June 2018 - Reflective tape

Cyclists disagree with the pedestrian’s duty to wear reflective elements

The association that supports cycling as a mode of transport does not agree with the obligation for pedestrians to wear reflective vests. This is enforced in the amendment to the Act on Road Traffic by the Ministry of Transport. “This duty is inadequate, especially in pedestrian-friendly villages, and drivers should be ready for them,” said European MEP Bike Vice President Daniel Moure.

“Introducing the pedestrian’s obligation to wear reflective elements is contrary to the principle of the responsibility of stronger motorists for damages they may cause,” said Moure. The ministry in the proposal demands that the reflective elements be worn in the village where there is no walkway and which are not sufficiently illuminated.

However, according to the association, such conditions meet a number of residential districts, where pedestrians would not be able to move without reflective clothing according to the law. In fact, this will be completely different, the association warned, demanding that even without reflective elements the pedestrian could pass through the communication. In such a case, for example, he might be obliged to step back on the roadside before passing the motorcycle.

In addition to wearing reflective materials, the association requires modifications to the obligations of cyclists when moving in traffic. This includes, among other things, the abolition of the obligation to ride at the right edge of the road, which threatens cyclists, for example, when the roads are parked in roads, in narrow lanes or before a roundabout. Cyclists at the crossing for cyclists should also take precedence over branching vehicles. They prefer to join them even when a motor vehicle comes from a special road so that the marked cycle paths in these sections are not interrupted.

Among the associations that submitted comments on the law were, for example, Auto * Mat Association, organizing cycling, the Brno bicycle association or the Partnership Foundation.

Reflective elements for pedestrians

A fine of up to 2500 crowns! Such sanctions should be brought by an amendment to the road law approved by the government. These sanctions threaten pedestrians who will not have protective reflective vests outside the village. How much does this new measure, which still has to go through the legislative wheel, stand for us?

Enhance road safety. This is the intention of the amendment to the Road Act approved by the government. The amendment introduces, among other things, pedestrian responsibilities to wear reflective elements for impaired visibility, i.e. in darkness or mist, on roads outside the village. The original draft of the amendment was that the obligation would also apply in municipalities, but this eventually fell to the legislative council of the government.

If these elements do not have pedestrians, they are liable to a fine of 1,500 to 2,500 crowns. “I am not a great supporter of repressive interventions, we should explain to pedestrians that it is for their safety,” said Transport Minister Dan Wok.

And how much will be the new measure, if it passes through parliament and signed by the president, stand? The most basic equipment is not expensive and can be bought by everyone. In addition, for many security events, these elements are distributed free of charge. Base reflective tapes that we can wrap around the hand or the leg are about 30 to 50 crowns. Like various reflective pendants and stickers, their price is most often between 10 and 50 crowns.

In addition, some people already have problems with the reflective elements solved, because a number of outdated clothes are already wearing these elements.

Reflective elements greatly increase the visibility of pedestrians, with the reflective materials being visible at night at 200 meters, in white cloth only 55 meters and blue clothing, for example, it is only 18 meters. “Reflective material can be seen at night three times as far as white clothing and more than ten times as far as the blue cloth. At a speed of 75km/h, the driver needs at least 31 meters (1.5 seconds) to realize the danger and the corresponding way. “says Be sip.

Security reflective elements can be attached to hands, feet, back or backpack. However, according to experts, it is best to place them in places where we move like feet or hands.

Reflective Belt Test

The lighted mobile or the white t-shirt will not save your life on the night road. You’d better buy reflective vests, ideal for the widest bands in bright colors. But there are huge differences among them – the ability to reflect light is the best for them, compared to the last sixty times.

Usually tragic, as statistics show. For example, over 130 pedestrians died on the roads last year, 60 percent of which were killed at night.

Therefore, according to the amendment to the Road Act, pedestrians are obliged to wear so-called retro-reflective elements as of February when they move on an unlit road outside the village in the dark, dark, in heavy rain, snow or in the tunnel.

