The duty to have reflective tape on clothing is in the law since this February. There are still many tragic accidents with “invisible” pedestrians. Most pedestrians did not have any reflective elements. However, as BESIP pointed out, some reflective tapes that pedestrians could take do not work as well as they should.
Crossing the reflective ribbon is one of the ways to meet the requirements newly imposed by the Road Act on pedestrians who go in low visibility outside of the village. However, according to the BESIP Department of the Ministry of Transport, not all tapes are the same.
Correctly, they should be seen at 200 meters. “There are also cases where the material works only at a distance of 60 to 70 meters,” said Martin, director of BESIP. How well the reflex tape should be seen should be a leaflet. Mark directly on the tape. The elements complying with the European standard EN 13356 are well visible.
Top on your feet
In addition to the visibility of the tape itself, the role and location of the tape itself are also played. The look may seem best placed on the sleeve. However, it is not so from a safety point of view. The car’s reflectors shine to the ground, so they can see their legs first. The reflective belt on the leg is therefore the most effective solution that really guarantees the visibility of the pedestrian up to 200 meters.
Reflective strips this year, police and BESIP employees handed over 300 thousand. Yet many pedestrians still do not use it. For example, during a traffic safety action that took place last week in Labem, police officers checked 193 pedestrians, 111 of whom were “invisible.” For the time being, police officers are usually able to do so. But according to the law, people who do not use reflexive elements when they go off the road outside the village under reduced visibility, up to a fine of two thousand dollars.
The rule is not the notion of legislators, it responds to the annual statistics of tragic accidents. Just this October, eighteen pedestrians died on the roads, which greatly contributed to the particularly high number of deaths after traffic accidents over the month. According to Tomas, traffic police director, visibility has been involved in most car crashes with pedestrians.