What many people don't realize is that reflectors made by different manufacturers can look exactly thesame yet one can reflect well and one can barely reflect. When it comes to safety it is worth the extra dollar to look for a brand name like 3M Scotchlite that is trusted to be top grade in reflectivity and quality.
When buying visibility gear for your safety such as reflective vests, belts or jackets an important thing to look for on the label is that it is ANSI compliant. ANSI is the the accepted grading system in the US for the safety of visibility products. ANSI has different levels depending on the traffic and lighting conditions that the gear is needed for.
Lime reflective wear is by far the most worn in the US because it is the most visible color followed by orange. You may have noticed that the much of the safety apparel worn by construction workers doing road work are lime vests or jackets with silver reflective stripes. (Also, when workers wear lime there is a clear differentiation between them and the orange cones or barricades.)
Check out this video from 3m and you will see the difference between a good reflection of silver tape and a weak reflection.
Bicycles are a great way for us to get around, however it gets a little tricky when we need to take our things with us as well. With a car you have plenty of temperature controlled space for your grocery packages and what ever you may need for the day. When going on a biking trip we need to be a little more creative in how to carry our things with us. Thankfully there are many innovative carrying packs, cases, baskets and backpacks to wear or attach to our bicycle. There are also bicycle trailers to tow our kids or heavy loads.
Today I actually saw someone riding with a milk crate bungee corded to the back of their bike (and I just found an article on ehow about how to do this). This got me thinking. If we can attach a milk crate to a bicycle, why not make the milk crate, panniers water bottle holders etc. reflective by sticking some reflective tape on them. Applying reflective stickers and tape to bicycle accessories is an easy way to stay seen. For bike trailers you may want to put a flashing taillight on the back for even greater visibility.
If you don't like the idea of getting crafty and sticking stickers on everything, there are bike panniers, saddle bags, and other bike carriers and accessories that are already designed with reflective material and sometimes even lights.
I also saw a nice easy idea recently. There was someone riding around our town with a 2" wide lime reflective belt strapped around the back of his bike basket and you wouldn't believe how noticeable he was. How simple is that?
Safety is one
of the most important things that a person considers for themselves as well as
for the people they care about. Whatever a person may do, most of them will
always take precautionary measures in regards to their personal safety and for
others. When it comes to traveling, it is important that everyone takes the
right measures in order to keep safe. It doesn't matter whether they are traveling by air, sea, or land; there is always a need to be safe.
If a person decides to travel using a bike, it will not only be useful, but it
will most certainly be a fun form of transportation. Throughout the years,
everyone has seen how riding a bike does not only bring a person to their
origin of intent, but it is a relaxing and leisurely form of traveling.
However, if one is not careful, riding a bike can also be dangerous. That is
why the bike reflective tape is a great safety tool that is necessary for
everyone. It is not only a reflective tape for helmets, but is reflective tape
in general which can be used for almost anything.
The bike reflective tape has surely proven to be useful in keeping people safe,
especially at night. Bike accidents can easily happen, especially if a person
is not paying close attention. Using it as a helmet reflective tape is also a
good idea. The tape will easily reflect in light either during the day or at
night. It will allow people to easily see your helmet because of the reflective
tape that is put on it.
When riding, it is important to keep the head safe and that is why the
reflective tape for helmets is highly popular and sought after. Any person can
easily see how these reflective tapes have simply changed things around in
terms of safety. What makes the reflective tape so unique are its
characteristics. They are actually highly visible stickers with sheet measures
of about 4"x 8-1/2".
It is also such a great thing to have because it also comes in shapes. It can
come in shapes such as arrows, circles, strips, or even triangles. The stickers
also have strong adhesive so no one needs to worry about it easily coming off.
Using these reflective tapes will give everyone the chance to see just how
effective it is and how safety should be a number one priority when it comes to traveling on bikes.
Taking long
walks and jogs can be a great bonding experience for pets and their owners.