Therefore, the MF DNES Test, together with BESIP, tested 26 reflective tapes. We bought it in various places – shops, post offices, gas stations and e-shops. Measurement of the retro reflection, i.e. the intensity with which the tapes reflect the light, was taken by the accredited laboratory of the Center for Transport Research.

Most of them are bright yellow

At first glance, tapes at each end of the qualitative scale look virtually the same – light green, plastic, self-winding. “In fact, it’s not the color of the tape, but the amount and density of a special glass mass that provides a reflection of light in the tape,” explains the principle of BESIP Martin Farrar. However, it is difficult for the layman to know.

The first advice on how to properly choose a reflective tape is, according to the painter. “Be careful about whether the tape meets the standard.”

In mind, the standard is EN 471 or 20471. Look for the tape or the enclosed instructions. However, as the test showed, the quality of the retro reflection does not necessarily have to be directly related to the quality of the information given. That’s why the Ferrier recommends considering color.

“We recommend the color most bright yellow, which is best visible and red or green,” says the BESIP chief.

Although the red color of reflective elements conforms to a technical standard, it is also better to choose the lightest shade – which is also confirmed by the test results. In the first half of the ranking, there was no red, not even orange tape, but the last eight of them had a color of just five.

“Ideal is white and silver, where no color is applied to dampen reflection. Because the color will partially absorb the light that falls on it, the darker the strip will be, the less it will shine, “explains the consequences of physical laws Lukas of the technology company 3M, which deals with the development and production of reflective materials.

The third advice when choosing a ribbon is quite practical, namely to try to get the widest reflective strip.

And if you have the option, choose a predicable dealer for your purchase. Idea is to get the tape directly with the BESIP logo. The top three also received two products from the Czech Post offer.

Mandatory pedestrian reflective elements: Better than nothing

In February, pedestrians are obliged to wear reflective vests. But nobody deliberately says what to look like, and there are shops full of shunts.

You would have to live abroad or on Mars so that you do not hear about new pedestrian obligations in the Czech Republic wearing reflective materials outside of the village for reduced visibility. In February, it will go out in a collection of laws and then start paying in 15 days.

In the autumn, the be sip campaign began, this year being sold to half a million reflective tapes, 100,000 bags for seniors and tens of thousands of shining laces for young people. The numbers of victims are really dull since 72 pedestrians died in the dark last year. This is what good foreign experience speaks of, where such a duty has been paid for years, and the number of deaths has dropped very fast. Will this happen to us?

Do not buy reflective vests on the market, experts warn. Some are not visible in the dark

Some reflective vests that are commonly sold here are not visible in the dark. This was found by researchers from but in Brno. These are, for example, vests bought at the market. Although they have a label for the atheists, they are still not working. The obligation to wear reflective elements in the dark has pedestrians outside the village for more than a year.

Researchers at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication of BUT test the reflective vests directly on the field. They use a special camera with a camera to create a so-called bright map. It depicts how much the character is at night in contrast to the surroundings. “What you see here is a luminous analyzer, which is built on a digital SLR camera, which is specially adapted for this case, and the photo is analyzed by the software,” explains the head of the Jan Skoda Lighting Laboratory.

Two figurines went into the dark, 80 meters from the car. At such a distance, it must be seen that the driver has reacted to the pedestrian at speed of about 90km. The technician with the device in the car is focused, photographed and analyzed. “There is only one vest visible from the bright map, the other one cannot be seen,” Jan Skoda said.

Buying a cheap vest is a gamble with life

“A few crowns can mean the difference between life and death. The college is wearing a vest from the market and the record has not been seen, “Michal Bleak, expert of the Department of Forensic Engineering at the Institute of Forensic Engineering, said. A quality vest comes to about two hundred crowns, and drivers can buy it for example at a gas station or in a car-shop. This is believed by researchers. Reflective materials are clearly visible on the vests of night lighting at a distance of 300 meters. For those of the finest, even miles away.

