The cyclist is obliged to be illuminated at night, the pedestrian must have reflective elements outside the village. Reflective vest stands like two beers, yet we meet “invisible” pedestrians or cyclists every day. The fine is the least that can happen to them.
With short days and early twilight, you can find out more about drivers’ attention. But they are not alone on the road. Particularly in rural areas, he shares roads, often poor conditions, with pedestrians and cyclists who do not have a walkway or bike path.
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These road users are the most vulnerable, but they sometimes behave as if they were immortal and walk or drive along the roadside in the dark without lighting or reflective material elements. It is hardly two months since we wrote about a pedestrian who was knocked down and injured to the hospital, probably because in the dark he walked on the road without lights or reflective elements.
Police statistics speak similarly. Over the past five years, more and more pedestrians have died on the road at night than in the daytime. In 2018 it was 55 by day vs. 58 at night. The largest number of pedestrian accidents, not necessarily fatal, occurred in December. November was second and January was third. And most pedestrian accidents occurred between 4 pm and 5 pm.
Reflective bracelets cost only twenty crowns. A larger and more visible reflective vest costs about 50 crowns, and when not needed, easily fits in your pocket or purse. It may not suit you, but safety on the way home is more important.
Since the beginning of 2016, ie for three and a half years, it has been instructing pedestrians to use reflective elements, paragraph 9, § 53 of Act 361/2000 Coll. on traffic on roads: “If a pedestrian is moving outside the village in poor visibility along the verge or at the edge of the road in a place not illuminated by public lighting, he/she is obliged to wear elements of retro-reflective tape material placed to be visible to other participants traffic on the roads.”
For cyclists, this is governed by paragraph 5 of § 58 of the same law: “In poor visibility, the cyclist is obliged to have a headlamp with white front light and a rear lamp with a red light while driving.”
If these obligations are not fulfilled, the pedestrian or cyclist may face a fine of up to CZK 2,500. However, this is negligible compared to what can happen to an “invisible” pedestrian or cyclist.