It’s All “Mellow Yellow” – Can A Yellow Visor Really Help You See More?

By Peter Eaton

Motorcycle enthusiast and Sorrymate Sales Manager

There are some mornings when riding to work feels less like motorcycling and more like an audition for Who Can See Through The Weather?

This morning was one of them.

Yorkshire gloom. Damp roads. Low visibility. And me, peering through my trusty yellow Pinlock insert and wondering whether Donovan had been onto something all those years ago.

Everything had that strange warm, golden glow about it.

Although to be fair, that might just have been the yellow visor trying desperately to make the weather look cheerful.

It took me back to 2018, when my optician suggested I try yellow lenses for night driving.

Naturally, I assumed he was trying to sell me the latest miracle cure.

You know the sort.

“Buy these and suddenly you’ll see like an eagle.”

I wasn’t convinced.

But my optician had a different approach,

“Take them, try them, and if they work, pay me later. If they don’t, keep them as spares.”

Now that is confidence in your product.

So I tried them.

And the difference was remarkable.

White lines suddenly stood out.

Road signs seemed easier to pick out.

Contract improved.

The road hadn’t changed.

I could just see it more clearly.

And that got me thinking about something that matters enormously when you’re riding a motorcycle:

Visibility isn’t just about seeing what’s ahead. It’s about spotting the things that might otherwise blend into the background.

A change in road surface.

A damp patch.

Diesel.

A pothole.

Something that, at first glance, might not look like much.

Fast forward to 2019, and I was back on the subject of yellow visors.

I was riding early-morning practice sessions and found that the yellow tint helped highlight subtle changes in the road surface. Damp sections became more obvious. Different shades of tarmac stood out.

It didn’t magically turn me into Valentino Rossi.

Sadly.

But it did give me another little bit of information to work with.

And when you’re riding a motorcycle, sometimes that extra bit of information can make all the difference.

Which brings me back to this morning.

There I was riding along the M62 in the damp.

Cars were throwing spray everywhere.

Lorries were recreating Niagara Falls with every rotation of their wheels.

Visibility?

Let’s call it “character building.”

Then I spotted something ahead.

A diesel slick.

Right in my path.

And it wasn’t subtle.

It was glistening away on the road like it had been placed there specifically to test my reactions.

I lifted my visor to get a better look.

Gone.

Visor down.

There it was again.

Visor up.

Gone.

At this point, I started wondering whether I was losing the plot.

But perhaps the yellow visor really had highlighted something my naked eye wasn’t picking up.

Either way, I wasn’t taking the chance.

I avoided it.

And that got me thinking about what we do at Sorrymate.

Because, in some ways, we’re dealing with the same thing.

When you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident, there can be an awful lot going on.

There’s the obvious stuff.

Your bike.

Your injuries.

The damage.

The insurance company.

But there can also be details hidden underneath everything else.

Things you might not know are imprtant.

Things that can easily get overlooked.

Things that only become obvious when someone who understands motorcycle accidents knows what they’re looking for.

That’s where we come in.

At Sorrymate, we’re bikers helping bikers.

We understand that when you’ve been knocked off your bike the last thing you need is more confusion!.

You need someone to look at the whole picture.

Too spot what matters.

To explain what’s happening.

And, most importantly, to fight your corner when you need it.

A bit like that yellow visor.

More clarity.

Less guesswork.

Hopefully, you’ll never need us.

But if the worst does happen, it’s good to know there’s someone in your corner who understands bikes, understands bikers and knows what to look for.

And as for the yellow visor?

I’ll keep wearing it.

Because I’d rather have that extra bit of visibility and never need it than discover halfway through a corner, that I’ve missed something sitting right in front of me.

Stay safe.

Stay visible.

And most importantly..

Stay shiny side up.

Sorrymate – Bikers Helping Bikers