Month: July 2019

Campaign for Child Safety vest

Volvo Cars Korea will hold a “Children’s Traffic Safety Campaign” to make the safety vest wearable for the family month in May.

This campaign is designed to prevent traffic accidents caused by outdoor activities of infants and young children as a car company that cares about people and safety.

Volvo Cars will provide children with difficult-to-predict behavior patterns with free-to-view safety vests with a visible fluorescent background and a reflective tape to help reduce traffic accidents for children under 6 years old, We expect to be able to.

This campaign also aims to introduce the European children’s safety culture widely in Korea.

Currently, European countries, such as Norway and the UK, are obliged to wear fluorescent vests and reflective items for outdoor activities of infants and toddlers to identify children wearing safety vests with reflective material.

The safety vests produced by Volvo Cars will be offered to 24 childcare centers and kindergartens selected by the Seoul Metropolitan Transportation Bureau from this month, and last year Volvo Car Korea was awarded a grant from the Pure Foundation, a nonprofit public benefit foundation, The foundation will also be distributed to special daycare centers for disabled children in Seoul.

Cyclists’ high-visibility jackets “increase odds of crashes”?

High visibility clothing may increase the chances cyclists have an accident rather than keeping them safer, research has suggested.

A study of 76 accidents by academics found “no evidence” that those who wore reflective clothing “were at reduced risk”.

Jesse Norman, the transport minister, last week said a government consultation in the new year would look at whether cyclists should be forced to wear helmets and high-visibility vests.

But research from the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Nottingham University found “increased odds of a collision crash” among cyclists in reflective clothing, the Sunday Times reported.

The study suggested riders wearing the safety clothing “may have adopted more exposed road positions in the belief that they were relatively conspicuous”.

The results “should be treated with caution” however, as it based only on a small group of volunteers, researchers said.

Other research has reached the opposite conclusion.

A larger study in Denmark of nearly 7,000 cyclists found they had 47 percent fewer accidents causing injuries if a bright yellow jacket was worn.

Cycling campaigners have also warned against making helmets compulsory, insisting that accident statistics do not back up the case.

They argue that the safety equipment can give both cyclists and drivers a false sense of security, while the issue detracts from bigger threats like careless drivers and dangerously pot-holed roads.

More than 100 cyclists killed on British roads last year, latest figures show. A further 3,397 seriously injured, a five percent increase in 12 months.

What is the evidence that wearing hi-vis clothing makes you a safer cyclist?

Roads minister suggests making bright kit mandatory for cyclists in Britain, but what’s the evidence to back up the claim that this could help increase safety?

For several seasons now hi-vis has been fashionable for bike wear. But last month roads minister Jesse Norman suggested that the government’s wide-ranging review of cycle safety would consider if cyclists should be compelled to wear high-visibility clothing if there was evidence for it.

What evidence is there that supports wearing hi-vis clothing?

There’s not a huge body of evidence but there was a Danish randomized trial involving 6,793 cyclists, published in scientific journal Safety Science in August this year.

It found a 47 percent reduction in incidents involving other road users where the cyclist was injured when cyclists were wearing a hi-vis jacket with reflective tapes.

So, does hi-vis clothing work?

It’s not quite that simple. The limitation of hi-vis clothing is that fluorescent colors work by converting UV light in sunlight to something we can see so they’re bright in daylight, but street lights and headlights do not give off much UV light, so it makes little difference in darker conditions.

A 2006 review by health network Cochrane of 42 studies found that drivers were more likely to see pedestrians and cyclists in fluorescent clothing during the day.

It also said that the use of lights or reflective clothing improves cyclists being seen at night.

More recently, in 2010, a study in the Journal of the Australasian College of Road Safety detailed a series of controlled experiments with cyclists in different clothing to see which was most recognizable to drivers at night.

It found only two percent of drivers recognized cyclists in black clothing; this rose to 15 percent for those in a hi-vis vest but reached 90 percent for cyclists in a reflective vest and ankle and knee reflectors – the movement of the cyclists’ legs aids being seen.

However, Cherry Allan, campaigns and policy coordinator at British organisation Cycling UK, points out: “The research suggests that it may help drivers to spot pedestrians and cyclists more readily, but there was no evidence by how much and it was impossible to say whether that made them safer, as spotting them was one thing and driving safely around them another.”

What else can be done?

A 2013 Danish study in Accident Analysis & Prevention found cyclists who use flashing daytime lights had 47 percent fewer collisions with other road users, so running them seems a good idea.

It is also perhaps instructive to heed the results of a 2017 study in the same journal that found drivers who are cyclists tend to be better at spotting cyclists, so perhaps training is the answer.

