Revolution on the road: No risk of wearing reflective elements!

Revolution on the road! Today, at midnight, a new duty began to apply to pedestrians, who now have to wear reflective material elements at night and in poor visibility to be well visible, otherwise, they face a fine of up to two and a half thousand crowns. But as we found out tonight, pedestrians hardly know about it, and so they don’t.

 

People do not know about the new regulation at all, or simply because they are to have reflective elements on them. People returning home along the road at night are not visible at all. From today on, police officers can impose a fine of up to two thousand fines on unenlightened pedestrians.

 

For example, some pubs are already thinking of getting reflective tapes or waistcoats for their regulars and lending them for their night return home.

 

Police throughout the country in the coming days and weeks are planning special night events focused on pedestrian controls. In one breath, however, they promise that they will be a little more benevolent about fines for offenses, at least initially.

 

For example, the measure has already been introduced in Slovakia, and in five years of operation, the number of killed pedestrians has decreased by almost half. Over the past three years, more than five hundred pedestrians have died in the Czech Republic, more than three hundred at night.

Novice drivers cannot drive at night

Scientists from the Brno University of Technology have developed a unique methodology for night driving. It was created based on research that looked at the reactions of drivers to pedestrians in the dark in real traffic. Driving at night is the most difficult for beginners, yet driving school textbooks do not.

What influences the visibility of pedestrians at night and how fast is the driver’s reaction? Researchers from the Institute of Forensic Engineering investigated answers directly in the field between the municipalities of Lednice and Břeclav.

 

They involved four helmets and more than two dozen drivers. They used special glasses with recording cameras for research. “The first camera rotates with the driver’s head, which means that it senses where the driver is looking, and the second camera captures the driver’s eye. They measure the direction of the viewpoint,” said the head of research at the Institute of Forensic Engineering of BUT.

 

By comparing the two records, the scientists concluded that while a man dressed in white would be seen by a driver with low beams turned on for nearly eighty meters, pedestrians in black only for thirty. In the first case, the driver has four seconds to react, but in the second he has only a second and a half.

Some reflective material elements may not be seen by drivers

Although the law requires pedestrians to wear reflective elements outside the village, it does not say exactly what and how. Some reflective tapes, for example on the shoulder, may not be sufficient, according to experiments by the Institute of Forensic Engineering. “It is important that the pedestrian use more reflective elements and some on the lower body,” said Robert Aldus. Research also found that a muddy car is harder to see at night than during the daytime, and pointed out the danger of a nightly collision with wildlife.

 

Based on these results, the researchers developed two methodologies. One is used by forensic experts to deal with traffic accidents, and the other – Driving in Visibility Reduced by Darkness – can be used by driving instructors in their classes. Educational textbooks on the market deal with this issue only marginally or not at all.

 

The driving school has acquired a simulator and offers a special course

Petr Simara from Brno uses his teaching materials in his driving school and also bought a simulator that can simulate driving at night. “I think it’s a question of the driving school. How he does it and how much space he can and the interest of the client, said the driving school operator Petr Šimara. Therefore, for an additional fee, it also offers an above-standard course, where people can try night driving even in normal traffic.

Experts recommend that instructors devote at least one hour of theory to future drivers and two hours of theory to professional drivers instructing night driving. In their view, it would also be appropriate if questions related to this problem were raised in driving tests.

 

Get ready to travel abroad. Each country has different rules

The end of the school year is coming and most people are going on holiday. If you choose a car instead of an airplane, you should know the rules that may vary from country to country. The differences are, for example, in the level of alcohol behind the wheel, speed or the use of child seats.

 

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Some people go on holiday by car without knowing in advance what rules apply in the countries. Then they are surprised to be fined.

 

There, for example, they read that in Croatia or Italy drivers can drive a car with up to 0.5 per mile, in Greece, there is a ban on smoking behind the wheel in the presence of children under 12 years or pregnant women.

 

Croatia

 

A popular destination of Czechs tolerates 0.5 per mille behind the wheel of drivers of a car older than 24 years. If you break the rule, there is a fine, ranging from 500 Croatian kunas (over a thousand crowns) and above. It is mandatory to carry a reflective vest, a first-aid kit or a warning triangle. The lights must be switched on in low visibility and winter (from the last Sunday in October to the last Sunday in March), for motorcycles all day.

