Tag: safety vest

Victims without safety vest at transition to wintertime

The transition to wintertime costs more deaths and serious injuries annually, especially among pedestrians without wear reflective vest, according to Belgian research. This weekend it is dark an hour earlier at the start of the winter season. We give you tips to prevent accidents in the dark or at dusk:

 

Pedestrians

It is vitally important that you are clearly visible as a pedestrian. Choose reflective clothing. This makes you better noticed by motorists. You can already see up to 150 meters with reflective clothing. With dark clothing, car drivers only see you from 20 meters. Look extra good when crossing. Due to the light from the headlights, it is often difficult to make eye contact. Be sure that the driver stops when you cross. Having priority does not mean that you also get this.

 

Cyclists

Check your bike. Bicycles have reflectors and lighting. Check that all reflective material are on the bike and that the lighting is working. You will find all cycling requirements in our checklist. You can also stand out with clothing: In case of rain, twilight and in the dark, bright or light-colored clothing is the best. In the case of fog during the day, you see dark-colored clothing the best. Reflective strips also help to stand out better.

Do you have children? Discuss at home how you can stand out in traffic. Make, for example, see the rebus with your child, and be seen!

 

Motorists

Try to drive more slowly near pedestrian crossings. As a driver, you should always be able to stop for each crossing. It is always possible that a pedestrian does not have a good view of what is coming or is distracted. A pedestrian without safety vest can hide behind another pedestrian. If you stop to cross a pedestrian, it is advisable to look before you go to see if there is no other pedestrian.

Three quarters of poorly lit cyclists in town

Cycling may be a healthy, silent and non-polluting means of transportation, but its practice entails risks that can be partly avoided thanks to good safety equipment. A recent study unfortunately shows that this is not the case: three quarters of cyclists are poorly lit at night.

 

A recent survey conducted by the Road Safety Association and the MMA insurer raises a major problem in the world of urban cycling. The study took place between January and March last in 11 French cities including Paris and the result is not glorious: three cyclists out of 4 have a luminous device absent or defective and thus increase their risks of serious accident.

 

City lighting is often enough to see but the cyclist does not think enough to be seen. On average, 13% of cyclists are equipped with accessories to optimize their visibility and only 1 in 10 wear a helmet. However, bicycle lighting is mandatory as well as a reflective safety vest (off-agglomeration). This equipment is essential for the safety of the cyclist because it allows him to be visible on 150 meters against 30 meters without accessories.

 

So do not forget that cycling can be dangerous, motorists do not necessarily pay attention to cyclists and often do not even see them, that’s why it is important to mark your presence on the road. In 2012, 155 cyclists unfortunately lost their lives in a car accident and 20% of them were driving in the middle of the night and without wearing any reflective material.

All you need to know about mandatory vests and triangles

From Wednesday, any car not equipped with fluorescent vest and pre-signaling triangle is liable to a fine of at least 90 Euros. Remainder you about the main provisions of this new security measure.

 

How many vest and triangle should one have on board? A reflective vest and a pre-signaling triangle must have been in each vehicle since July 1st. However, the Minister of Ecology, in charge of road safety, Jean-Louis Borolo had granted a deadline until Wednesday so that motorists can equip themselves “in the best conditions.” From 1 October, the police will report any driver who does not have the two objects on board his car.

 

Should the safety vest be visible under all circumstances? The driver must wear the retro-reflective vest before he leaves his vehicle. But it is not mandatory to drape the vest on the front passenger seat. The jacket should only be easily accessible, storing it in the glove compartment, or under a seat is sufficient. Where the triangle should be placed? The triangle must be on board the vehicle, bestowed in the cockpit and not in the trunk of the car, and be placed on the road, as soon as the driver leaves his vehicle, at a distance of at least 30 meters from the vehicle. Hazard warning lights remain mandatory when the car is equipped with them.

 

Where can we buy them? The kit is in supermarkets, in the centers autos (attention these are sometimes out of stock), in the markets as in the Paris metro. Prices can vary from single to triple, from 6.50 € in hypermarket to 20 € in the corridors of public transport of the capital. To comply with European legislation, the vest must be marked “CE” and the triangle marked “E27R.” In case of infringement, what is the risk? The offending motorist incurs a fine of 135 Euros. The amount of the fine can be reduced to 90 Euros if it is paid on the spot or within three days after the verbalization.

