Lack of reflective elements on the clothing will impose a 500 rubles fine as from July 1, 2015

26 June 2015

The new development will affect those who travel after dark outside of residential areas. You need to remember that when driving with dipped beams, a driver can notice a pedestrian at 25-30 meters, while the visibility range can increase to 130-140 meters if a pedestrian has a reflective element (a flicker) on. At the same time, when driving with main beams, a driver can notice a pedestrian by a flicker at 300 meters.

The new fine being introduced in the middle of July can be explained by the fact that it is exactly the time when the number of children being outside in the rural localities increases significantly. Unfortunately, not every child gets home by nighttime. According to the official State Road Traffic Inspectorate statistics, 8,356 road accidents involved children-pedestrians in 2014 alone, with 238 children killed and 8,388 injured. Despite the fact that, compared with the corresponding period of 2013, there’s been a decrease of 6.8% in road accidents, of 12.2% in children killed and of 6.7% in children injured, the numbers remain frightening and road accidents involving children continue to happen at any time of the day, in or without a company of adults.

Flickers can help rectify the situation of children-pedestrians getting involved into road accidents after dark. There was a case when a flicker saved a life of a man that fell asleep on a railway – a whole freight train was stopped in time to avoid a tragedy.

A system of fines imposed for the lack of reflective elements has already been in place in the Republic of Belarus. In terms of Russian rubles, it amounts to 60 rubles for the absence of reflective elements if a person is travelling near road edge after dark. It will cost a Belarusian a little less than two thousand rubles to travel without flickers when inebriated, more than six thousand – for causing a road accident due to the absence of a reflective element.

The subject of the importance of reflective elements at nighttime has been being approached for a long time in Russia. Yet in 2010, the State Road Traffic Inspectorate at the Ministry of Interior of Russia, the Russian Association of Motor Insurers and Road Safety Russia held a road safety campaign “Get Glowing!” aimed to show children and teenagers that a small reflective stripe can not only be a fashionable accessory, but can also save a human life.

A person is most noticeable when they have flickers on both their arms, on their back and on their bag or a backpack. Flickers of round and rectangular shapes are the most effective and noticeable ones; it is better for them to be of white or lemon color. Nevertheless, when buying any flicker you need to ask for a certificate of quality, as fake flickers provide no safety guarantees. On average, flickers cost a lot less than fines placed for their absence, so there is no point in risking your life trying to save money on your safety.

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