Road Safety recalled this Wednesday the importance of being visible on public roads just before the time change, where each year a peak in accidents is observed the weekend following its implementation.
“Road Safety reminds pedestrians, cyclists and scooter users of the importance of making themselves visible and invites motorists to be more vigilant of these vulnerable users,” the organization said in a press release.
France will switch to winter time overnight from Saturday to Sunday, so it will get dark earlier. The number of accidents involving a pedestrian recurrently increases by 42% in November, compared to October, according to ONISR data collected between 2015 and 2019.
“In the light of a car’s headlights, other road users are visible only 20 meters away when dressed in black. However, at 50 km/h, a car needs at least 25 meters to stop on dry ground ( 38 meters on wet ground) With reflective accessories, they are visible at 150 meters”, hammered Road Safety.
The organization thus encourages vulnerable users to “wear light-colored clothing and opt for retro-reflective devices (vest, armband, gloves, straps on backpacks, school bags, etc.)”.
reflective accessories
According to a study by the Assurance Prévention association, 82% of French people are concerned about their safety when visibility is low; at night, at dusk or in fog.
Bicyclists are the most likely to feel vulnerable when visibility decreases (by 90%), followed by drivers of motorized two-wheelers (by 85%) and users of electric scooters and other motorized personal transportation devices ( EPDM, 82%).
If good reflexes are known -70% of those surveyed consider adopting them on public roads- they are not applied systematically: only 73% of pedestrians systematically take the sidewalks when visibility is low and 29% wear light clothing.
Half of cyclists do not systematically use reflective accessories. On electric scooters, 38% of users do not always turn on their lights. The study was conducted online from October 6 to 11, 2022 by Harris Interactive for the Assurance Prévention association, with a sample of 2,039 people representative of the French over 18 years of age.
Source: BFM TV
