December 2018 - Page 2 of 2

Clean roads, the volunteers on the street against the incivility

With safety vests and all the collection tools that have long symbolized their precious activity, the volunteers went on Sunday 11 December, at the plots next to the highway 233, to a new and intense hunting session for abandoned waste.

It is the second time in a few days that the volunteers reach the connecting area between Induno Olona and Ganna. Last Saturday’s intervention, in fact, in addition to making the appearance of a highly traveled transit area more dignified and restoring the normal conditions of the spaces close to the woods, was also served to the members of the Clean Roads team as an inspection, to quantify the work to be done before changing destination.

An inspection that must have followed the assessment of a scenario that is certainly not very reassuring, given the speed with which the team returned to the site, a week away. Adriano Maranon, Erdmann Macron and other six collecting companions, including two volunteers at the first exit, immediately in tune with the spirit of the group, have collected a lot of about fifty bags and other materials left on the ground without regard. All replaced by signs placed well in sight for the ill-intentioned, with the writing black on white “do not throw waste in the street”.

Several drivers who traveled along the SS233 noticed the bibs and recognized the willing operators. They are the same that subsequently joined the praises of all users that on Facebook never fail to thank Clean roads for every work done for free in favor of the territory and the collective heritage.

Lighting for cyclists and e-scooters vital

Road traffic regulations also apply to electric scooters. A violation can be expensive.

The dark season means poor visibility and increased risk of accidents for all road users. In November and December 2017, around 32 percent of traffic accidents involving personal injury occurred during the dark hours, the highest level during the year.

Cyclists, in particular, are required: damp foliage and wet, smooth tram rails increase the risk of falling, fog and twilight obscure the view. “Cyclists should definitely pay attention to function lighting and good visibility,” says ÖAMTC lawyer Guthrie.

In the same way, he sees the handlebars of e-scooters. The same rules apply to the battery-powered scooters as to cyclists, because if they do not exceed a maximum output of 600 watts and a maximum speed of 25km / h, they are considered e-bikes.

Check lighting regularly – “lack of light” costs up to 726 euros

According to the regulation, bicycles must have a white reflector at the front and a red reflector at the back. The reflectors must be mounted individually or integrated into the headlamp. On the pedals, front and rear reflectors are a must.

“Also prescribed are yellow or white cat eyes or reflector sticks on the wheels,” says the ÖAMTC lawyer. “Alternatively, tires with reflective borders are possible.” For electric scooters, the lighting regulations also apply according to their design. The expert recommends: “The condition and optimal function of the lighting should be checked regularly.”

“In principle, drivers of bicycles and e-bikes, including e-scooters, are not obliged to use headlights or red taillights in daylight and good visibility – but in the case of obstruction and darkness,” says lawyer Guthrie.

“Anyone who does not abide by the rules of risks not only the safety of themselves and others but for poorly equipped and unlit bicycles can be up to a penalty of 726 € imposed.” If you cause an accident with the personal injury because of bad or missing lighting, you also have to reckon with claims for damages and a judicial criminal procedure.

Helmet and reflectors must-haves for handlebars

Rules for the equipment of the driver itself does not exist. “Although a helmet is not mandatory for adults in Austria, it protects against serious head injuries in the event of an accident and should be part of the basic equipment – even more so in the dark season,” advises the ÖAMTC expert.

If a cyclist “falls under race conditions” without a helmet to fall and suffers skull injuries, he can even make a contributory negligence.

To be even more visible, it is essential to attach reflective materials to clothing or wear a safety vest. “Every supplemental aid, be it through headlamps or LED lights, makes sense, but it’s important to remember that this does not dazzle oncoming traffic,” says the expert.

Reflective tapes for clothing and safety vests, for example, can be found at all Mobility Club bases – there are many other “little helpers” for more visibility, such as armband and leg bandages and reflective pendants.

