According to the police statistics in autumn and winter, there are many more road accidents, whose victims are pedestrians and cyclists. Frequent reasons for unfortunate events are poorly adjusted lights or lack of reflective materials.
In 2017, on the Polish roads, the police recorded 32,760 accidents in which 2,831 people lost their lives. These numbers are terrifying, among others, many tragedies could avoid by very simple procedures. The lion’s share of fatal events occurred after dark in the autumn and winter time. The reason was often the poor visibility of pedestrians or cyclists because there were no costing reflections.
“Normal reflective bands can really save your life. Attached to children’s backpacks, jacket sleeves and trouser legs should be a mandatory equipment before leaving the house. This is extremely important especially in small towns and villages, where most roads are poorly or even unlit,” say the members of the team rally MF Rally Team.
The best solution is reflective vests, but also small bands or hangers make the drivers able to see the moving object from a much greater distance, and thus, have more time to pass the pedestrian and cyclist or safe braking.
“A cyclist or pedestrian dressed in a suit without glare is visible by the driver from a distance of about 20-30 meters, and if he is wearing reflections made with reflective fabrics, it is visible from a distance of 130-150 meters. This is very important because a car that travels at 50 km / h to break needs about 30 meters. At a higher speed 100 km/h, the car needs about 50 meters,” convinces the MF Rally Team.
Few people know that the regulations in force oblige at least one reflective element in the non-built-up area after dark. There is a fine of PLN 20-500 for the lack of it.