As we promised in the previous article, once a month, we will be posting information about motorbike reflexes. For what? Let’s increase our visibility and thus improve our security. The time has come for news from the world of glitter. The first question should be “how are the glare”?
Retroreflexion – is the principle on which glare works. It consists in the fact that the light (such as the car’s reflector) bounces off the reflective material and returns to its source. Reflective materials are characterized by such a structure that the light is reflected in the direction of the closest one is that of which it falls (not only when it falls perpendicularly). The structure is made up of special elements placed on the material – glass microspheres or fine acrylic prisms.
Describing these technical details we had a specific goal. Since we already know how glare works, the next question should be, do all glare “shine”? Unfortunately not. Only certified glare “shine”. There are two ways to check if your motorcycle glare is working:
Take a picture with your flash phone flashing at a distance of about 6m. If you see a characteristic flash in your photo, your flashes are OK. After a few washings of your motorcycle clothing with reflective elements perform such a treatment again. If the image is the same effect, it means that your glare is of good quality. Unfortunately, it often happens that non-certified reflectors lose their value after several washings (fluorescent material and reflective tape lose their properties). The other way is to memorize this abbreviation – EN 471. If the reflectors are certified then the label should indicate that the product was made of EN 471 compliant material or that the product complies with EN 471.
How have you taken photos of different reflectors?
The creators of the Hen Vision campaign intentionally took pictures with a mobile phone with flash so that everyone could perform such a test themselves. Magazine where photos were taken – the light is minimized through the windows over the model.
We have two types of photos:
Light coming through the window + fluorescent light
Turn off the fluorescent light (imitation of the twilight)
Photos show how different glare is available on the market. It’s great that you want to ride in the glare. However, our article is to educate what to look for when buying reflective accessories.
What defines EN 471?
EN 471 – High Visibility Warning Clothing for Professional (Professional) Use. The standard specifies clothing requirements that visually signal the presence of the wearer to be seen and seen in hazardous conditions at night, daylight and headlights. Specifies the visibility class of the reflective, fluorescent material, and reflective grade depending on your reflectivity.
This article contains some technical information regarding glare. Maybe a bit boring, but very important and worth remembering. Why do we write about it? Because we have met several times with the actions of many companies, who wanted to promote their brand, they distributed various glare, most often vest. The objectives of the action were noble, but unfortunately these vests were often not certified, so they did not glitter in artificial light (eg in car headlights). So someone in Poland has developed and put on a reflective waistcoat to increase visibility. It moves in the dark in the dark, with the awareness of “I am visible”. And here a surprise – the glare does not “shine” and we have a tragedy.
If we are wearing reflective clothing, please note that our reflective motorcycle vests, belts or braces are certified and light. Motorcyclist “Let’s get noticed”.