Glow up. You will be safe

In the autumn of last year, 93 accidents involving pedestrians occurred on the roads of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.

12 people died in them and 90 were injured. This year there were 170 such accidents, 20 people killed and 160 taken to hospitals.

The law obliging the pedestrian to wear the reflective element with reflective tape applies to all pedestrians regardless of their age from August 14, 2014. Previously, such a requirement concerned only children up to the age of fifteen.

Karpińska's commissioner specifies that such a pedestrian must be equipped along the way after dark outside the built-up area. The reflective element must be visible to other road users. The reflector is not mandatory when using a pedestrian-only or sidewalk path.

"I've permanently attached the plastic reflector to the bag. Thanks to this, it is visible from the back and the front," says Ms. Agata from Golub-Dobrzyń. And other women are encouraged to do so.

The best solution is to put on a reflective vest, which makes more and more people, especially cyclists.

The vest has the equipment for many drivers because after leaving the car they are better visible.

"Reflective materials allow you to see a man from a distance of at least 150 meters in various weather conditions," says the commissioner. "This gives the driver a chance to lower the speed or braking earlier, to safely bypass a pedestrian or a cyclist. It is worth realizing that a person moving around the dusk on the road without reflective elements is almost invisible. The driver is able to notice him only from 20 meters. This is often too small a distance to react properly. The effect can be and usually is tragic," the victim is killed or injured.

Let us add that the victims may also be people driving a car, because the driver frightened by a figure who suddenly appears in the headlights, often performs reflex steering and the car drives off the road into a ditch or crashes on a tree.

"That, unfortunately, is true. Even an experienced, very good driver cannot react properly in this situation," says Bogusław Bach, owner, and instructor of the Toruń Driving Academy, a licensed rally driver. - In our academy, we teach drivers how to avoid walking by the alarm. This is a variation of the elk test. The man imitates a water curtain, which suddenly appears in various places while driving. Similarly, at different speeds, we teach braking against a pedestrian who suddenly appears on the zebra.

The reflective vest costs only a few zlotys, and a simple reflective element can be bought for PLN 1. You can become the owner of the flashlight by paying a few, several zlotys in the store.

Despite many warnings, social actions of the police and other institutions, many pedestrians ignore the rules. Since the beginning of the year, the police have recorded over 2,300 such offenses. And this is just the tip of the iceberg because uniforms can only track a fraction of a percent of ignorant people. For this offense, a fine of 20 to 100 zlotys may be imposed.