Traffic distributes reflective vest on interurban roads to walkers who do not carry them. On the shoulder of the straight he walked without a vest Servant, a neighbor of the municipality who was going to his brother’s house, located a few meters from his. A patrol of the Civil Guard of Traffic stops a few meters from this man of 75 years.

 

Two officers get off the official vehicle, with the emergency lights on, and the man shows a frightened face, thinking maybe something like “My God, what have I done!” Try even to cross the road to not see the agents but they are directed towards him with total closeness and naturalness. “Good evening,” says one of the guards, who at the same time hands him a reflective vest and reminds him of the obligatory nature of wearing it at night. Servando recognizes that he never used this garment. «It seems to me that they give me this vest. They do not have to market.

 

Servant walked, without a high visibility vest, on an interurban road, through which numerous vehicles frequently circulate. You could not see him. “I’d like to go to the house and how are you doing or are you walking,” explained the man, who had had surgery a week ago and needed to walk.

 

Raising awareness among pedestrians about the importance of being visible on the road by drivers is the objective of the special campaign launched by the General Directorate of Traffic to prevent abuses. “That there is not one more victim and to achieve it, it is necessary to leave with the right clothes and appeal to everyone’s responsibility”. The Junta de Galicia was in charge of distributing some 2,000 vests among the Provincial Traffic Headquarters. The first phase of the campaign, which is already underway, will last until the end of March, so it will coincide with Holy Week. In this period, the agents plan to distribute some 400 garments among those travelers who move without this type of garments by interurban roads.

 

As for the profile of the deceased due to abuse, it corresponds to a person over 65 who wears dark clothes and who moves along the tracks without wearing any visible element. Therefore, the largest will be the preferred recipients of vests that will be distributed during this year. It should be remembered that from certain ages there are psychophysical limitations, among which are: more limited vision in a low light environment, slower movements at the time of rationing and difficulties in calculating the distance at which a vehicle is located and the speed at which it approaches. A person walking on the road is seen at night, at most, about 20 meters. If at a speed of 70 km / h the braking distance is what a vehicle travels from when you step on the brake until it stops? It is 56 meters; a driver will not have time to avoid the hit of a pedestrian who breaks into the road.

 

Article 123 of the General Regulation of Circulation says that outside the town or urban area, between sunset and sunrise or in meteorological or environmental conditions that significantly reduce visibility. When driving on the road or shoulder, every pedestrian must be provided with an approved luminous or retro reflective element that is visible at a distance of at least 150 meters for the drivers approaching it. And groups of pedestrians led by a person or forming courtship will also be on the side closest to the center of the road the lights needed to specify its location and dimensions, which will be white or yellow forward and red backwards and, where appropriate, may constitute a single set.

 

Currently, there are still many pedestrians who are not aware of the importance of this measure and do not use the vest, something that entails a great danger due to the risk of being run over. Any pedestrian who travels outside the town or by urban area without a reflective safety vest will be sanctioned with 80 Euros. If you pay the sanction before 20 days, 50% will be discounted and the final sanction will be 40 Euros.