss adjusting firm. About 25% of my caseload is cable theft, usually by a certain protected ethnic group who enjoy caravanning. Usually they just find an empty (or sometimes occupied) industrial unit, break into the car park, barricade themselves in and ransack the building for copper.
I have had a few where the thieves have stripped a place over several days, with neighbours assuming they were contractors. One I had was an empty warehouse that had previously been leased by a large furniture showroom as additional storage. It was an old industrial unit with a northlight roof, which had once been split into 12 units.
Looking at the unit from the service road, which was the only vehicle access, there was a 1,500 kVA transformer in the front corner of the left-hand unit, and another outside next to the back wall, around the mid-point.
They had turned up in hi-viz, broken in, and probably started doing the redundant overhead bus-bar systems that would have one powered machines. They had used bicycle tyres tied together to make a rope ladder to get up to them.
They would have killed the transformers at some point, and taken them away whole (the normal pie-key way is to drain the oil into the ground, pop the lid off, and pull the core out, leaving the case behind). The first one would have been reasonably easy, as they only had to move it a few metres. The one at the rear had been tied to the back of a van and dragged the length of the unit (evident from the gouges in the concrete floor.
There were near-identical units on the opposite side of the service road, and I spoke to some of the lads working in a window manufacturing workshop. They said they came over to their unit and politely informed them the power was off, and asked if they could run an extension lead into their unit for half an hour. They gladly obliged, and let them run a lead across the road, which they probably used to chop up the sub-main cables into manageable chunks. Apparently they were there four days, chatting to the neighbours, and sitting down outside for tea breaks.
Overuse of hi-vis and beacons is a very real problem these days. I work at the side of motorways now quite regularly and due to misuse a lot of folk don't pay any heed to them anymore. This is my standard waltastic bib. BossHogg will probably see it more than most with regards wally lights and yellow jackets.. 
The rear red thing has been abused for ages. There is a private recovery guy on youtube who has rear reds on all his wagons. Obviously plod have never bothered pulling him up, but this will just dilute their effectiveness. As far as I know our lot have no plans to try and implement them at the moment.
naeteltaberdeen said:
Overuse of hi-vis and beacons is a very real problem these days. I work at the side of motorways now quite regularly and due to misuse a lot of folk don't pay any heed to them anymore. This is my standard waltastic bib. BossHogg will probably see it more than most with regards wally lights and yellow jackets..
Because of my proximity to the border, I stop with a lot of Scottish motorists. The amount of times they're on the phone when I arrive, and they tell the person on the phone the "polis" is with them is unreal. This doesn't look like a police jacket! 
BlindedByTheLights said:
House renovation projects on tv, drives me mad seeing everyone working in the garden or in the house all wearing hi vis, why!!!??
I once saw a guy in a suit and hi viz escorting the manager of our local supermarket round the store going through some changes they were going to make to the roof lighting. They were both wearing hard hats. Meanwhile all the old buddies were in the same aisles doing their shopping. Drumroll said:
r3g said:
It was a fenced bridleway kinda thing - there was literally nowhere else for them to go except along the path. There was no danger whatsoever of them running off somewhere, especially not with 5 staff funnelling them along from front and back. Totally ridiculous. School outings managed just fine in the 70s, 80, 90s and 00s (and no doubt well before too) until nanny state took over. Did you read in the newspapers about hordes of children going missing from school trips? No. Because it didn't happen.
At the point you saw them. Do you know all the route they took?Besides most schools now have a policy that when the children are in "public areas" they wear Hi vis tabard.
Again what is the problem with it?
Halmyre said:
It seems to be a problem with aspiring Walts, who are weeping salty tears into their weak lemon drink because MOPs are wearing the sacred vestments.
I’m switching to ‘real tree’ tactical hi-viz. We are also fitting IR strobes to our 4X4 emergency response vehicles.
Derek, our tactical ops commander, is petitioning the police to allow us to use sirens.
Got to keep ahead of the game.
forsure said:
Spotted one on my way through Aylesbury last weekend.
What looked like a Police motorcyclist stopped at the side of the road. Big white bike, panniers, fairing etc. Rider had all the authentic looking gear on - but, on the back of his hi-viz the word 'POLITE'
That's not walty, doing anything that makes motorists pay attention to a motorcyclist is common sense.What looked like a Police motorcyclist stopped at the side of the road. Big white bike, panniers, fairing etc. Rider had all the authentic looking gear on - but, on the back of his hi-viz the word 'POLITE'
forsure said:
Spotted one on my way through Aylesbury last weekend.
What looked like a Police motorcyclist stopped at the side of the road. Big white bike, panniers, fairing etc. Rider had all the authentic looking gear on - but, on the back of his hi-viz the word 'POLITE'
A good ten year or so ago this was now but I remember being on the ScottishBikers forum when one poster but something short of a Honda Goldwing. Delighted to be on the road and we all encouraged him. Soon enough it was "What do you think of these reflective decals?" and eventually ended up with him getting roasted as he donned a POLITE notice hi-viz but denied he was trying to look like a copper... absolute melt.What looked like a Police motorcyclist stopped at the side of the road. Big white bike, panniers, fairing etc. Rider had all the authentic looking gear on - but, on the back of his hi-viz the word 'POLITE'
hidetheelephants said:
forsure said:
Spotted one on my way through Aylesbury last weekend.
What looked like a Police motorcyclist stopped at the side of the road. Big white bike, panniers, fairing etc. Rider had all the authentic looking gear on - but, on the back of his hi-viz the word 'POLITE'
That's not walty, doing anything that makes motorists pay attention to a motorcyclist is common sense.What looked like a Police motorcyclist stopped at the side of the road. Big white bike, panniers, fairing etc. Rider had all the authentic looking gear on - but, on the back of his hi-viz the word 'POLITE'
Total walts, the lot of them. No need to have "POLITE" on the back. Melt.
naeteltaberdeen said:
Overuse of hi-vis and beacons is a very real problem these days. I work at the side of motorways now quite regularly and due to misuse a lot of folk don't pay any heed to them anymore. This is my standard waltastic bib. BossHogg will probably see it more than most with regards wally lights and yellow jackets..
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