The best piece of scooter safety equipment

Being seen by inattentive car drivers is the biggest challenge to scooter riders.  People will be staring right at you and just turn or pull out right in front of you.   Yeah, you have the high beam highlight on but they still don't see it and you end up slamming into the car.

The best visibility solution to be seen by car operators while driving your scooter?  Wear a High-Viz vest.  Many motorcycle operators wear them and I bet you notice them on road construction workers.  It may not be fashionable - but you'll have a better chance of being noticed and staying alive.

Not all high-viz vests are the same.  Some are better suited to scooter riding so they don't flap around or look totally dorky.

A popular high-viz vest with scooter riders is the ICON Mil-Spec vest.  It fits snug, comes in a variety of sizes, and it meets U.S. Military Regulations for motorcycle riders in the military.

The vest comes in either high-viz yellow or orange.  Most people I know get the yellow.  That's the color I have.  It comes with reflective taping on the front and back.

It's constructed of light-weight mesh material so you don't get hot on those summer riding days.  There are several interior and exterior pockets and a card holder that will get you through the security gate at work.

One caution - these vests do run small.  Order a size larger than you normally would.  Get a supersize and it will fit over a jacket or armor.

They can be purchased for around $60.  I bought mine online from Motorcycle Superstore.

I've noticed more people wearing high-viz vests for scooter safety these days.  Guess they don't want cars pulling out in front of them either.  I've had less people try to run me over since I started wearing one.

For more scooter safety ideas, read The Best Scooter Safety Modifications and Gear 

© 2012 G. Kunkel and Colorado Scooters. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to G. Kunkel and Colorado Scooters with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.