 

What is the legislation for both wheels? Bikers and scooter drivers are exempted from wearing the vest under any circumstances. The jacket is recommended but not mandatory for cyclists traveling in town. On the other hand, wearing the reflective vest is imposed on cyclists, pilots and passengers, who ride out of town in poor visibility conditions (rain, fog) or during the night. In case of forgetfulness, the pedal will have to pay a fine of 35 Euros (22 Euros if one pays in less than two weeks).

Car on vacation: what do you have to know before you go

If you are one of those who travel on your own holiday, it is your duty to monitor the traffic regulations of the target and transit countries. See the most important rules. Since 1 May, new customs regulations about road safety have started to say that if you rent a car outside the EU with a registration plate there, you can not travel to the EU with this car.

 

Low Emission Zone in Paris, ecological plaques and a ban on headphones

In Paris, a low-emission zone has been in force since July 1. From Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm, vehicles with a Euro 2 emission class and below may not enter it. You will be charged from € 35 to € 78 for violating the ban. However, fines will not begin to run until September 1. This is also related to the introduction of ecological plaques in July. They have six types and differ in color, with the highest electric cars. Blanquettes, on the other hand, do not have the chance to get cars produced before 1997 and motorcycles before 1999. These vehicles are no longer in Paris’s streets. The obligation to have a plaque on the car is postponed for three months. Starting October, you will pay a fine of € 35 for a breach of duty; from January 2017, it will increase to € 68 (for € 135). It is not yet certain how the foreigners’ cars will be accessed since October.

 

In France, they have to wear a safety vest and have recently forbidden the use of headphones when driving a vehicle in general (bicycle, motorbike, and car). The prohibition also applies to handsets in the ear.

 

New rules in Austria

You cannot use the phone from mid-June. The Hands free is only allowed if it is firmly installed in the vehicle, either during production or after a professional fitting with an approved homologation service. Special hands free headphones supplied with your phone are also enabled. Only calls are allowed when waiting, standing in a column or red. You will be fined from € 50 to € 72 for infringement. If you have made a mistake in handling or even caused an accident to handle the mobile, you can “earn” a penalty of up to 2180 Euros.

 

Motorcycles are also allowed to light even in good visibility (so-called daylight). In the event of visibility deterioration, the dipped beam must be switched on. The new modification also prohibits any handling of the tachometer status of the car. On the contrary, the reflective vest is newly mandatory only for the driver.

 

Mandatory safety equipment on abroad

“Frequently, drivers think that they are just as mandatory safety equipment as in the Czech Republic and argue either with the Vienna Convention or with the Geneva Convention. The problem is that these conventions only mention the technical equipment of the vehicle, not the mandatory equipment. Therefore, we have to equip the vehicle in every state,” explains Aldrich Vanier, who is a lawyer.

 

For example, reflective vests for everyone in a vehicle are mandatory in Italy, France, Slovenia, Hungary, and again in Poland and, under certain circumstances, in Slovakia. Reflective jackets must be in the vehicle and not in the trunk. This is fine for example in Austria or Germany. In Austria, the safety vest is compulsory only for drivers, but for others in the vehicle it is recommended. However, if they have to stop and get out of the vehicle on the local road or motorway, everyone who leaves the car must wear a reflective vest. Similarly, in Bulgaria or Estonia, the vest is mandatory for anyone leaving the vehicle during an emergency, in Bulgaria this is also true for bikers.

 

Unlike in the Czech Republic, the warning vest is in some countries subject to traffic regulations and not to a prescription for vehicle equipment. In Finland, the visors are mandatory for pedestrians as well as reflective elements in the Czech Republic and other countries, for example in Slovakia. The fire extinguisher is in turn required in Poland, Ukraine or Greece and Bulgaria.

 

The Croatian specialty is that vehicles with a trailer must have 2 triangles. In a popular Czech destination, children under the age of 12 must not travel to the front seats. The exception is children up to two years old placed in an “egg” and with an airbag off. In Cyprus, it is forbidden to carry a child under five years of age in the front seat. It is forbidden there for drivers to consume food and drink while driving.

