Nine out of ten reflective tapes checked by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority this year did not comply with the regulations. The tapes most often did not meet the requirements for photometric parameters and did not have a mandatory CE marking.
Inspectors of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (CTIA) inspected 37 kinds of reflective tapes and found 33 deficiencies. The Inspectorate imposed 27 fines of CZK 317,000 on distributors.
During the check purchase, they interested in reflective tapes designed to protect consumers when traveling in low visibility on the roadside or on the roadside in a place that is not illuminated by public lighting.
Based on the results, the CTI recommended to consumers who use reflective tapes in low visibility to buy tapes with the necessary data, such as CE marking and manufacturer and product identification data. The inspections showed that at the same time, products meeting these legal obligations were also reflective. The CE marking is a declaration that the product complies with all applicable regulations and has undergone all appropriate assessment procedures.
Huge differences in the ability to reflect light revealed two years ago a joint test of 26 reflective tapes MF DNES and BESIP. At first glance, the strips look virtually the same – light green, plastic, retractable. In fact, it is not the color of the tape, but the amount and density of the special glass mass that provides a reflection of the light in the tape. The test showed that the ability to reflect light is the best of the sixty times the last. Complete test results HERE.
“At present, it is a regulation that pedestrians moving outside the village in low visibility at the roadside must wear reflective material or reflective vest to make it more visible to the driver. The area of such marking should correspond at least to the dimensions of the reflective tape,” says Eva, Press Spokeswoman of UNIQA Insurance Company.
“It is best to place the tape on the moving parts of the body, that is, the wrist of the hand and the ankles of the foot closer to the center of the road, because the motorists will notice them,” he advises and warns that a pedestrian who does not have reflective equipment on the equipment can be fined up to CZK 2,000.
“In the dark, there is even three times the risk of killing in an accident than in the daytime. Of course, the greatest risk is for pedestrians, two-thirds of them die on the road in the dark,” concludes Eva.