Even the label with the certificate does not guarantee the quality of the vest

There is a vest around fifty crowns at the market. Most of the time he has the necessary certificates on the label. The fact that it will be visible in the dark, but it is still not guaranteed.

It is just that he has a vest for the certificate. It is enough to check the Czech Trade Inspection. If it’s actually shining in the traffic, it’s not already. The obligation to wear reflective elements in the dark has pedestrians outside the village for more than a year. The fact that she was not seen was also a life walker for her last year accident in Becalm. Dark went only in dark clothes. Overall statistics, whether people really wear reflective clothing but do not register the police.

Without reflective elements and in dark clothing

On Tuesday, I / 12 died in Pesky Brood on the road I / 12 married couple who hit the car. “One person suffered injuries incompatible with life, the doctor stated death. We tried to revive the other person for several dozen minutes, but in spite of all efforts, the doctor had to declare death, “said Petra Weinberger, an emergency service spokeswoman.

It turned out that the driver of the car probably did not have the chance to see the pedestrian in time. Not only did they have reflexive elements, but they were in dark garments. Visibility, esp. Invisibility, but it was also a major cause of crashes with pedestrians in January. “Most of these people did not have reflective vests and were in dark clothes. Obviously, if we do not see it, it’s bad on the road, “said Mimosa, Head of Regional Railroad Police in Hradec Karloff.

Video Studio CT24

Studio Hradec Karloff: Safety of pedestrians and drivers on the roads

Last week at Starry Jessica in Pardubice it was similar to a crash in which the pedestrian died in dark clothing and without reflective elements. A tragic accident in which an “invisible” pedestrian died, was even on the D11 motorway where the car crashed the driver of another car that stopped and crossed the highway to help in an accident. But he did not take his reflective vest.

The police or department of the BESIP of the Ministry of Transport warns about the danger of invisibility for pedestrians. According to BESIP, the use of reflective material gives the driver the chance to avoid pedestrians at night in a safe and safe manner. While in dark clothes he probably does not notice it before the accident and in white clothing does not have enough time to react anyway, the reflective tape or vest should be seen at 200 meters, which already give a sufficient time reserve.

Hradec Karloff Regional Coordinator of BESIP Lade Konia stated that in good visibility and on dry roads the driver needs to stop at a speed of 50km / h at less than 30 meters. “It’s changing at different speeds,” she said. So if the car is driving at ninety, the distance the driver needs to see that something is in danger and brakes increases to 70 meters.

Goes’ company is the market leader in fire fighting suits

Most firefighters in the Netherlands wear a Zeeland firefighting suit. The suits are from PWG from Goes. The company is the market leader in the field of safety clothing. Seventy percent of firefighters in the Netherlands work in a PWG suit.

Dutch market

The vast majority of PWG’s production is intended for the Dutch market, but the safety clothes also regularly cross the border to, for example, Saudi Arabia and Luxembourg. In Zeeland, only the corps of Thule, Vlissingen carries no suits from PWG. The design is done in Goes. The production takes place in Poland.

Innovation is the strength of the company

In order to maintain the good position in the market, new clothing is regularly designed, such as the gas overalls and a new fireman’s suit that can be worn during wildfires which have high light reflective tapes. The ‘forest fire suit’ was developed together with the fire brigade of Zwolle because forest fires are increasingly taking place and the normal fire suits are too heavy and hot to work all day long. Special gas overalls to ensure that the gas mechanic does not get gas in his overalls.

Fair-trade

Being distinctive is one of the spearheads of PWG because that is also why the family business maintains its good market position. That is why brother and sister West veer chose to work as a sole company in the Netherlands with Max Have lair fabrics in order to be able to use the Fair-trade quality mark. The organic cotton cannot be used in all clothing, but the reflective vest is made for a large part of it.

A safety vest with built-in LED lighting

“I thought it would be even more convenient to wear the LED light on my clothes. Then I would have enough light everywhere, “says Dickens. At the kitchen table, he further developed his idea of a safety vest with built-in LED lighting.