 

The speed limit is 130 km / h on the highway, 120 km / h for drivers under 24 years of age and less than two years’ experience. Outside the municipality is valid 90 km / h, ten kilometers less must be driven again by drivers under 24 years of practice less than two years. In the village, the speed limit for all drivers is 50 km / h.

 

Child seats are compulsory up to five years of age. Between five and 12 years old, the child must have a three-point belt and at least a seat cushion. Children up to two years old can travel in the front in an egg car seat or over 12 years of age.

Italy

 

In Italy you can drive at 0.5 per mille as in Croatia, only there is a minimum age of 21 years. If you fail to comply with the rules, you may be fined up to 530 euros (over 13,000 crowns). Reflective vests are mandatory for all passengers, you must also carry a first aid kit and a warning triangle to be placed on the vehicle, next to the vehicle, or if necessary, use warning lights. According to BESIP, daytime running lights are only mandatory on motorways or tunnels.

 

Car drivers can drive on the motorway 130 km / h, outside the village 90 km / h and in the village 50 km / h. If you drive less than three years, you have to keep the speed limit of 110 km / h on the highway, outside the village and in the village then the same speed as other drivers.

 

The child car seat must have children weighing less than 36 kilograms and not exceeding 150 centimeters. In Italy, it is also mandatory for a child under the age of nine to travel in an egg and the opposite direction.

 

Smoking in a car with children under the age of 17 or pregnant women is prohibited. The fine for non-compliance ranges from 500 to 5000 euros.

 

Cyclists and pedestrians, reflective elements can save your life in the dark

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.

 

How to fog lights? They can not only help but also do harm

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.

Pedestrians outside the village must have a reflective sign

Reflective tape or sticker is now a mandatory accessory for pedestrians moving on the road outside the village in poor visibility. This is said by the amendment to the Road Traffic Act, which only applies for a few days. Pedestrians may also be fined for non-compliance.

 

Fog, rain, dusk or snow blizzard can complicate drivers’ views from the car. In doing so, they must see the pedestrians in time and be able to react. If a person has dark clothes, the driver registers them up to twenty meters. The white color is visible at 55 meters. The ideal reaction distance is 200 meters. And this is guaranteed only by reflective elements. Under the amendment to the Road Act, they are now mandatory for pedestrians for reduced visibility on roads between municipalities.

 

The phone is Pavel Rakus, the BESIP coordinator:

“In BESIP, we would like to see that the obligation to wear reflective materials would not be reduced only by several sections outside the municipality. We would like it to be always in poor visibility. It may not be just dark, but also heavy snowfall and the like.”

 

Pedestrians should be aware that they are difficult to see not only in the dark but also at dusk or dawn. And everybody should buy a reflective tape for their safety.

 

Petra Stonišová, spokesman of the Municipal Police of Opava:

 

“The law does not directly determine where the reflective elements should be and how they should look. It’s good for them to be on the moving parts – on the wrist, above the ankle.”

 

Police officers and police officers will now check that pedestrians do not forget about reflective signs.

 

Pedestrians will be fined up to 2500 crowns if they are not followed. But the guards will be more aware of the education at this point and will be more alert to pedestrians that they should have these reflective elements.

 

Stickers, patches, pendants or hand straps are available in haberdashery or bicycle shops. Mohdy is already fluorescent substances sewn into the seams of jackets or school bags or backpacks. Reflective signs which made of reflective heat transfer vinyl certainly increase the safety of pedestrians on the road.

Pedestrians in the dim light on the roads?

Every year hundreds of pedestrians hit cars on South Moravian roads. This year, by the end of October alone, the police have registered over three hundred such cases. Fourteen people died in accidents.

 

This number is likely to grow by the end of the year, as winter months are the riskiest for pedestrians on the road throughout the year. “Statistics clearly show that there is an increased number of pedestrian clashes in winter. This is most evident in fatal accidents, “said Pavel Cizek, the regional coordinator of Besip for the South Moravian Region.

 

The increase in pedestrian accidents is due to reduced visibility in winter due to early dimming and dimness in the morning. “The combination of darkness and dusk with fog or rain makes the sighting conditions worse,” Cizek said. He added that pedestrians often contribute poor clothing to poor visibility.

 

For example, this year the man who crossed the main route in Brno-Svitavy paid for it. A passing driver of a man in dark clothes without reflective material elements did not register in time and knocked him down. The wounded man escaped only a slight wound.

