Christmas is a holiday that many children and adults look forward to. Maybe it's for the good food, Donald Duck or all the Christmas presents under the tree. But it is also this period when we once again start to have longer days. The sun sets a few seconds later with each passing day. The feelings of spring creep in and the shops start to be filled with bright colors and spring's latest trends. You have time for a longer glimpse of the day and the wardrobe consists more and more of lovely spring colors.

It can feel incredibly repulsive to hang one on your jacket or to wear a reflective vest over your newly purchased spring clothes. It can also feel like the days are getting bright and that road users should see you at dusk.

There are many different colors and shapes. There are reflective vests in different sizes, reflective animals in hard plastic and flashing LED lights that make you visible in the dark. It is important to choose reflective materials with care. Imagine that you are standing in a dark room with dark clothes. Despite using a flashlight, it is difficult to see you. Therefore, a black reflector does not work either.

How the reflector works

No matter where you are, in the countryside or in the city, you are difficult to spot if it is dark. In the winter it is dark for an extra long time in Sweden, but the sun also sets in the summer months. This means that we need to wear cheeky reflectors every day and all year round. Even on the other side of the globe, in warmer countries, these are needed for you to be seen.

In traffic, there are many accidents involving pedestrians who are hit. One of the reasons for this is because the walking road users do not have reflective material on them and are therefore not visible in traffic. It is only at a distance of a few meters that motorists perceive a person walking. It may be too late for the driver to brake. With a good reflector, you can be seen from a distance of over 100 meters if the motorist has the dipped beam on, which gives the driver more time to brake.

Parents are good at providing their children with fun reflectors in different colors and shapes. It is equally important for adults to wear reflectors to increase their visibility in traffic.

More information about road safety can be found at NTF . You can also call and consult Trygg Hansa.

It is important to choose the right reflector for the right area of ​​use. If you wear dark clothes, it is extra important. When running, cycling or other types of exercise, it is important to have clothes and reflectors that are intended for the activity. For example, when running on small roads or roads that are not lit, it is important to have both reflectors that are visible from the front and the back. In the same way, it is important to be seen from the front and behind if you run near traffic.

In other types of activities, there are more opportunities to be seen in the dark with the help of reflectors. When resting a dog, for example, both the dog and the owner can wear reflectors in different designs, colors and sizes. The dog can have a reflective blanket, flashing dog collar and a leash made of reflective material. The owner can wear a vest in reflective material and a flashing light in LED. A reflective tape can be used on both driver and dog as it has endless areas of use! A dog is generally seen rather poorly. It depends on the dog's size and is best seen with a dog blanket. Reduce the risk by using reflectors for dogs. A leash that can pull the length together is preferred.

Be visible in traffic

It is important to choose the right one in order to be seen. The ability to reflect light can be measured in a CIL value, a measure of high reflectivity. The higher the value on the scale, the better the object is seen from a long distance. These visible reflectors test and there are two different types of test.

Another method of measuring the reflector's ability to reflect light is albedo. Albedo is a measure expressed in the proportion of radiation reflected by the illuminated surface. 0 albedo means that no light is reflected, while 1 albedo means that all light is reflected back to the source of the light beam.

There are other factors that determine how effective the reflectiveness is and the actual reflex effect. It includes, for example, how dark it is in the environment that the reflector is in. It also includes how bright the light is that hits the reflector and how big the reflector is.

Reflectors may become worn or scratched, but visibility does not deteriorate over the years. The reflector's ability to reflect light can be impaired if the reflector is scratched or dirty. Also avoid the reflector becoming overheated, for example by standing in the sun for a long time.

Reflectors can get dirty with daily use. It is fine to wipe them with a damp cloth.