According to the
police, up to 50 serious accidents with pedestrians in Salzburg could be
avoided every year if people had dressed in lighter colors or even wore a
safety vest. Even a small reflector on clothing can be seen from 150 meters
away.
Seen or not seen -
this question can make the difference between life and death on the road in the
cold season when the days are short and the nights long. It was not until
mid-November that a dark-clad pensioner was overlooked by a moped driver and
fatally injured in the process.
According to the
Salzburg traffic police, between 30 and 50 accidents per year could be avoided
with appropriate clothing and behavior that is adapted to the dark.
"Serious accidents don't always happen, but there are many near-accidents
and evasive maneuvers, which in turn lead to accidents. The decisive factor for
me is that these accidents could be avoided very easily if one behaved
accordingly," says Friedrich Schmidhuber from the Salzburg traffic police.
Dressed in dark:
visible up to 25 meters away
According to
traffic experts, pedestrians dressed in dark clothes can be seen up to a
maximum of 25 meters in time at night. Light-colored clothing or neon colors
almost double this distance, but only with reflective material are passers-by
up to 140 meters visible.
Police: Older
people have some catching up to do
While this has
worked for young people for years, adults have some catching up to do here.
"Older people, in particular, underestimate this risk massively. Also,
dark clothing is often worn, which makes the situation even worse," says
Schmidhuber. Often pedestrians would not be aware of the fact that outside a
local area there is a regulation to use the left side of the street or, if
available, the banquet.
Tip: light-colored
clothing, safety vests, warning tapes
According to the
police, it would be easy to be seen by drivers even in the dark. The police
recommend consciously wearing light-colored clothing during the dark months and
putting reflective safety vests or reflective
tapes on the upper arms.