 

The right choice of clothing can save lives for pedestrians on poorly lit roads. The driver recognizes a man in blue clothes only when he is about eighteen meters away. Much better visibility is in white or yellow garments, which reaches up to fifty meters.

 

Reflective vests or belts are the most effective means of improving visibility. “The highest quality reflective elements increase visibility up to two hundred meters. After seeing a pedestrian, the drivers have a longer time to react and thus avoid a clash, ”said police spokesman Pavel Svab.

 

However, poor visibility is not the only reason for caution on winter roads. “Drivers must also count on a longer stopping distance on wet, icy or snowy roads,” Swab emphasized.

 

In his opinion, drivers often underestimate the longer stopping distance in winter and also forget that there is a significant difference in the visibility of pedestrians on the road using the main beam and dipped beam. In the long-range, the surveillance distance is one hundred meters, while driving with dipped beams the distance is reduced by half.

 

Caution is needed not only for drivers but also for pedestrians. “They do not realize that they cannot move in the same way as in the summer months. Not rushing in winter pays off, “Cizek said.

 

About a third of all pedestrian accidents happen at crossings. According to police, people underestimate the risks and switch to red or enter the crossing directly in front of an oncoming car. “Sometimes people don’t look to the right or left and rely on them to take precedence over the transition. Sometimes I can just brake, “complained the driver Michal Benes.

 

Earphones are also dangerous. The pedestrian does not perceive noises from the street, such as the noise of an approaching car, the ambulance siren or the bell of a tram.

 

Police are trying to point out irresponsible behavior at various preventive actions. At the end of October, for example, they organized a meeting See us! in Bučovice in the Vyskov region or Firefly in Moutnice in the Brno region. Participants learned about the risks in the cold months as well as the importance of reflective tape elements that are often distributed at police events.

 

However, prevention also involves more frequent punishment. “Since we have not seen a major shift in their discipline, we are increasingly dealing with pedestrian violations by block fines,” explained Svab. In October alone, Brno police officers dealt with over three hundred offenses.

 

Brno also decided to increase safety at some crossings. The town hall newly lit twenty-five crossings. “We have identified crossings mainly near primary and nursery schools, where children go to school and after school, especially in the winter months in the dark,” explained Brno spokesman Pavel Zára.

Not seeing? You play with life

In 2009, 37 pedestrians died at night, some of them also because they were not visible. Prague children learn to wear reflective elements.

Maybe not much was missing, and Jan Vasa, ten, could also be the victim of the accident. As he recalls, more than a year ago, he almost hit a vehicle.

 

“Fortunately, nothing happened in the end,” says the boy from Újezd nad Lesy, who won the photographic competition We Want to Be Seen on Friday.

 

The task was to promote the use of reflective tapes on clothing. In 2009 alone, 127 people were killed in the Czech Republic in poor visibility, 480 were seriously injured and 3537 were slightly injured.

 

Parts of them may not have happened if these people were visible. In Prague, for example, all first-graders get reflective vests – and so do

they are a common standard in kindergartens. But with increasing age, the use of reflective elements is rapidly decreasing.

 

Anyone can have a small supplement

“Today it is fashionable to walk a lot in black, gray and other colors that are not very visible. Yet it can ‘be seen’ to save lives in confusing places. Some small accessory will not hurt anyone,” said Jarmila Johnová from the Prague Mother Association. This together with the association Oživení and the Partnership Foundation organized the competition.

 

Many Prague schools took part in the event, besides Újezd from Kunratice or Slivenec.

 

“Children were tasked to photograph themselves, their classmates, teacher or family member posing or walking, riding a bicycle, skating or scooter. The condition was that each contest participant should have a reflective accessory in a visible place,” explained Petra Lukešova.

 

“We hope that the campaign will help make reflective materials on clothing, handbags or backpacks a matter of course, not only for children but also for adults, as is the case in many other European countries, such as Sweden or the Netherlands,” John concluded.

 

Sweden wants to have such a safe operation that by 2020 no one should die in operation.

 

Reflective elements will be mandatory, wear them on your feet

Pedestrians will have to wear reflective elements in the dark or fog on roads outside the village. The sanction in the law, which will now be assessed by deputies, is proposed from 1 500 to 2 500 crowns. Experts advise having glowing surfaces on your feet.

 

With reflective material elements that can reflect the incident light from the vehicle’s lamps, the pedestrian is visible to the driver up to 200 meters. Conversely, if the clothing is black or blue, it is only 18 meters. However, the reflective elements do not work much in fog, rain or snow.

