With a reflective tape, you have three times more chance at night

IDNES.cz editors tested whether a reflective element can save a pedestrian's life. It turned out to help surprisingly a lot. A walker with a belt can be seen at three times the distance than a walker in casual clothing. This gives the driver valuable seconds to react.

One would say an ordinary striped belt. When I held it at dusk in an alley near the village of Ořech near Prague, I almost doubted it would be of any use to me. But in the dark, only the headlights of the car brighten from afar, the tape suddenly lights up.

Together, the Ministry of Transport and the Traffic Police have proposed that all pedestrians who are moving in poor visibility on the side of the road without streetlamps be wearing the belt the following winter.

The relevant law has already been written and approved by the Ministry in the second half of the year.

Do you think that the introduction of mandatory pedestrian reflex accessories is a good idea?

Together with the cameraman, we made three measurements. We started by trying to find out how far the unlit pedestrian driver would see. Followed by an experiment with a two-piece reflective tape wrapped around the sleeve and the foot. For the third time, I put on a reflective vest used by road workers, for example.

The predecessor of the current head of traffic police Leos Trzil toyed in interviews with the idea that pedestrians should wear a vest. However, his idea went down because no one wanted to walk dressed as a worker on highway construction.

So in my first attempt, I went as an unlit helper along the verge and the cameraman in the car was supposed to stop when he saw me. Then I measured the distance between my position and my car using the application on my mobile and GPS. We have verified the distance by stepping.

It was just before eight o'clock in the evening, not quite dark yet. It turned out that I was seen 50 meters in front of the car, thanks to the fact that it was still dark and I had red pants. You can see them better than dark ones.

The second attempt took place with a reflective tape a few minutes later in the regular darkness. The measured distance was 147 meters. I thought the car was a safe distance from me.

Therefore, a pedestrian with a belt can be seen at three times the distance. At first, the driver sees only light flashing around. The reflective vest is then a guaranteed protective device visible at a distance of 289 meters.

Pedestrian visibility affects many things, of course, the speed of the car. The cameraman drove slowly against me, but a driver running in the '90s might see a small spot in the dark later. Also, it is approaching faster.

Even more useful is the usefulness of tape when time counts. At a speed of 60 kilometers per hour, you drive a kilometer per minute and thus 50 meters to an unlit pedestrian in three seconds. Little time to react. In the ninety, which is allowed outside the village, it is only two seconds.

The experiment showed one more thing. A reflective material element at the bottom of the feet is much more helpful than on a jacket or backpack. This is because the car lights shine approximately at the height of an adult's knees.

In 2013, according to police statistics, a total of 134 pedestrians died, including 80 at night. That's why the police are promoting reflective tapes. The tape is not an inexpensive matter (we bought it in a branded sports shop for 199 crowns), but the police sometimes distribute the tapes during preventive events.

"I remember that, in cooperation with the health insurance company of the Ministry of the Interior, we equipped several thousand tapes in the field and distributed them to people," said the Police Presidium spokesman Jozef Bocán. It is not excluded that similar action will be repeated.