Dr. Graham Hole, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Sussex says: “Those who advocate hi-vis clothing think of it in terms of cyclists being small and therefore hard to see but the real problem is when someone pulls out in front of a cyclist.

“Under those sort of conditions cyclists are very large on the retina of the person who is pulling out. It’s not that the person is hard to see in terms of physical characteristics, it’s that people are not expecting to see them.”

Students in JD Lever Safety Patrol become official with new safety vests

Local police deputies were at JD Lever Elementary School on Thursday morning to meet with students who are part of the school’s Safety Patrol, giving them supplies to help make them more official.

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office joined with SAFE KIDS Aiken to provide students with the JD Lever Elementary Safety Patrol with safety vests, said Sgt. Mary Frantz, with the Sheriff’s Office.

The students also were each sworn into the Safety Patrol officially.

“I heard that JD Lever had a Safety Patrol, but that they did not have any vests,” Frantz said. “SAFE KIDS Aiken donated money to get vests with reflective material to the kids. They work very hard, going above and beyond what other kids at their school do. These are the students who get to school early and have responsibilities like raising and lowering the American flag each day. “

Most schools with safety patrols acquire equipment like safety vests with reflective tapes from AAA but can cost the schools a lot of money.

“When I learned how much a school has to pay AAA to get stuff, I was shocked,” Frantz said. “So, we decided it would be more fun if we do not buy gear from AAA and create our program.”

Trophies Unlimited made and donated badges, which say “JD Lever Elementary Safety Patrol” with the word “Deputy” and each has a picture of the school’s mascot, a lion, in the center surrounded by an outline of a star.

The badges will only go to those students who show leadership skills, Frantz said.

Over the next month, the students will each be evaluated by deputies on how they perform their duties, how they treat others, their grades, and their leadership skills. Based on the evaluation, each patrol officer who shows all of these skills will be issued a badge, she said.

“I just wanted the kids to know how proud we are of them and appreciate what they do,” Frantz said.

Act like this if you have a breakdown with your car at night

Every driver must be prepared to know how to act in the event of a possible accident or a breakdown that forces them to stop on the road. Batteries, tires and engine failures, the main reasons why drivers needed assistance, according to the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT). A few situations that make many cars an obstacle for the rest of the road users, so a car parked on the road must always be signaled in the fastest possible way.

For this action to be carried out without endangering the safety of the occupants of the stopped vehicle and to be carried out appropriately, our car must be well marked when it is standing on the edge of the road for our safety and that of the rest of the traffic. This is especially important, especially when we suffer the breakdown at night.

The law requires that we all carry in the car two emergency triangles and a high visibility vest and turn on the “warning”, or flashing lights, but any help is too small to warn the rest that we are on the edge of the road, or even occupying part of it when the shoulder is too narrow or we could not move the car due to the breakdown.

They emphasize that the triangles must be placed in view and far enough away to be useful. It is useless to place them near the car because a car is bigger than the triangle and it looks better. The triangles must be placed at least 50 m before the problem so that the other drivers move with caution before reaching our side and, in the case that we have been standing at the exit of a curve, they must be in a straight section. before this to be effective.

If the damage we suffer at night it is even more important to make ourselves visible. Legally we are only obliged to use the triangles and the vest, but the more we make ourselves see, the better. In the market several devices will help us to be more visible, one of the most recent is known as Help Flash. It is a torch with the shape of a spherical cap that emits light in all directions. It has magnetic support, which when attached to the body of the car adheres and automatically turns on, and two functions:

Demons of orange light: is the presence alert function. It is very striking because being LED gives very fast flashes.

Light lamp: it illuminates us and it is practical to see the screws when we change a wheel since it sticks magnetically and leaves our hands free.

There are more options in the market of lights to signal our presence, but not all are approved. A warning about the Help Flash is that, although it is approved, it does not replace the emergency indicators of the car, the triangles or the reflective vest with reflective tape. It is a compliment. If we do not put the triangles and we do not turn on the warning of the car, they can find us.

Finally, it’s time to ask for help. Carrying the roadside assistance phone in the phone book or a visible place in the glove compartment will save time to contact the insurance company, especially in times of nervousness. It is important to identify yourself and the more detailed the information provided, the greater the probability that the services will arrive as soon as possible, both to attend to the injured and to remove the damaged vehicle from the road and to restore circulation.

The startup Vitoria Help Flash has summarized some of the keys to action:

1. Move aside so as not to disturb: Whenever possible, the vehicle should be stopped on the shoulder and act calmly so that the emergency is as dangerous and uncomfortable as possible. If the road does not have a shoulder, it is best to leave it as far as possible on the right side, bearing in mind that it is necessary to avoid exits of curves, grade changes or areas of low visibility.

