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National Reflector Day. Reminder: only a correctly used reflector can save lives

2022 10 18

On October 20, the State Enterprise Lithuanian Road Administration (hereinafter – the Road Administration) organises the National Reflector Day to remind about the use of reflectors and other safe traffic measures. This day is commemorated every year on the third Thursday of October.

The purpose of the National Reflector Day is to remind pedestrians that they, when walking in the dark or in poor visibility conditions, must have the correctly attached reflectors, carry a luminous torch or wear a brightly coloured vest with reflective elements, and that they should encourage other people to use reflectors.

“We all have to take care of our own safety, of safety of our loved ones and of other road users. Let’s start with ourselves: make sure that you always go out on a dark road with reflectors, that they are attached correctly. We are sure that many people have reflectors, but not everyone uses them. A reflector kept in a drawer will certainly not make you visible. So, use reflectors if you have them at home. And if you have none, then purchase reflectors and do not forget to attach them correctly,“ – urged Remigijus Lipkevičius, director of the Road Administration.

On October 20, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, the campaign for the distribution of reflectors and other traffic safety measures will take place at the Road Administration (J. Basanavičiaus Str. 36, Vilnius). Each person attending the campaign will be given one reflector or other measure. The number of the measures is limited. Decision on awarding reflectors to groups will be made after evaluating the written justification of the request and other circumstances.

This year, the National Reflector Day is initiated together with partners – communities, which organise events to commemorate this day. Participants in the project “Traffic safety in communities” remind during their events of the importance of using reflectors. From October 10, the ReflectOcar campaign is being run. During this campaign, the traffic safety specialists of the Road Administration visit the elderships, the communities of which do not participate in the said project. They meet with residents of the elderships, remind them of the importance of reflectors, give reflectors to those who did not manage to purchase them.

Reflectors are important in participating in traffic, because pedestrians with the correctly attached reflectors not only become visible, but the chance of spotting them also increases several times: if the car is moving with dipped beam lamps on, the driver notices a pedestrian with a reflector from the distance of 150 meters. If the pedestrian is not wearing a reflector, the car driver notices him only from the distance of 30-50 meters. However, this distance is too small for the driver to stop the car in time and avoid a collision with a pedestrian.

It is very important to attach a reflector correctly because it does not shine itself, but only reflects light. The reflector should be attached to the clothing in such a way as to ensure its good visibility from all sides and that it is not covered by other objects. In the countryside, pedestrians must walk against the direction of traffic (that is, on the left side of the road). Therefore, when walking in the countryside, pedestrians must wear a strip reflector on their right arm, slightly above the wrist and on the leg – in the area of the lower leg, or clip a hanging reflector to a coat or jacket pocket in such a way that it is at the height of the knees of the adult person – the reflector hanging like this will be easily illuminated by car lights. In the city, pedestrians should clip or put on reflectors in such a way as to ensure their visibility and so that they are illuminated by car lights. More information about correct use of reflectors can be found on the website of the Road Administration. According to the data of the Lithuanian Traffic Police, in 2020, 56 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents (39 of them in the dark), in 2021 – 28 pedestrians (15 of them in the dark).