Police officers call for caution at the wheel

Christmas is coming fast. Cars are arriving on the streets, traffic problems may arise. Police officers turn to all drivers for safety, compliance with traffic rules and patience. The pedestrians, in turn, remind about the obligation to wear reflective vests, especially in the morning and evening hours. “In this way, we will avoid many unnecessary road events and we will be able to sit down at the Christmas Eve table,” they tell the uniform.

The uniforms appeal to drivers to be particularly careful. “Non-adaptation of speed to weather conditions and the insufficient distance between vehicles leads to numerous accidents and collisions,” they observe.

“We also appeal to pedestrians to wear reflective vests with reflective tapes in a visible manner to drivers. It is the duty of all pedestrians who move on a roadway or roadside outside of a built-up area after dark. It’s worth taking care of your safety by wearing a reflective element also in the built-up area. The reflector is recommended to be placed at the knees, hands, around the center of the chest and back, then we will be sure that they are clearly visible to other road users, especially drivers. We remind you that after dark a pedestrian dressed in a dark outfit is seen by the driver of the vehicle from a distance of about 40 meters. He will see the pedestrian with a reflective vest with reflective fabric from a distance of 150 meters. Such a distance will allow the driver to slow down and safely avoid the pedestrian. The law provides for a fine for the lack of glare after dark outside the built-up area,” they explain.

Police officers, parish priests and motorcyclists handed out reflective vests

“Visible = Safe”, under this slogan uniforms appealed yesterday to children and youth gathered in the church. St. Nicholas for wearing after dusk of clothing. For incentives, they were given armbands.

The policemen command for the second time together with the parish priest of Saint. Nicholas and motorcyclists conducted a retro-reflective action in the church. Activities were conducted under the slogans “Visible = Safe”. The goal of the undertaking is to improve the safety of the least protected road users, like pedestrians. After the rituals, the uniform, along with the clergy and motorcyclists, were handed to all children participating in the services of the reflective bands which made of reflective materials, a total of 250. They were founded by the parish and motorcyclists from the SRC group. In addition, the uninformed in the church held a short lecture on road safety.

Many road users forget about the obligation to wear reflectors outside the built-up area. For 4 years, the provision of the Road Traffic Act obliges pedestrians to place reflections in a visible way for drivers. The mentioned retro-reflective elements can be any objects attached to clothing, reflective vests, bands, stickers, leashes, etc. It is recommended to place them at the knee, hand and chest and back. You can also wear reflective clothing made of reflective fabrics. Thanks to this protection, we will be sure that they are visible to other traffic participants. All activities aimed at increasing the safety of unprotected road users are part of the campaign entitled. “I’m safe.”

Residents got flares

A preventive action has begun. As part of the action, reflective materials were given out on the streets of the whole commune.

Here we see was conducted last Thursday, October 25. On the streets of the municipality, reflective bands were handed out, while the officers and employees of the Municipal Office reminded us of the obligation to wear reflective vests outside the undeveloped area and the benefits of wearing flares.

Recall that after dark, a person dressed in the dark and without glare is visible from a distance of 20-30 meters. If it has a reflective element or reflective tape on clothing, the driver has the chance to see it from a distance of up to 150 meters. It has a better chance of reacting, inhibiting or bypassing the pedestrian.

Here we see was very popular with the residents and the Municipal Office announced that the action would be carried out again.

The order of revolt

“Yellow vests” “EN ISO 20471” are the name of the safety vest worldwide. In France, she now inherits the revolutionary symbolism.

It was supposed to unite France’s revolutionaries. The Cap of Jacob was once a great idea, it was the hallmark of the Robespierre followers, the sans-culottes, the fighting workers and the petty bourgeoisie. The Jacobean cap stood for freedom, brotherhood, but above all for the equality of the revolutionaries. At the same time, the so-called Phrygian cap was a great symbolic misunderstanding: the barricade fighters put the headgear on their angry head in the historical mistaken belief that it was already carried by freed slaves in antiquity. This is not true, because they had the felt cut on the vertex. The “Phrygian cap” was actually a tanned bull scrotum that was supposed to give the antique bear the power of a bull.

