Category: reflective tape

“Talking Glass” Audible Stories on Signals AZ made possible by The Fain Signature Group – Celebrating 60 Years of Community Building.

The Dewey-Humboldt School District will be on Spring Break the week of March 9-13, 2020. With support from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Prescott Valley Police Department is focusing on a pedestrian, bicycle, and motor vehicle safety. Fewer school buses transporting students to mean more vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles on the roadway.

Kids, walking, street, school kids

Many areas in Prescott Valley do not have sidewalks or streetlights. The Prescott Valley Police Department recognizes the danger to our students in these areas. We encourage parents to teach children to walk against the flow of traffic. Also, please remind them to be aware of their surroundings and not to be distracted with their cell phones. Lighter-colored clothing, reflective tape, and flashlights are also recommended for quick identification by drivers during nighttime hours. Together, as a community, we can help keep our children safe.

Spring Break also tends to see an increase in car and residential burglaries as well as other mischievous activities. The Prescott Valley Police Department encourages all residents to make sure their homes and vehicles are secure when not occupied. Remove valuable items from plain sight and your vehicles. Take time to document (including photos) make, model, and serial numbers of valuable items. Most criminal activity is based on opportunity. Remove the opportunity and minimize crime.

Safety and Protection is the theme for police officers during Spring Break. If you see anything suspicious, contact the police department.

Vacation is the perfect time to return to physical activity. One of the most popular summer outdoor activities is cycling. However, do we remember the rules of safe and comfortable driving after a long break? How to inflate tires properly, adjust the saddle and what to wear for a bike ride? Advice!

When entering a garage or basement, do you avoid bike sight? Beautiful weather outside, and you wonder how to apologize with your two-wheeler? Before you get on your bike, remember some important rules. Together with Michał Fick, a rider of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles MTB Team, we will help you return safely to cycling activity.

Safe vehicle = safe cyclist

Safety is the basis, so the first thing you must remember before getting on your bike is to check the condition of your vehicle.

Michał Ficek says: Effective brakes and the right amount of air in the tires are the absolute minima that our holiday transport should meet. It would be ideal to plan a visit to the bicycle service to make sure that all components of the drive system are working properly and that covering kilometers will not be associated with any danger due to the poor technical condition of the two-wheeler.

How can you check if your tires are properly inflated? The easiest way to do this is to press the tire with your thumbs at the end of the tread. If you can only make a millimeter dent, it means that your tires have enough air.

However, not only a functional vehicle guarantees safe driving. The cyclist must be visible on the road, so remember that your bike should be equipped with a front lamp with white or yellow light, a lamp with red light and a red reflective tape element placed at the back. Although the regulations do not require wearing safety helmets, it is worth protecting your head against any injury on any trip.

Attitude is the basis! Take care of the right position while driving

The right attitude is very important, no matter whether you play sports, walk or rest. Thanks to the right height adjustment of the bicycle saddle, we ensure not only a comfortable ride but also safety and comfort for our spine.

Michał Ficek says: First of all, pay attention to the appropriate frame size and saddle height. You cannot allow a situation when, during pedaling, our knees “run” sideways, we have a problem with reaching the pedals or unstable sitting on the saddle. The old school says that the right height of the saddle is one in which, sitting motionless in the saddle with the leg straight, we touch the heel with the pedal located at the most distant point of the crank mechanism rotation. Systematic riding in the wrong position can do us more harm than good.

How to properly set the height in a city bike? When riding on such a two-wheeler, the cyclist’s position is more upright, so the steering wheel must be set higher relative to the saddle (about 5 cm or more). In this position, most of the bodyweight is on the back of the bike, not on the hands.

First of all, convenience – a few words about a cycling outfit

During holiday trips, we are happy to choose a bike as a means of transport. Summer is a time when airy dresses reign, for ladies: dresses and skirts. Unfortunately, this outfit, although it looks impressive, is not a good option when riding a bicycle.

Michał Ficek says: When getting on the bike, we will forget about loose, long legs, which love to get caught in the chain. Occasional rides will not require special clothing – just comfortable, weather-proof shorts, a T-shirt and shoes. As the distance traveled on the bike increases and the time spent on the saddle, it is worth thinking about dedicated to this type of activity, more tight and at the same time airy clothes, in particular, shorts with a comfortable liner.

Appearance is not everything: apart from a comfortable outfit, for safety reasons, it is also worth putting on glasses that protect our eyes from the sun and getting sand, dirt or small insects into the eyes.

Measure your strength

The last thing to remember before getting on the bike is the right choice of route and load, adapted to the condition and possibilities. It is worth doing a short warm-up before the ride to prepare the body for physical exertion.

Michał Ficek says: If you return to the bike after a long break, remember to measure your intentions and start with short, undemanding routes. During the holiday we will feel a lack of physical effort for several months, so let’s approach sports activities with caution.

Legislation introduced by a pair of northern Ohio representatives would require horse-drawn buggies usually associated with the Amish to be equipped with flashing light on the back.

House Bill 501, introduced by Republican State Representatives Scott Wiggam of Wooster and Darrell Kick of Loudonville, would also require animal-drawn vehicles to use new reflective tape to ensure higher visibility.

Both items are part of a broader, revised road safety measure now before lawmakers in Columbus.

Data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol showed that there were more than 870 crashes involving an automobile and an animal-drawn vehicle or an animal with a rider since 2014, and that, on average, there are 120 crashes involving animal-drawn vehicles annually.

The Ohio Revised Code mandates that a combination of still lights be used at dusk, dawn or night on the front and back of their vehicles, with the option of using reflective tape or the triangular Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) emblem on the rear.

Under the new bill, animal-drawn vehicles would be required by law to display a new type of reflective tape that provides higher visibility, as well as flashing yellow light on the highest rear of the buggy, pony cart, or other types of vehicle.

Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Wisconsin – states with significant Amish populations – have already passed legislation requiring flashing lights on horse-drawn buggies.

According to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Ohio has the second-largest Amish population in the nation, estimated at around 72,200.

ODOT said that counts having significant Amish communities include Holmes, Wayne, Geauga, Ashland, Medina, and Tuscarawas counties, although the Amish presence in recent years has migrated southward into Highland, Ross, Adams, and Brown counties.

In a recent highway safety study, ODOT and the state patrol identified three major causes of crashes between motor vehicles and Amish horse-drawn buggies:

Underestimating speed differential, where the driver of a car, truck or SUV realizes they are traveling faster than the buggy or pony cart they are approaching.

Visibility. Most Amish buggies are covered in black vinyl, making them virtually impossible to see at night without pre-cautionary safety lighting and reflective tape. Since the study revealed that most crashes involving buggies were rear-ended collisions, HB 501 suggested that flashing yellow light was mounted at the highest possible position at the rear of the buggy.

Unexpected vehicle actions, which may occur by a motor vehicle or horse-drawn buggy, or both.

“Many of Ohio’s districts, including our own, are home to rural communities that travel by animal-drawn buggies,” Wiggam said. “As a result, these individuals are not as visible as traditional vehicles and this poses a risk to both parties. This bill aims to increase the safety of citizens who travel by both traditional cars and animal-drawn buggies. This is good legislation that will save both Amish lives and English tears.”

HB 501 co-sponsor Kick agreed with Wiggam, saying that the issue of horse-drawn vehicle safety has been examined for many years with an open dialogue with leaders in the Amish community.

“After consulting with the Amish, English and law enforcement communities, we have decided it is time to update our laws,” Kick said. “With new technology, we can implement changes that are less intrusive to religious freedoms while promoting safety across the board for all Ohioans.”