2020年3月11日星期三

Cows (not) safe on the road


It is getting darker in autumn. Some farmers still keep cattle on pastures, sometimes a few hundred meters away from the farm. Spending the herd on buildings can mean traveling on roads where the cattle are hardly visible. How to deal with such a problem?

Local authorities in northern China encourage breeders to attach reflective tapes to their animals to avoid road accidents involving them after dark.

Regional road services already in August started an information campaign combined with the distribution of free reflective tapes for farmers living in the vicinity of tourist routes and the largest cities in five prefectures.

The tapes were made of PVC and shiny crystals. The product is very durable, resistant to wear and low temperatures.

Cattle carrying tapes on their limbs are visible from a distance of about 200 meters. This distance allows drivers to react properly, according to local road services.

In the northern part of China, more and more roads are being created that intersect the vast pasture lands. Breeders keep not only cows on them but also horses and other animals. Herds invisible in the evenings pose a significant threat to the road.

Numbers don't bode well. Since 2015, over 1,500 road accidents involving livestock have been recorded in the region. Of these, 78% took place after dark.
In one extremely extreme case, 12 people were killed and 28 were injured when the driver of a vehicle carrying people tried to bypass a horse on the road.

According to local services, since the information campaign began and breeders use reflective tapes, the number of accidents on the road involving livestock has decreased by over 50% compared to last year. The police hope the decline will be steady and plan to expand to other regions in the future.

Polish breeders can take the example of an action carried out in China. Although animal accidents do not happen on such a scale with us, it is worth considering how to improve the visibility of the herd on the road, even if it is only a rural road.

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