I am having difficulty trying to understand the vehemence and vitriol that is being expressed on this thread about the wearing of high visibility jackets.
I have been required to wear a high visibility jacket when airside on most major airports that I have operated into and out of for the last 10 or 15 years so I suppose it has become second nature.
At first I thought it was a bit of an imposition but my opinion got changed when three colleagues got mowed down by a van on the ramp at Brussels one night. They were wearing black uniforms. They were all badly hurt and the captain never flew again.
Now I agree that this happened at night on a busy ramp on an international airfield but the fact that the captain had his flying career cut short by this struck a note with me.
I have loved flying aeroplanes ever since I went solo in 1957 and if wearing a bit of dayglo keeps me just a little bit safer and helps me to carry on flying privately then I will wear it happily even if a little bit reluctantly.