Tragic traffic accidents, in which pedestrians and cyclists die in the winter without wearing reflective vest, have become one of the causes of a preventive campaign aimed at the good visibility of these road users. The action titled “Not to be seen is a gambling with life!” Police officers announced in the Hradec Region for November and December.
The tragic start of this year
The announcement of the campaign, among other things, has prompted police accident statistics, according to which 146 pedestrians and 64 cyclists died in accidents in the Czech Republic in 2012. Tragic pedestrian accidents occurred most frequently in November and December.
“One of the possible causes of traffic accidents was the fact that the pedestrian who was moving in the road did not see the driver,” police spokesman Jan said.
He reminded that the police in the region had similar tragedies this year. Shortly after the New Year’s Eve in Jericho, the young man who was traveling on the road did not survive a car clash. Five days later, the town of Jamal died a thirty-six-year-old pedestrian under the wheels of a car. At the end of January, a 12-year-old cyclist died in the evening after a collision with the vehicle and an older man on the road circuit in Hradec.
According to Jan, most of the interrogations of drivers who have encountered a pedestrian or cyclist show that they have not seen them either at all or until the last moment when they could not prevent the clash.
Reflective accessories cost a few crowns
Cyclists and pedestrians should therefore use reflective and fluorescent materials. “Reflective elements increase visibility by up to ten times, so they can be seen up to 200 meters,” said the spokesman. “In the campaign, people will receive reflexive items, such as reflective tapes, reflective vests and reflective sticks on bicycle wires.
As early as Monday’s traffic safety event, policemen, alongside motorists’ controls, also focused on cyclists and pedestrians. “In the case of misdemeanors, they caught 12 cyclists, but they also focused on explaining to pedestrians,” the spokesman said.
According to him, reflective materials cost a few crowns, available in haberdashery, bicycle shops, in shops with work and safety aids and in e-shops. “Who says he’s not getting enough, he’s just excuse himself,” Jan said.