 

And each vehicle must have two warning triangles as required, which is also required in Turkey. Children under the age of 12 and less than 1.35 m cannot be transported in the front seats of cars, this is in Lithuania. In Luxembourg, a child aged 3 to 17, measuring less than 1.50 m, must be transported in the car seat only in the rear seats. In France, a child younger than 10 years of age may not travel in the front seat if the rear seats are free.

 

Hungary is often the transit country for those heading for the Adriatic. “Please note that the rear position lights must also be illuminated in retrofitting for daytime running lights,” warns ÚAMK. In Spain, you can have a fixed navigation on the windscreen, whatever else is forbidden. A driver with dipodic glasses or contact lenses must have one with them as a replacement.

 

You have to change it for reflective vest

Updated: The Minister for Transport has specified how things are related to reflective vests. “The protective features of vests that conform to the earlier European Standard EN 471 are safe and meet the technical requirements. I would therefore like to reassure the drivers that they do not have to throw away the vests they bought earlier and buy new ones. It is true that the vest, which is part of the mandatory equipment, must comply with the European Standard (EN 471 or EN ISO 20471). However, no prescription shows that older vests meeting this norm are not right and people can not use them, “Transport Minister Dan wrote in his statement.

 

Usually, yogurt, meat, bananas will spoil, and perhaps the expiration time would be understood in the mandatory first-aid kit. But at the reflective safety vest? The European Union and therefore the Ministry of Transport do not like the reflex vests of Czech motorists reflecting, so you will have to replace those existing ones with some more reflective ones. The new standard, which is referred to as reflective vests, has been in force since January this year, said News. This is the application of the European directives governing the designation of products intended for the mandatory fitting of a vehicle.

 

The new standard is labeled EN ISO 20471: 2013 and the so-called Notification Person and its four-digit identification number must be included on the reflective vest. Old vests according to ČSN EN 471 or EN 20471 can not be used as part of mandatory vehicle equipment. The question is how much the police officers will rely on reflective yellow vests for inspections. However, this could be a crucial element if they can not find any violation of the law when thoroughly scrutinized. You know, the comma must be filled.

 

Keep the safety equipments for safe

First aid kits are reminiscent of field hospitals, and there are a number of unnecessary things in them, meaning transport and health experts. People often do not know how to use most of the first-aid kit in an accident. In 2018, there is a bigger wave of their expiration, and the police in safety vest will focus on it. Check your date on yours.

 

It is overly equipped, but things that most people cannot use. Some parts of the equipment are inappropriate or even life threatening. Speech is about the first aid kit. Unlike other countries, every Czech driver has to carry them in the car, and its content is specified in a decree.

 

“The scope of the first-aid kit equipment reminds me of a small field hospital. These bandages and patches. He would have one universal, a snapper and better gloves that would not break, “said the road expert Roman Road Safety Team, with the fact that there is also a clearly specified length of the scissors:” It is rather important that they are strong enough and that they would manage if necessary, cut the seat belt, “he added.

 

Health experts also confirm the fact that some things are unnecessary or unusable. For example, there are a number of patches, three-piece scarves or a plastic mask. In addition, a number of dressings with cushioned pads for serious injuries. “This cushion can not be said, this fabric has minimal absorption. As a pad, use the entire bandage if necessary. We take him and put his hand on his gloved grip on his wound. We will attach it by the second bandage, “the Prague rescue practitioner and the First Aid lecturer from Robert Placket said in the Czech Radio, adding that one of the two non-functional bandages would be functional.

 

It does not work well with a few latex gloves. Nervous drivers rip gloves during a rescue operation, and there is no other pair in the medicine box. “In my opinion, in this case, it would be enough to improve the material from which the gloves are produced,” Buds said. Another option is to buy a backup pair of reflective gloves and add it to your first aid kit.

 

 

 

Are you threatened with bad reflective jacket

Up to 90 percent of reflective vests for motorists sold on our market do not meet European standards. These, for example, indicate how much reflective elements on the vests must reflect the light, and what dimensions such elements must at least have. Motorists can get a fine of up to 2,000 crowns, but more importantly, in case of road problems you will be much less visible in such a vest.

 

However, according to the Minister of Transport, Dana, it is not necessary to change the current vests, because the new standard only applies to newly manufactured products. Only drivers who do not find any label or certification on the jacket should change it.