Revolutionary mood reigns in France these days. The fashion, however, has changed. At present, the “yellow vests” are fighting on the Champs-Élysées and throughout the Republic against the increase in petrol taxes and the state, as Emmanuel Macron imagines. Cheap vests as a symbol of rebellion against the tightened suit policy of Macron’s “En Marche” movement. Not a blue-white-red democracy movement, but a neon-glowing exclamation point that should unite communists and nationalists with the French rogue.

After all, the brief history of the warning vest tells pretty much the opposite of disobedience, revolution, and insurrection. It was invented to protect, not to cause chaos. It was intended to secure airport staff, truck drivers, hunters, and construction workers with increased visibility. In addition, folders of all kinds are equipped with the “yellow vest” to organize the public mess with a hard hand. At some point, the safety vest was then the accessory of dutiful helicopter parents: no kindergarten trip without apple slices and big yellow jackets. The strange species of radical cyclists wear safety vests so naturally over the Jack jacket as the plastic-helmet-protected bicycle helmet on their head and the neon yellow trouser-straps around the shins. There’s nothing more spiteful than safety vests – at most garden gnomes (who – why actually? – get along largely without yellow vests).

It was the English who eventually developed safety vests for chickens (in models neon yellow, pink and blue) and successfully exported them. The EU understood less fun. It has bureaucratically buttoned and unified the “yellow vest”: as part of the harmonization of Member States’ legislation on personal protective equipment, a standard for safety vests has been introduced, which is entitled EN ISO 20471. Since then, it has been necessary to carry “warning reflective clothing” in cars, which comply with implementation instructions of DGUV regulation 70, which refers to DIN EN 471 and certain requirements of the latter. ” Ironically, this globally standardized garment should now stand for a new French Revolution? Burning cars instead of protection for drivers? Disarray and uprising instead of clothes for folders? Coup d’état in mantle an EU standard? The state-obligatory clothes for the fight for freedom? Is this the second time in the history of France that this is a fashionable error of the revolutionaries? Are the “yellow vest” the Phrygian scrotums of our time? And is it in France really a neon revolution according to DIN standard?

It’s not that easy. Probably no other garment is present in as many households as the safety vest. It belongs in every car like the toilet paper on a toilet. The safety vest is the accessory that unites a people in truth. An affront to Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gautier and Karl Lagerfeld, the latter would probably claim that anyone wearing a warning vest, has long lost control of his life. The safety vest with reflective tape is as practical-rational as the guillotine and the cheapest and most socially acceptable uniform (the four-pack is available from 10.99 Euros). It symbolizes the history of the working class and at the same time embodies the people subjugated in the name of security. And most importantly: The common safety vest screams continuously, day and night, in neon-shrill clarity: “Look at me! Do not forget me!”

Incidentally, in her old paintings, the revolutionary icon of France, the Marianne, proudly wears a Jacobean cap as she storms over burning barricades. The German Michel, on the other hand, was quickly given a similar, but completely differently connoted head covering by the French: with a sleepyhead. As a symbol of having lost the revolution. While the Jacobean cap has brought it into the democratic fashion of the United States, the sleepyhead still adorns mainly the garden gnomes in German front gardens.

Ultimately, little has changed in Europe since the first French Revolution. While the Parisians with the warning vest storm the streets, the Germans drive model EN ISO 20471 dutifully in the trunk around. And if they bring it out, then to be visible in the winter darkness.

Nationwide Action “Days of Visibility”

Good to come through the dark season. The police gave tips and checks to pupils and kindergartens.

Such a police presence did not exist in the small town. Police chief Simone Speller and police master Christian Salk had already set up the laser device on Thursday on the L 73 at 6:30 am. Within three hours, 55 vehicles were measured. The leader was a 35-year-old Ford Mondeo driver, who drove through the town at 73 instead of the predetermined 50km / h. After deducting three km / h tolerance, the man was lucky and only had to pay 35 Euros.

