The route of ReflectOcar will stretch along thirty elderships
On October 20 this year, the National Reflector Day is commemorated. On this occasion, the State Enterprise Lithuanian Road Administration (hereinafter – the Road Administration), together with its partners – communities, organises events to commemorate this day. During their events, participants in the project “Traffic safety in communities” will remind of importance of using reflectors. The ReflectOcar of the Road Administration will arrive to the elderships, whose communities do not participate in the said project.
On October 10-20, the ReflectOcar will visit 30 elderships according to the agreed schedule and, at the specified locations, the traffic safety experts of the Road Administration will inform the residents about the traffic safety topics, which are currently the most relevant.
“The project “Traffic Safety Stops”, that took place in summer, showed that direct communication with people is very effective. We hope that the travel of ReflectOcar, that we organise for the first time, also will be successful and, most importantly, useful for people”, – Remigijus Lipkevičius, director of the Road Administration, spoke about the campaign.
The Road Administration reminds that a reflector or another safe traffic measure is necessary both in the hazy noon and early morning or during later evening. Therefore, each road user should have reflectors and wear them properly. Drivers notice a person with reflectors much earlier, for example, if the car is driving with dipped-beam headlights on, the driver notices the pedestrian, who wears a reflector, from a distance of 150 meters. If the pedestrian does not wear a reflector, the car driver notices him only from a distance of 30-50 meters. This distance is too small for the driver to stop the car in time and avoid collision with the pedestrian.
It is very important to attach a reflector correctly, because it does not shine itself, but only reflects the light. It must be attached at a height where it could be illuminated by car headlights. A reflector must be clearly visible from all sides, and it is important 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, they must wear a band reflector on the right hand just above the wrist, on the leg in the lower leg area, or attach a hanging reflector to a coat or jacket pocket at the knee height of an adult person. The reflector hung this way will be well illuminated by car lights. More information on correct use of reflectors can be found on the website of the Road Administration.
Not only a reflector, but also a luminous torch or brightly coloured vest with reflective elements can help drivers to notice a pedestrian from a further distance. Such a vest or luminous torch are particularly important in the countryside, where pedestrians have to walk on the side of the road.
For the first time, the National Reflector Day was organised on 6 November 2014. Since 2019, the National Reflector Day is organised annually on the third Thursday of October.