Did you know that 122,000 runners get hit by cars annually? Why does this happen? There are many reasons for this, such as inattentiveness whilst driving or distracted driving. However, runners should keep themselves safe, and this is where reflective clothing comes in handy.
High-visibility clothing is used in different situations. In the workplace, this type of clothing helps reduce the risk of accidents and fatalities in busy environments, especially when there is vehicular traffic. It is common to see high-visibility clothing in construction and industrial areas.
Moreover, high-visibility clothing, also known as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), is required by Health and Safety Regulations. It is also crucial in traffic management roles that help increase the margin of safety.
On the other hand, high-visibility clothing is also worn by individuals, when biking, running, hiking, and other physical activities that will put them in areas where there is low visibility. For example, when you are running at night, it is important to wear reflective clothing to help motorists and other people see you, which will increase your safety on the road.
Reflective clothing serves as a warning that signals the presence of the wearer in areas and situations that may cause potential threats to health and safety.
Workers aside, you should wear reflective clothing when you ride a motorcycle or a bike, or you will run or walk on the road. A study showed that cyclists and almost all motorists believed that high-visibility clothing would increase cyclists' visibility, and almost all drivers agreed that cyclists need to wear reflective clothing in low-light environments.
Many studies focus on identifying visibility factors for nighttime drivers. A study by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology tested how drivers see pedestrians at night and involved various factors. The study showed that the ability of drivers to see pedestrians significantly improve when pedestrians were wearing reflective clothing.
A project named Be Seen After Dark-What Clothes Keep You Safe helps students and people explore and test yellow clothing, yellow fluorescent clothing, and clothing with retro-reflective stripes to find out if they are helpful in improving visibility at night. You can try the test to see if it works!
When running, whether at night or day, it is important to run against the traffic to have clear visibility of incoming vehicles so you can reach to them quickly. By doing so, you and the driver know what the other is doing, which helps increase safety on the road.