But speed was just one side. Much more was the “Days of Visibility” campaign, which was held nationwide for the first time. In front of the school stood Ute Striker and Hartman Press, traffic educators of the police station. They checked if parents were on the road with proper lighting. In four vehicles defects were detected. Since most children now use the school bus in the dark season, only a few girls and boys come by bicycle. A total of eight bicycles were checked. Three were missing the spoke reflectors. Eckhart Seidel and High Commissioner Axel had reflectors with them and equipped the cyclists with it.

“In the dark, the risk of accidents is three times higher than during the day. Therefore, you should also make sure to be safer on the road, “advised Eckhart Seidel the primary school students. Almost 750 pedestrians and around 2,600 cyclists died in road traffic in the state of Brandenburg last year. Often they are simply overlooked. Bright clothes and reflective clothing are the nuts and bolts. While reflective materials can still be seen 140 meters away, the visibility of dark clothing is only just under 25 meters. “Parents should pay attention when buying the clothes. There are also reflective fabrics, zippers and seams, “says Seidel. Students of the elementary school thought it was great yesterday that instead of math and German traffic education was on the timetable. They were allowed to test the speedometer. Police master Christian Salk showed them how to track down speeders. “The red dot must hit the vehicle, then press the trigger,” Salk demands.

145 primary school students

Eleven-year-old Lea was amazed at how slow motorists drove after she had discovered the laser device. “Otherwise, they drive much faster.”, says the student. 145 pupils from primary school were included in the nationwide campaign. The children and educators of the daycare did not miss the opportunity. Christian Salk almost brought the laser device to its knees so that the tots could also take a look. Only the youngest had to content themselves with a look into the police car. Even before the daycare, checks were carried out early in the morning. There two cars were tracked down, their light was not in order.

So first graders master the way to school

They are barely larger than the knapsack they carry on their backs. And they are excited, a whole new period of life begins. And for some, the path may not even be 100 percent. Around 1,200 girls and boys from the Höxter district have their very first day of school on Thursday, 30 August. At the latest from the following Friday, the little ones will go on the daily way to school. So that the steppes arrive safely, city, police and traffic watch gives important tips.

On foot

Most children are at school. The youngsters did not only gain experience. “Movement and fresh air before the class start also increase the ability to concentrate,” informs the Höxter district police, but because they perceive their surroundings differently from adults, they are in traffic especially at risk.

Go the way up to ten times

The Verkehrswacht advises parents to walk the path five to ten times with their offspring. Even at the beginning of school, the adults should still be there. “Because there is more traffic than at holiday time,” says Oliver. Parents should not forget their role model function, especially with regard to traffic lights and crossing aid and mobile phone use.

First of all, the Verkehrswacht recommends that the children do not go to school in groups. “Until they are safe on the way to school and recognize danger spots,” says Thane, because alone, the little ones usually learned better and were less distracting. “Thereafter, nothing speaks against dating,” says the traffic expert. Especially in the dark season, Thane advises “visible reflective clothing.” Safety vests, reflectors, satchels or flashing shoes which made with reflective fabrics, “There is even reflective yarn, especially creative parents can knit hats.”

Police are present on the first days

In the first few days, the police will be present on the school routes. “Help and education are in the foreground,” a statement said, and officials are also announcing increased speed measurements and checks on child seats, bus and bicycle traffic.

By bicycle

By bike only older children should go to school. “It’s not until they’re 14 that the ability to ride safely develops,” the police said, adding that the ability to focus on road traffic over a longer period of time does not train boys and girls until they are about eight years old.

By bus

Not every village in the district has its own elementary school. Many males will take the school bus. “Bus driving should also be practiced,” advises Oliver Thane, “Dangerous situations usually appear when getting in,” says the expert. Therefore, not only the way to the stop but also the getting in and out as well as sitting down should be trained. The school bus stops are on the right side of the street.

Parental taxis should use parking in the area

“On the way back, things can be different”, Thane points out, so children could suddenly run across the street behind the bus, so the police are also calling for stopping school buses to “pass by in two directions at walking pace”.