2. Activate emergency lights: If the fault occurs on the highway, in low visibility conditions or between sunrise and sunset, in addition to turning on the emergency lights, the position lights will also a startup, and in its case, those of gauge. However, much of the damage to the vehicles is electrical, which makes it impossible to use warnings and wired devices, so the vehicle will not be visible to other drivers. To avoid this type of situation, you must have a luminous device that allows the car to be signaled without the need for an electricity point.

The new motorcyclist standard begins to apply

The Municipality of San Miguel de Tucumán sets in motion the decree that forces motorcycle drivers to use reflective garments to be more visible. “The measure is positive, but when the minutes are filed, the fines cannot be applied,” said one expert.

This Wednesday the Municipality of San Miguel de Tucumán will enforce the decree that forces motorcyclists to circulate in the capital to wear reflective vests.

The controversial measure, rejected by the drivers of this type of road, was a decision of Transit and Transportation, by Enrique Romero, with the intention that the motorcyclist is more visible to other drivers.

The resolution establishes that the vest should be yellow, with reflective tapes. In case of not having the piece, drivers must use shoulder straps or wear a garment with high visibility material. Also, if they use motorcycles with delivery boxes, they must adhere to reflective material.

Positive but poorly applied

Jorge Rodriguez Robledo, lawyer specialized in Traffic issues, explained to eltucumano.com that the initiative is positive within the security measures, although its application is erroneous since it lacks regulation. “When they file the minutes, the fines cannot be applied,” he said.

“It is essential that prevention and awareness actions are generated on the public road. This administrative resolution, which arises from the will of the municipal transport undersecretary, cannot have any application,” he said, adding:”He says that this must be mandatory, which is not bad, it is a positive action that adds up to security measures, but does not have regulations so that a lack judge can apply a sanction. The judge does not have the measure in the municipal code of fault, and does not come as a municipal ordinance but comes from the will of an official,” said the lawyer who compared this measure with the obligation of motorists to use the low lights.

“This will lead to the same thing that happens when the use of low lights is mandatory. All infractions for not using the lights in San Miguel de Tucumán is null and void. It does not have regulations so that a judge of fault can impute it,” he clarified.

Rodríguez Robledo stressed the importance of making this type of change through the Deliberative Council, in charge of debating all the issues that involve the neighbors. “When you want to regulate a behavior you must do it through a municipal ordinance, through an internal debate in the Deliberative Council. What Romero should do is present an ordinance project. Its forms confuse society, and as it is managed by the mayor develops those resolutions that do not affect the community,” he said.

“The vests are perfect because they allow seeing 150 meters the presence of the driver, of that motorcycle. It is a positive norm. What you have to generate is that pedestrians and drivers are visible. The way it is done is not correct. It does not comply with the formalities,” concluded the specialist.

With reflective collars to safeguard the life of canines

To defend and safeguard the life of canines in street conditions, the Comedog and Gozques Foundation lead in Quindío an initiative that aims, through a collar, to protect the lives of animals.

“The campaign is aimed at dogs in street condition. We did it because a year is hundreds of animals run over that die. In many cases drivers do not see them or fail to stop or, there are cases where they do it on purpose. For this reason, we implemented it in the department,” said Cristina Arbeláez Duque, animal advocate and member of the Comedor Quindío Foundation.

The woman who struggles to care for the dogs said: “What we intend is to make visible the dogs that are without a home through some collars for citizens to see. The objects are reflective and easily drivers can observe them.”

The group of young people, who joined for the welfare of hundreds of animals, said that they also want to raise awareness in the community.

“The idea is that people stop their cars and motorcycles because animals are like children and they have the right to live and to cross the street. They do not reason as a human being would,” he added.

In addition to the reflective tape, the necklace has a “adopt me” message.

“The necklaces have an adoption message. The campaign is carried out at the national level. Anyone who sees the puppy on the street can adopt it. The idea is not that the Indians buy, we want them to join the wave of adoption and that the canines have a home. “

The initiative has already taken place in municipalities such as Calarcá, Armenia, Quimbaya, and Montenegro. Around 30 necklaces were donated by the Gozques Foundation in the localities. “The idea is that people join and sponsor an animal. The necklace has a cost of 13 thousand pesos, “added the animal leader.

Those who received the first elements were the canines that frequently visit the dining rooms that are arranged in different parts of the municipalities.

IMM went out to supervise the bikes with free escape

On the side of the street, at the roundabout of General Flores, a group of inspectors stationed on the morning of yesterday. The objective: to check if motorcyclists wore helmets, if they had lights on, driving and property books and if they wore reflective vests. Some of the officials, held in their hands a sound level meter to control that the noises of the bikes did not exceed the allowed decibels.