Ensuring that both pet and human are safe is imperative for getting maximum
enjoyment out of the walking experience. One way to accomplish this is for each
party to wear reflective clothing or accessories. These accessories can be
anything from reflective patches on the shoes, arms, back or legs of a human to
accessories personalized for their dog. Utilizing items that have been created
with the intent of preventing accidents is an ideal way to make sure that a
walk at any time of the day will not result in injury.
For those looking for maximum safety and protection, pet owners can purchase a
reflective dog vest for their animal as well as a reflective vest for
themselves. These articles of clothing will offer maximum bodily coverage,
making each of them highly visible under any light source, no matter how small
or dim. Finding a reflective dog vest to fit a specific animal will not be
difficult, as these products are available in many different sizes to
accommodate different breeds of dog. The same goes for the human counterpart,
with different sizes available for both children and adult pet owners.
Other accessories for pets like a reflective leash and collar are also
available. Although smaller and less noticeable, these pieces will still alert
others to the presence of the animal, especially if used in conjunction with
protective gear by the person walking the dog. Although a reflective collar may
not be the best solution for dogs with long, thick, or curly fur, they are
ideal for animals with shorter fur and larger bodies. The reflective leash will
not actually cover any portion of the dog's body, but it will provide a point of
reference for the actual location of the animal. Rather than having to look for
the body of the animal or wonder if there is one present, the reflective leash
(if used alone) will let others know not only that there is a dog present, but
how close or far away it is from the road, path, or human.
Protecting your dog while getting exercise should be the main concern of any
responsible pet owner. For those that do not want to go over the top in
reflective gear for both parties, there are packaged deals available that will
offer some reflective gear for both the dog and the human in the same set. One
such product is the dog reflective gift pack, which includes a human sized
reflective vest and a four foot lead for the dog. This high visibility dog
reflective gift pack will help to ensure the safety and security of each human
and dog pair, as well as keep from interfering with the natural experience of
taking a walk during the night time hours.
This reflective gift pack is available at DontGetHit.com, as are many others.
By taking the initiative to protect a dog by making it visible on a walk, dog
owners are proving to themselves as well as their pets that they care - and
that they do not want any harm to come to the animal if it is at all
preventable.
Reflective tape
has been around for a great number of years and has offered a great service to
the world through its many uses. It's sticky and reflective qualities make it
ideal for a great number of purposes and an uncountable number of its rolls are
used every day from a variety of people and their everyday tasks, be it casual
or professional. Working with this tape offers an experience and quality to
work that other tapes simply do not add. Its adhesive sticky side and
reflective non-adhesive side provide for a product that has many practical
uses, including perhaps most importantly, saving lives.
Orange reflective tape provides a safe counteraction to things that could prove
to be dangerous such as oncoming traffic and finding someone easily in the
dark. If a person wishes to make their bicycle or self safer they can add tape
to their person in order to be more readily spotted at night. Reflective safety
tape is often orange tape as it allows people to be able to more readily see it
in conditions that would otherwise not be conducive to seeing people or
objects. Most people use tape for when it is night time as it causes the tape
to reflect the light on its shiny orange surface, thus causing beams of light
from oncoming cars and other vehicles and people to be bounced off the tape and
cause a sort of illumination.
Another great use for reflective tape is construction. Construction requires a
great deal of movement of dangerous objects and equipment and thus it is highly
important that the people who are working in the construction business are
easily spotted by others around them. By using tape, construction workers are
able to avoid what has the potential to be very dangerous injuries. Tape in
this fashion actually saves lives and allows the construction workers to take
extra steps to make sure that they are safe as they work their daily jobs.
Being safe when working on construction beams and transporting objects is
important and tape saves the day, once again.
Orange reflective tape is not entirely for safety. A great number of people use
it for arts and crafts purposes as well. Using the tape for crafts means adding
a bit of shine and creativity to a project. Shiny tape can add flair to
whatever project it is added to and thus makes a craft more glamorous and
extravagant. There is absolutely no reason to avoid using reflective safety
tape in a creative fashion.
Reflective safety tape has innumerable qualities and functions that make it
entirely worth the money invested into it. Whether it is safety, or decorating,
creativity oozes out of the pores of its ability to satisfy all those that
possess and use it. These qualities make reflective tape one of the best and
cheapest must haves on the market as a person never quite knows when they will
need to use it. This is one wonderful tape that should be in everyone's lives
today!