 

In some countries, the mandatory use of reflective vests for pedestrians has reduced the number of deaths. Reflective elements can reduce pedestrian exposure to a fatal accident up to ten times in poor visibility. In addition to a vest, a suitable solution is a backpack or jacket with reflective elements.

 

“We found it better to move the light area,” says Robert Sťastný from Skoda Auto. “Reflective tape elements are better to have on the limbs we move than on the body or backpack,” he adds.

 

The amendment was approved by the government

In poor visibility, significant reflective elements will be mandatory outside the municipalities. The Ministry of Transport originally wanted the obligation to apply also within the municipalities, but this obligation was dropped from the proposed amendment at the Government Legislative Council.

 

“We should explain to pedestrians that this is for their safety, but our legislators have convinced me that we need a sanction,” said Transport Minister Dan Tok. After approval by the government, the amendment goes to parliament – read more here.

 

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable in November

“Every pedestrian should know that in dark clothes, he is almost invisible in the dark on the road. A driver who does not see the pedestrians in time cannot respond quickly and avoids pedestrians safely,” explains Katarína Ardová from Goodyear.

 

The most common clashes of cars with pedestrians occur in autumn and winter due to reduced visibility. According to statistics, November is the riskiest month for pedestrians.

 

Even if drivers drive only one-fifth of the total mileage at night, nearly 50 percent of all major road accidents happen at night or in the dark.

You will not miss the children at the crossing

Valasské Mezirici commemorated the day of victims of traffic accidents on Monday, November 18, with the preventive action of BESIP entitled To Be Seen. Police officers and constables handed out reflective tapes and other elements.

 

This time the traditional event fell on Monday. At seven o’clock in the morning stood at the crossings on the streets, Masarykova and also in nearby Kelč municipal police officers and police officers from the district department of Valasské Mezirici. “They distributed less than two thousand reflective tapes and other elements to school children. We wanted to remind the schoolchildren that being seen is particularly important for their safety, especially in autumn and winter,” said Soňa Valchářová, Head of the Traffic Administration Agenda of the Town Hall, described the course of the preventive action.

 

“Along with the current mapping of accident sites (more in an earlier press release here), the Being Seen event is a further step towards reducing the accident rate in our city. Children are among the most endangered traffic participants and it is very good that the BESIP Commission, together with police officers and police officers, focuses on their safety,” added Deputy Mayor.

Do not buy reflective vests at 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. Researchers from the Brno University of Technology found out. For example, vests bought at the market. They have a label on attests, but they are non-functional. Pedestrians outside the village have been obliged to wear reflective elements in the dark for more than a year.

 

Researchers from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT test reflective vests with reflective tape in the field. They use a special camera device to create a so-called brightness map. It shows how much the character is contrasting with the surroundings at night. “What you can see here is a luminance analyzer, which is built on a digital SLR camera, which is specially adapted for this case, and then we analyze the photograph using the software,” explains Jan Škoda, head of the lighting technology laboratory.

 

Two helmets went into the darkness, 80 meters from the car. It must be seen at such a distance that the driver can react to the pedestrian at a speed of 90 km. The technician with the device in the car-focused photographed and analyzed the device. “From the brightness map, it can be seen that there is only one vest visible, the other is not visible,” Jan Skoda described the measurement result.

 

Buying a cheap vest is gambling with life

“A few crowns can mean the difference between life and death. The colleague is wearing a vest from the market hall and he was not able to see it on the record,” said Michal Belák, an expert in Traffic Accident Analysis at the Institute of Forensic Engineering. A quality vest costs about two hundred crowns and drivers can buy it, for example, at a gas station or a car shop. These, according to researchers, can be trusted. Reflective elements can be seen on vests at night at a distance of 300 meters. For the highest quality even a kilometer away.

 

Even a certificate with a certificate will not guarantee the quality of the vest

The vest costs about fifty crowns. Most of them have the necessary attestations on the label. That he will be seen in the dark, but still not guaranteed.

 

It is just that the vest has an attestation when checking the Czech Trade Inspection. If it lights up in traffic, it doesn’t know anymore. Pedestrians outside the village have been obliged to wear reflective material elements in the dark for more than a year. The fact that she could not be seen cost the life of a pedestrian, for example, in the accident last year in the Břeclav region. She walked in darkness only in dark clothes. Overall statistics, if people wear reflective elements, but the police do not register.