By car

The most convenient way to get to school is certainly the parental taxi. If you bring your own child to school by car, you should not chauffeur it all the way to the schoolyard. “Due to the pressure of the vehicle, there is a high-risk potential,” the city of Höxter informs on NW request, “Parking space in the area should be used for getting in and out.”

“Yellow vests” also in Belgium

Twelve wounded policemen, 74 arrested, a few burned cars – this is the balance of yesterday’s protests in Brussels against fuel price increases. The Belgian Minister of the Interior has announced that today the police will also be mobilized.

The protest of the so-called yellow safety vests has moved from France to Belgium. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Jan Jambon, in connection with the protests promised in France today, the police forces in the Belgian capital remain ready. The detention of aggressive people after yesterday’s protests will also be continued today.

“People who have been detained today will hear accusations. You can protest, but attacks on policemen are unacceptable. And those who have committed acts of aggression and have not been arrested yet cannot feel peaceful. We have recordings from cameras and testimonies.” said the VRT head of the Belgian Ministry of the Interior.

Yesterday’s demonstration went quietly to a certain point, but later the demonstrators began blocking tunnels in the city, overturning police cars and setting them on fire. Protesters threw stones at the Prime Minister’s seat and demanded his resignation.

Protests in Belgium moved to this country from France. On December 1, another wave of protests will be rolled over France on Saturday. It will be the third consecutive Saturday when demonstrations against fuel price increases will take place in the country.

Five thousand policemen were mobilized in Paris. Champs Elysees closed for vehicular traffic. Passers-by everywhere – bags and backpacks are checked. All this is to guard against a repeat of the riots of last week when shops and restaurants were demolished, cars were burned. The losses were estimated at one million Euros.

“Yellow vests” – because of the wearing of this type of reflective clothing with reflective tapes to ensure road safety is called protesters’ movement, they do not intend to put up a gun, they will demonstrate against fuel rises, more than six cents per liter will be fueled by diesel oil, according to President Emmanuel Macron be an element of the fight for environmental protection.

The attempt to talk with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe with “yellow vests” was considered a failure. Of the eight guests invited there were two, but the head of the government decided that the conversation was interesting, direct, respectful, useful and added that the door to his office at the Matignon Palace they are always open to “yellow vests.” Traders complain about losses, but as many as 85 percents of the population support the protesters.

Fatal accident

Police officers under the supervision of the District Prosecutor’s Office, explain the circumstances of the accident that occurred last night. A 65-year-old man was mortally knocked down on an unlit stretch of road.

The tragic event took place on Wednesday, November 28, around 20:30 on the national road No. 42.

As it results from preliminary findings, on a straight stretch of road in an unlit place, a 19-year-old resident of the County, driving a VW passenger car, hit a 65-year-old man, a resident of the commune, on the road.

As a result of injuries, the pedestrian was killed on the spot. The driver was sober. The body of a 65-year-old and the vehicle were secured at the disposal of the prosecutor’s office. The policemen carried out a detailed inspection, securing forensic traces.

Traffic policemen appeal to everyone, both drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, for particular caution and prudence. Drivers should remember to navigate the road with the light on and observe the speed limits, and when weather conditions are worse, to slow down according to the principle that slower means safer. We appeal not to charge, think or anticipate threats. It is worth to check the technical condition of the vehicle, which will answer the question of whether our vehicle is efficient and safe. A special appeal is also directed at pedestrians not to go directly in front of an oncoming vehicle. Even at the pedestrian crossing, make sure that the driver can slow down. Of course, the pedestrian takes precedence over the passage, but here the principle of limited trust is most applicable.

Every pedestrian and cyclist should also remember about their safety and take care to be visible. A reflective vest, keychain, headband or even a flashlight will make it easier to see the oncoming driver when moving on a poorly lit road. We would like to remind you that from August 31, 2014, all pedestrians who move around the dusk along the way outside the built-up area must have a reflection visible to the drivers. The lack of a reflective material is threatened by a fine. Although traffic regulations do not impose an obligation to use vests with reflective tapes and reflective elements in the built-up area, they, to a large extent, improve visibility. They give drivers valuable time to take the right response – often saving their health.