The project gained momentum after Sickens spoke about it on a birthday with a firefighter present. “He said that they had been looking for something like that for years. Reflective vests are only visible when light shines on them. ”

Sickens received business and financial support from his father-in-law and his business partner. The first fifty luminous reflective safety vests were for the Rotterdam Fire Brigade. Without any marketing campaign, new applications came in from, among other things, shipping and road construction.

The 30-year-old entrepreneur is aware that his idea is actually very simple. “But it was not there yet and there is a lot of demand for it. Just like the paper clip. “He now has a patent and patent on the light vest.

The vest has a rechargeable battery that is fully within two hours and the LED light burns for 100 hours. Despite all electronics, it weighs only three hundred grams. According to Sickens, the vests, which are made in factories in Tilburg and Niemen, cannot be destroyed. “LED lighting lasts sixty thousand hours and we give a two-year warranty.”

The company has 69 different versions in the range, which can be washed out thanks to a special coating on the electronics. “The color of the vest, reflective tapes and the placement and color of the light differ,” says the young entrepreneur. “For staff who have to crawl through sewer pipes, there are vests with shoulder lighting so they always have enough visibility. Vests for crane operators have red lighting so that they can be clearly seen from the ground. ”

The vest meets almost all known safety labels. Only for the petrochemical industry. Strict requirements apply in that sector. For example, the vest must be explosion-proof. Sickens expects to have this quality mark in early 2018.

Wear reflections

Although the autumn has just begun, the aura has not been conducive to walking for a long time. Rain and falling faster and faster is a recipe for deducting a pedestrian every autumn and fall season.

Each of us is obliged to have reflective materials outside the built-up area, but it is also worth thinking about in the city. – There are places where pedestrians often just cannot be seen. A perfect example is Kosciuszko Street. There are lanterns there, but there are also many trees that cover both light and pedestrians. If someone stands at the pedestrian crossing, it’s hard to notice him from the car, and when it rains, it becomes invisible. You have to have your eyes to the wheel – says Lessen.

From the beginning of September, policemen have been appealing to pedestrians with caution wearing reflective vests. In the vicinity, there was a fatal deduction of a pedestrian. He passed through the A4 motorway. Without reflective elements, the clothing was completely invisible to the drivers. – Pedestrians as so-called unprotected road users in the face of speeding vehicles are defenseless. An accident with them involves extremely serious consequences – says Mariel Kowalski, KPP spokesperson.

It also reminds about pedestrian duties on the road: – You should wear reflections, especially at dusk, when the visibility is worse, and the dark colors of the clothes cause that the pedestrian is noticed by the driver until the last moment. Pedestrian equipped with reflective tapes for the driver is visible from a much greater distance, which allows for an earlier reaction – he adds. It’s a good idea to set up a reflex and take care of your safety.

With children about safety on the road

Safe crossing the road, rules of getting around on the road, are topics that were discussed during a meeting between policewomen and children from the school in Bithynia. During the meeting, students received uniformed reflective vests.

Last week (on Friday, April 20) policewomen from the Pavia Police Headquarters visited students from the first grade at the Primary School in Byte. The theme of the meeting was the safety of unprotected road users.

At the beginning of the meeting, the students received uniformed hi vis vests. Policewomen discussed why wearing such vests after dark is very important. Children also talked to policewomen about safe crossing the road at pedestrian crossings with signaling and without traffic lights. Policewomen also reminded about the rules of moving around the road without a sidewalk.

The primary school in Bithynia is located at the very busy national road No. 92. Therefore it is very important that children are aware of the essence of correct crossing the road. In order to make the young students aware, the policewomen who wear a reflective clothing went with the freshmen on the road and showed in practice how to cross the road, discussing the mistakes made by the pedestrians.

The last point of the meeting was to discuss the rules of cycling and the mandatory equipment of these two-wheelers.