Become brighter!

With the onset of autumn and a sharp reduction in daylight hours, the problem of car accidents involving pedestrians is becoming more urgent. According to statistics, it is at this time of the year that the peak of accidents is noted, associated with collisions with people whom drivers simply do not have time to see in time. Izvestia found out how to make a pedestrian more visible on the autumn road.

"Ghosts" on the road

A long—term analysis of accidents shows that autumn is the most dangerous time for pedestrians. According to official accident statistics, at this time of the year, the number of accidents on the road involving them is one and a half to two times higher than the monthly average and reaches its maximum by October. The reasons are a noticeable reduction in daylight hours, changeable weather with rain and fog. Because of this, visibility on the roads is getting worse.

It would seem that the daylight hours are even shorter in winter, and snowfall does not contribute to good visibility. However, according to long-term observations, the number of accidents involving pedestrians has been decreasing since about November. This is partly due to a general decrease in traffic intensity. But to a greater extent, experts from the State Traffic Inspectorate explain this trend by the appearance of stable snow cover in most of the country by this time of year — it additionally reflects the light of car headlights, and the silhouette of a person looks more contrasting against its background. Thus, the main danger factor for pedestrians is their "invisibility" on the road.

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I see — I don't see

Many pedestrians crossing the road assume that since they see a car, the driver has already noticed them. This is a very dangerous misconception! The car has a light source — burning headlights. A pedestrian simply does not have such a light source.

— The headlights of a car with halogen lamps in low beam mode illuminate the road by 25-50 m. LED or xenon external lighting devices reach a little further. But this is in ideal conditions. Under real-world operating conditions, the headlights "fade", and the xenon lamps eventually "burn out". In bad weather, the headlights are covered with a layer of dirt. In reality, at night, the headlights illuminate the road only a few dozen meters in front of the car," Denis Zagarin, head of the testing center at FSUE NAMI, told Izvestia.

Simple as that

The easiest and most proven way for pedestrians to increase their own visibility on the road is to wear outerwear and shoes with retroreflective inserts or use retroreflective elements (key rings, bracelets, patches, etc.) as accessories.

It is a special material composed of microscopic prisms or balls that reflect the light falling on them towards its source at a certain angle. As a result, if the headlights are turned on in low beam mode, then the person using such elements becomes visible to the driver at a distance of 150-200 m from the car, and if the "far" is turned on, then at a distance of up to 350 m, — said Denis Zagarin.

At the same time, he stressed that when choosing clothes with such elements or accessories, it is necessary to make sure that they are certified and comply with the requirements of GOST R 57422-2017 "Retroreflective elements and products for pedestrians and other road users." This document regulates not only the standards for the ability of such elements to reflect light, but also establishes requirements for their wear, said the head of the testing center of FSUE NAMI.

Non-certified products can reflect light much worse, especially during rain or low temperatures. It can also significantly lose its properties after several washes and quickly become unusable when worn. The person who uses it will have self-deception: he will be sure that he is visible on the road due to the use of retroreflectors, although in fact he still remains "invisible".

Attention, children!

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Frightening numbers

The obligation to use retroreflective elements (retroreflective elements) by pedestrians is prescribed in the traffic regulations, the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia reminds. Paragraph 4.1 states that "when crossing the road and driving along the roadsides or the edge of the carriageway at night or in conditions of insufficient visibility, pedestrians are advised, and outside populated areas, pedestrians are required to carry objects with retroreflective elements and ensure that these objects are visible to drivers of vehicles." Failure to comply with this rule can result in a warning or a fine of 500 rubles. At the same time, as statistics show, even despite the direct instructions in the traffic regulations and the risk of getting a fine, pedestrians often forget about retroreflectors.

So, according to the State Traffic Inspectorate, since the beginning of the year, the number of accidents involving pedestrians has decreased by 5.3% — in eight months, almost 19 thousand such accidents have occurred on Russian roads. Despite the overall decrease in these accidents, the number of pedestrians killed at crossings at night increased immediately by 13.8%. 97.9% of people killed in these accidents did not have an IED with them.

— Retroreflectors are proven by many years of experience to be the most effective way to protect yourself on the road at night or in conditions of insufficient visibility. They allow the driver to notice the pedestrian much earlier, give him time to slow down or stop. It is these extra seconds that can eventually save a pedestrian's life," Police Colonel Sergei Hrantskevich, head of the Department for Road Safety Promotion and Prevention of Child traffic Injuries at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, told Izvestia.

He said that it is best to place the SVE on shoes or in the ankle area, since the legs are the first thing the headlights of the car hit. They should also be placed on the sleeves, on the back and chest — approximately at a distance of 80-100 cm from the ground.

— Of course, no one forbids placing retroreflectors on other parts of outerwear. On the contrary, the more such elements there are, the brighter the person on the road will look," said Sergey Hrantskevich.

Fashion show

Invisible children on the road at night are a separate risk area. Often, when choosing clothes for a child, parents prefer dark-colored models, considering them less expensive. However, such a choice further reduces the visibility of a young pedestrian on the road, experts say. They strongly recommend giving preference to light-colored jackets and trousers when buying clothes, even if they have to be washed more often. And always with retroreflective inserts.

But most of the time, the question is not even what kind of clothes to buy for a child. Parents have much more difficulty convincing him to wear it or retroreflectors. According to Valentina Kulbitskaya, chairman of the all-Russian children's and youth organization "Young Traffic Inspectors" (YID), there is no single recipe here - a lot depends on the psychological characteristics of a particular child and on how the parents' relationships with him are built. However, she did give some advice on how to convince a child to use SVE.

— If we talk about a child under the age of about 12, then it is important first of all to interest him in the use of retroreflectors. The ideal option is to make them together with him. Moreover, the necessary materials for making key chains, bracelets, and patches on clothes can be easily found. Such a handmade craft is of special value to a child: he simply will not part with it," said Valentina Kulbitskaya.

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Another way to motivate a child to use SVE is to show him that it is fashionable, she noted. For example, to hold a kind of "fashion show" in kindergarten or school, where children will "parade" in reflective outfits. As practice shows, after such "fashion shows", children begin to show increased interest in SVE and are happy to accept such accessories.

A different approach is needed for teenagers, says Valentina Kulbitskaya. Visual experiments related to NE and involvement in them are important to them, she emphasizes.

— For example, when driving a car on a dark road, parents may draw the teenager's attention to how well road signs covered with retroreflective film are visible compared to other objects. This effect should be discussed with him during a conversation on equal terms, gradually turning the conversation to the use of retroreflectors on clothing or as accessories, advises the chairman of the UID.

If we talk about schools or other educational organizations, then you can get a teenager interested in using SVE by inviting him to participate in the creation of a project on this topic or by conducting an experiment with him related to the principles of refraction and return of light as part of physics lessons," notes Valentina Kulbitskaya.

Hope for SVE, but don't do it yourself.

The use of retroreflectors significantly reduces the risk of pedestrians dying in an accident, but by themselves they cannot guarantee complete protection from accidents on the road, according to the State Traffic Inspectorate. Road safety primarily depends on strict compliance by drivers and pedestrians with traffic regulations and mutual respect, the department emphasizes.

The material was created as part of the implementation of the federal project "Road Safety" of the national project "Infrastructure for Life".