Color blindness
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 9:54 am
Red flags indicate caution/stop, which hasn't been an issue for me in the past. However, against a backdrop of leaves and trees, those red flags simply disappear for me. While working a corner, if the flag is on the ground, I can only find it by looking for the handle. I know colorblindness (at least Deuteranomaly, which is the red/green colorblindness I have) isn't exactly uncommon, so I'm curious as to how it's been handled in the past. Red flags are only used when there's a safety concern, and I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of trying to pick out the shape of a flag against a similarly-colored background. I'm open to any advice anyone has, but I'm concerned that I may not be able to safely race unless that flag is modified.
You probably see a number in this image, all I see are dots.
Now imagine that number in there is the red flag on a woodland background.
There are also several other types of colorblindness. This image simulates the differences between how a person with each would see an image.
I don't really like the idea of changing rules just because of me, but red flags are an important safety consideration (aren't they all important?), and it's not one I can simply adapt to. I'm really looking forward to getting to race next season, and would appreciate any advice or feedback I can get.
Possible solutions:
1 - High-reflective tape around the border of the flag. That would be easy to see for anyone with their headlights on, and I'll be happy to keep mine on if that's what gets me on the hill safely.
2 - Change the color to a solid blue. The most common colorblindness is red/gree, which is essentially an inability to distinguish 'warm' colors from one another. Green, brown, yellow, orange, and red are all perceived as being the same color, with varying intensities (brown is normally darker than yellow). Switching to blue may not do any good for blue-yellow colorblind people (who would see a light blue as the same color as autumn leaves), but blue-yellow is much more rare.
3 - Use checkered flags. The problem here is that a typical black/white checkered flag conveys the exact opposite signal to drivers that it should. Safety workers are thinking "STOP STOP STOP" and drivers are thinking "WOO CHECKERS! FASTER!" ... that kind of inconsistency with every other sport everywhere could be disasterous, so I really don't like this solution. Maybe a black/red or white/red or blue/red checkered flag would work for everyone?
You probably see a number in this image, all I see are dots.
Now imagine that number in there is the red flag on a woodland background.
There are also several other types of colorblindness. This image simulates the differences between how a person with each would see an image.
I don't really like the idea of changing rules just because of me, but red flags are an important safety consideration (aren't they all important?), and it's not one I can simply adapt to. I'm really looking forward to getting to race next season, and would appreciate any advice or feedback I can get.
Possible solutions:
1 - High-reflective tape around the border of the flag. That would be easy to see for anyone with their headlights on, and I'll be happy to keep mine on if that's what gets me on the hill safely.
2 - Change the color to a solid blue. The most common colorblindness is red/gree, which is essentially an inability to distinguish 'warm' colors from one another. Green, brown, yellow, orange, and red are all perceived as being the same color, with varying intensities (brown is normally darker than yellow). Switching to blue may not do any good for blue-yellow colorblind people (who would see a light blue as the same color as autumn leaves), but blue-yellow is much more rare.
3 - Use checkered flags. The problem here is that a typical black/white checkered flag conveys the exact opposite signal to drivers that it should. Safety workers are thinking "STOP STOP STOP" and drivers are thinking "WOO CHECKERS! FASTER!" ... that kind of inconsistency with every other sport everywhere could be disasterous, so I really don't like this solution. Maybe a black/red or white/red or blue/red checkered flag would work for everyone?