Mariela Baute, Transit Director of the IMM, who present during the procedure, said that “there were few”. “When we find that infraction, what we do, before giving a fine, is to give the driver 10 days to appear in the Municipality with the repaired tailpipe.” If he does not do so, the fine will be applied. is 10 Adjustable Units.” If in another procedure it is detected that the vehicle is in the same condition or did not make the repair, the motorcycle is directly removed.

According to Baute explained, the highest number of complaints about annoying motorcycle noise is given at night or dawn, when there are almost no sounds in the streets. “Many times it happens that we take the measurement of noise and do not exceed 100 decibels, but it annoys the escape because of the silence that there is in the streets, although we cannot sanction if that level is not exceeded,” he said.

Half an hour after the start of the operation, each of the eight inspectors had arrested more than 10 motorcyclists. None refused at the signal of the agents. First, they asked for the documents, they compared them with the license plates and then they were asked: “And the reflecting vest?”.

Most tried to give an excuse to get away from the moment: they said that they had stolen recently, that they had fallen down the street or that they had forgotten.

When the inspector went to a box they had on the sidewalk and grabbed a vest to give it to him for free, and proceeded to give him a little talk about the importance of wearing it, the motorcyclists were sincere and admitted that they had never bought the vest or They did not know that it was mandatory to use it.

“Even though we worked on this topic all last year, we have seen many people without the reflective vest,” said Baute. He added: “What we are looking for is your safety and that of the rest since a person wearing a vest with reflective tape is 17 times more visible than one who does not wear it”.

Another of the complaints that IMM commonly receives is about the deliveries that often commit infractions: they pass with red light, they do not use all the required protection systems and they circulate at high speeds. Baute explained that Unasev is working “directly with them”, conducting training courses.

“They have identified them and they know which companies have hired them, but what that job has is that it is not permanent: today a person is delivery and tomorrow not, so it is difficult to have them controlled,” he said.

“We criticize motorcyclists a lot but we also complain when the food is late or cold, I am sure that none of us when the food arrives with the delivery we notice if it has a helmet or if it has a vest with reflective material. we need them, “he said.

Vulnerable users – Think!

Seeing and being seen is essential in road traffic.

With the change of the time last weekend, many pedestrians move at nightfall. It follows an increased risk of the accident since often the drivers do not see them well or notice them only at the last moment. Road Safety Luxembourg ASBL, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure and the Police Lëtzebuerg recall some tips to reduce the risk of collision:

Pedestrians: Be visible!

Wear clothing with reflective material, armbands, jackets, reflective tapes, umbrellas and reflective pads – all accessories for long-distance viewing by motorists.

Walk-in in front of traffic on country roads and wear the mandatory safety vest.

Consider the speed and distance of approaching vehicles before entering the road. Make sure you are seen by motorists.

Put a reflective collar on your dog.

Joggers: be visible!

Wear reflective armbands and wear clothing with integrated reflective elements.

Wear a safety vest that is mandatory if you take the road out of town.

Cyclists: be visible!

Make sure the lights and reflectors of your bike are in good condition.

Wear a helmet and a vest or other reflective accessory.

Mandatory bike equipment:

a doorbell

two brakes

a white or yellow light before

at least 2 reflectors per wheel or continuous reflective tape on the tires

reflectors on the pedals

a red reflector

a red rear light

Motorists: be visible!

Turn on the lights when visibility conditions require.

Report your maneuvers in good time.

Adjust your speed.

Make sure windows and vehicle lights are clean (in winter cleared of snow or ice).

Take into account the potential errors of vulnerable users in traffic.

How many safety vests needed in a car?

Every driver must have a safety vest in his car. This is not mandatory for passengers but still recommended.

 

In France, the fluorescent safety vest with reflective tape is part of the mandatory equipment to have in the car since October 2008, in the same way as the pre-signaling triangle. The yellow vest must bear the CE mark of the European Community.

 

The Highway Code says:

 

“The safety vest shall be worn by the driver before leaving the vehicle, at night and during the day, whatever the visibility conditions, following an emergency stop”.

 

This obligation only applies to the driver of the car. It is not necessary to have a safety vest per passenger, even if it is recommended for the safety of all.

 

What is the fine if I do not have a safety vest with reflective material?

In case of absence of safety vest in the vehicle, you risk a fine of 135 euros, minus 90 euros (contravention of fourth class). You may also verbalize if your vest is not easily accessible from your seat. So prefer to store it in the glove compartment rather than hide it at the bottom of the trunk.

 

However, unlike a rumor launched on the Internet, you do not risk anything by putting your yellow safety vest on the dashboard on the sidelines of the protest against the fuel increase of November 17, 2018.