Accidents in which pedestrians are injured regularly occur in all regions of our country. To prevent such incidents, all road users should be more careful and comply with traffic rules. Especially for pedestrians there is an additional means of protection - flickers. These are retroreflectors that help the driver to notice a person on the road in the dark.
Types and varieties of flickers
Retroreflectors are available in a wide variety of options today. These are pendants, key rings, badges, stickers, thermal stickers for clothes, bracelets. Some manufacturers of clothes and shoes offer their customers off-the-shelf models with flicker inserts. What exactly to choose depends on your taste and individual needs. According to most people, one of the most convenient options is to wear clothes with retroreflective elements. Decorating each item with reflective thermal sticker is not easy, but for sure each of us has our favorite jeans, windbreakers and sneakers for evening runs. The ideal place to place your badges is hats or backpacks. Flicker charms are an excellent accessory for decorating a women’s handbag or school bag.
Flicker Tips
How and where to wear flickers if you want to be more visible? In fact, this is the case when "the more the better." Experts advise wearing reflectors left and right, as well as rear and front. For example, if you want to protect your child, reflective flickers should be hung on his backpack (back), in the form of an icon on his chest, as well as on a belt (on the one hand) and a bracelet on his hand (on the other hand). Children and teenagers like bright accessories, but what about being an adult? The range of flickers on sale today is incredibly large. You can pick up completely invisible reflectors, or made in an interesting design. Do not forget that to protect yourself on the road should not only pedestrians. Cyclists who like to ride at night are required to attach an LED reflector to their vehicle. It’s great if the clothes of the bike owner will have reflectors.
Is it obligatory to wear retroreflectors?
In many European countries, wearing flickers for pedestrians is mandatory. In our country, amendments to traffic rules affecting this issue were introduced only in 2014. According to Russian law, pedestrians are required to wear retroreflective elements when driving on the road or its curb in the dark / in poor visibility conditions. For failure to comply with this requirement
penalties are provided
. It is worth noting that the rules apply only outside of settlements. It turns out that city residents are not required to wear flickers for pedestrians? From a legislative point of view, this is so. However, it should be understood that the acquisition and wearing of retroreflective elements is a concern for their own safety.
Accidents involving pedestrians regularly occur not only on highways, but also in large cities, as well as sparsely populated villages. One flicker today costs from 25 rubles. And this means that everyone can purchase a set of reflectors for themselves and their loved ones. Many people notice that it is worth starting to wear flickers and very soon it becomes a habit. So why not take care of
personal safety?
From what distance can a motorist see the right pedestrian?
When driving with a dipped beam, the driver sees a pedestrian from a distance of 25-30 meters. But this is sometimes not enough to react correctly. If there are reflective elements in the pedestrian’s outfit , a motorist can notice him from a distance of 130-140 meters. Agree, this is an impressive difference. When driving with high beams, the driver can see the reflector from a distance of about 400 meters. And this means that flickers are, indeed, a simple and effective way to become more visible on the road.
Penalties in Russia for the absence of flickers
What threatens pedestrians walking without flickers? For movement along the side of the road in the dark, the drain is fined 17.5 thousand rubles. If the "inconspicuous" pedestrian is intoxicated, the amount of the fine increases to 35-105 thousand rubles. If the absence of a reflector is recognized as the cause of an emergency on the road, a pedestrian may be fined 350 thousand rubles. Agree, it is much cheaper to buy reflectors. In many cities of our country, campaigns are regularly held reminding that flickers are very useful accessories. During such events, sometimes you can even get a personal protection kit for free.
Protection or a cute souvenir? The opinion of the traffic police
Traffic inspectors remind that not all products sold under the name “flicker” are equally useful. The most high-quality are white and lemon reflectors, made in a simple design. But multi-colored toys with drawings most often turn out to be the most common decorative trinkets. When buying, you can ask the seller to show a certificate for a flicker. Give preference to accessories of simple shapes - stripes, geometric shapes. It is believed that their light reflectance is higher than that of complex-shaped trinkets. Now you know what the best flickers look like. You can see a photo example at the beginning of this paragraph.