The Wine
Country has to be one of the best places in the world to ride your bike.
Picture yourself on a silver and black Schwinn Jaguar Cruiser going down one of
the back roads. Your bike is a stock model but you have added some extra bike
reflectors, bike spoke reflectors and of course your large wicker basket in
front to hold your newly tried and bought wines. The sun is starting to set and
you don’t have far to pedal so off you go towards home not a care in the world.
What was wrong with that picture? Absolutely nothing except are you really
positive the other travelers can see you? Not only other bikers, but
automobiles and farm equipment share the back roads with you. You trust
yourself enough to know that you will see them but do you trust them enough to
give you, your bike and your precious wine enough room on the road? Preparation
is the key.
Yes, you put extra bike reflectors and bike spoke reflectors on your Schwinn.
But did you know a car headlights can only reflect off your bicycle reflector if
they are directly behind you? An automobiles head lights are pointed down and
to the right. If you or they are on a curved road the reflection sight goes
down to twenty percent if you are lucky. What about the people coming toward
you? They cannot see any of your reflectors at all. You need to cover all forms
of light challenges that a bicyclist may encounter. Also don’t forget cross
traffic and make sure you place bike spoke lights on the front and rear tires.
There are many light source items on the market and you can really outfit your
bike with them for very reasonable prices at any big store outlet or your
favorite bike shop. Plus you can install them yourself; just remember to follow
the directions exactly. Then you will achieve the most amount of reflection for
you and your bike.
Most bicycle accidents occur head on, so a front light is essential. In fact, ¾
of accidents are head on. Rear lights or a large bicycle reflector are also
available and are very important to have. Keep in mind where a cars head lights
are pointed and keep yourself as visible to everyone as you can. Some of the
actual lights can be powered by you as you pedal. You can also use a bicycle
reflector attached to your bike helmet. This will draw the attention of any
driver, even if his headlights have missed your reflectors and your brake
light. On your pedals themselves, they are usually equipped with reflectors but
you can also add bike spoke lights to the bottom of the pedal giving illumination
to the road underneath your feet. This is not only another advantage for other
drivers to see you, but it also allows you to see where you are stepping when
getting off the bike.
Slap on bracelets were popular among kids and teens in the
1980s and 1990s and were invented by a Wisconsin schoolteacher named Stuart
Anders. From a straightened out state, they can be slapped against the wrist, at
which point they wrap around the wrist. Many children have encountered slap on
bracelets when attending school, seeing them on the wrists of their classmates.
More recently, some people have thought to combine reflective bands with slap
on bracelets to create reflective slap bands. The reflective bands are the kind
that you would see on a safety vest, a grayish material which shines brightly
under headlights or flashlights.
In an effort to promote safety, they would make a great
party favor for a nighttime event. Kids would sure have a lot of fun playing
with these. They aren't prone to breaking either and nor are they especially
dangerous, being lightweight plastic that isn't rigid or sharp enough to
puncture or abrade and not small enough to be ingested.
If you think about it, reflective slap bands are a good alternative to a bulky
safety vest. You can carry a few of them flat in your pack and then just slap
them on your wrists if you feel you need to be more visible to drivers at
night. And they're just as easy to remove and store, unlike a safety vest. Bikers
might also use them to secure the extra pant material around their legs to
prevent it from being caught in the chain and gears, which, as many people can
tell you, should definitely be avoided!
At first, slap bracelets were made out of a cloth covered thin piece of metal
which was maybe a bit over a foot long and one and a half inches wide. The
cloth covering had patterns on it, such as leopard print or zebra stripes. They
were marketed as a toy to children. The company most widely credited with
inventing them is Main Street Toy, based in Simsbury, Conn.
In the later years of the 1990's, a plastic band was being used instead of
metal to allow the product to coil up. After changing to plastic, the product
was safe. Now with reflective bands, slap bands are way safer and more useful.
Who would have guessed that a functional safety product with a simple and
elegant design would have started as a fad in the eighties?