 

If they have a certified vest in the car, they can be quiet. It is more about looking good at purchasing a new vest, which we can change for example as lost or damaged. Some technical inspection stations, however, do not give technical advice to drivers if the vest is not in accordance with the latest standards. At first glance, you do not know both jackets, but the analyzes made by one of the distributors show great differences. The uncertified one usually has a reflective surface area smaller than the standard, and most of the light reflects at least.

 

“The biggest impact this has on the final consumer, the motorist, is not so visible,” said one of the distributors Michal. Distributor estimates that vests that do not meet valid standards are up to 90 percent. Of course, they are also making money here. A vest that has not passed a compulsory certification in a test room is cheaper, up to 40%.

 

The problem is that when the product enters the market, the state is not supposed to intervene. The manufacturer himself sends a batch of vest for testing, and if he passes, he gets the certification with which he then sells the safety vest. According to ÚAMK’s assistant service, it is up to him to make the series honestly or if some vests are cheated. Control is only possible when the vests are on the market. However, now when shortcomings occur, the guilty may face up to a million fines.

 

Warning vests that do not give the warning to other drivers do not, according to the Ministry of Transport in the car, what to do. “If the product does not comply with the mandatory safety requirements and still claims that it may be obligatory, then it would be deceiving the customer,” Tomas Nevoid, spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, told TV Nova. For a deceptive advertisement, a fine of up to 5 million crowns may be imposed.

 

Moreover, if the vest does not have the right reflective elements, it is dangerous and the manufacturer has to download it. Knowing the safety eyewitness with the naked eye is complex; people are relying on labels as well as information that the vest is intended for mandatory equipment. Even if you have the right vest in the Czech Republic, you can still get a fine abroad. “There is one possible collision, and that is the green color used by German police for their vests,” IAM spokesperson explained.

 

In addition, another hitch is in the number of vest. In the Czech Republic, the law prescribes the vest one, in France, Italy, Hungary or, in Croatia, it is mandatory for all passengers. Fines for missing vests go up to thousands of crowns. Although in the Czech Republic the high visibility vest is only one mandatory, if you get out of the car on the road in low visibility, you have to have reflective elements, at that moment the law is for you as a pedestrian.

 

First graders know how to stay safe on the road

September 29 students from the first grades of Primary School No. 4 Nicolas Copernicus participated in the “Safe Way to School” campaign. Police officers in safety vest carried out a well-organized action.

 

During the meeting, the first graders had the opportunity to check and broaden their knowledge of traffic regulations. The students were eager to answer the questions asked and listened to the lectures of police officers with interest. Everyone received reflective bands and promised to wear them always with them, especially during the evening autumn walks.

 

The police officers made the students a huge surprise bringing with them a large, mascot-like – POLMISIA. The children were very pleased with the presence of the mascot, who along with them set off to the streets. The students together with the police officers checked the acquired knowledge in practice. Dressed in reflective vests, they passed the belts using the current traffic rules.

 

The first graders also arrived, where they were greeted by the Mayor, presented with sweets and wishes for a safe road to school.

“Reflective harness for mushroom”: the bill by Angelo

“Avoiding or reducing as much as possible the occurrence of accidents during the hunting season, it is due to the lack of recognition of people who are in the woods looking for mushrooms. Through a high visibility reflective vest that they will wear and that will make them more visible even when there is a need to find them in case of loss.”

 

This is the content of a bill presented by Angelo, leader of Forsa Italia in the Liguria Region. “In light of the latest events that have occurred in our woods, I thought it necessary to propose an amendment to the Regional Law of 2014 that regulates the collection and marketing. With the adoption of a reflective harness, the seekers would have the possibility of being visible from long distances, clearly reducing the risk of being hit in a manner accidental, as recently happened, with tragic implications, in the Municipality”.

 

“The reflective harness – continues the regional councilor – would also have another important purpose: to facilitate relief if there was the need to find a lost person in the woods, another event that often happened. For all these reasons, which are designed to protect both mushroom and hunters, I have prepared this bill and safety vest, which would provide the delivery of the harness to the fun aioli by the bodies responsible for issuing the card or by the searcher himself.”

 

“Safety during the hunting season must come first and this change to the existing law would be a piece to make it more concrete,” concludes the president of the council group Forsa Italy.