Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe: Traveling Safely

A risky way to go on a trip, however, and he has a lot of fans. A huge plus of hitchhiking is that even with limited finances you have the opportunity to visit almost any part of the world where there is a road.

In addition, it is a great way to meet new people and get impressions that you can hardly get on a train or, say, on a plane. We will tell you about the five mandatory rules that must be followed if you want the trip to be successful.

Take care of your appearance

A very important point, since it depends on him whether the trip will take place at all or not. It would seem that the rule is elementary, but some persistently ignore it. Think about the person with whom you will go, most likely, a fairly decent amount of time, and about your safety too.

If you are a lonely girl, don't wear anything unnecessarily tight and short when going on the road, you do not need to provoke the driver once again (in case it is a man). The ideal option is clean, loose clothing that will not hamper your movements and your driver as a whole.

An important point - if you are going to catch a car at night, take care to purchase reflective materials that need to be attached to clothing or wear a reflective vest.

Travel as a couple

If you are planning a trip in a foreign country, it is better to take a friend or a young person with you, as hitchhiking is always associated with risk, and the level of danger depends on the country.

Many people ignore this advice, as they believe that couples are not the best companions, however, according to statistics, drivers have more confidence in couples than in a lonely tourist.

It also happens that you stop the car, but the company is not very pleasant, in this case, ask where your new friends are going, but do not get into the car and just say that you are not on the way.

Plan your route

Despite the fact that you will not be driving, you need to know exactly which way and which roads you can drive to your destination. Experienced hitchhikers always plan their route.

Take a paper road map with you, as the navigator will not catch everywhere, and in some situations, you simply cannot do without a map.

Examine localities along your route; this should be done in case of an emergency.

Agree "ashore"

Even before getting into the car, discuss the conditions of the trip with the driver. The driver must understand that you are going to drive for free. And not going to pay in any way. Refer to the fact that you study at the institute, because there are difficulties with finances, and on the street, it bakes so much that you are unlikely to reach it yourself. Usually, drivers agree to give a ride on such conditions, if you are not an obvious tourist and he is really with you on the way.

This is quite an important point, which will avoid trouble at the end of the trip.

Do not be silent

Do not think that the main reason why you took the driver - sincere spiritual impulses. A person, especially on a long trip, needs at least to exchange a few words with someone. Would you be pleased to put a sullen person next to you, with whom you will spend more than one or even a couple of hours? Hardly. So be open to dialogue.

Traffic rules will stop changing every month

Traffic police admitted: drivers do not have time to remember all the new amendments.

The rules of the road in Russia change so often that drivers do not have time to memorize all these amendments. This problem was recognized by the head of the traffic police, Mikhail Chernikov, and temporarily forbade his subordinates to redraw the traffic rules.

"Constantly changing the rules to a greater degree are not communicated to the population," Chernikov added. "Some citizens during training in driving schools are asked to introduce an additional course where they will read what is new."

At the same time, the State Traffic Inspectorate clarifies that this is an internal departmental moratorium. That is, the traffic rules may still change if such proposals are received, for example, from the Ministry of Transport.

By the way, the last package of changes in traffic regulations comes into force tomorrow, December 14, 2018. New road signs are introduced: "Bicycle zone", "Customs control point" and "Parking only vehicles of the diplomatic corps".

And a week earlier, on December 8, another amendment canceled the obligatory identification mark "Spikes" on cars.

Some of the other changes introduced this year include new roundabout rules (priority was given to cars driving around the ring), the introduction of blue markings (to designate lanes at intersections), and the requirement for drivers to wear reflective vests when the vehicle is forced to stop.

The action "Traffic regulations - the law of life on the road!"

Pupils of school number 11 reminded the Berd residents how to cross the road in order to stay alive and not become a cause of an accident.

On the eve of the summer school holidays, employees of the Novosibirsk State Traffic Inspectorate carry out a set of preventive measures to prevent the facts of road accidents involving minor children.

Schoolchildren and teachers of educational institutions of the city of Berdsk take an active part in this. Volunteers of the "UID" school squads conduct preventive conversations among peers about traffic observance, explanatory work among parents, as well as thematic actions for road users on safety issues on the streets and roads.

Employees of the traffic police regiment of the traffic police in the Novosibirsk region, together with activists of the "UID" squadron of school No. 11, conducted a preventive campaign in "Berdsk" "The SDA - the law of life on the road!" The organizers of the action turned to pedestrians and drivers to comply strictly with the requirements of the rules of the road, to be attentive and disciplined on the roads.

Near the pedestrian crossing, adults and young pedestrians were informed about the causes of road accidents, told them about the rules for crossing the roadway, about increased attention and caution near the road, about the use of reflective tapes on clothes and bags in a dark period of time. Each participant of the action was handed a memo "Traffic violation - the law of life on the road!" And a reflective sticker.

A personal example of crossing the street, the guys demonstrated the algorithm of safe passage, and also reminded drivers that every pedestrian is a full participant in traffic and takes priority in the pedestrian crossing zone.

There are a lot of road users, and the law of safety on the road is the same for everybody - it is a traffic police. A small collection of rules, for each item which has a huge number of traffic accidents and human tragedies. In order for all the streets and roads to become safe, you only need to know and follow these rules, we are confident in the traffic police promotion group for the Novosibirsk region traffic police.

In the post offices of Kuzbass will sell flickers

Reflective elements for pedestrians will be available in October.

Kemerovo region joined the joint action of the traffic police and Russian Post. Now in all post offices of Kuzbass flickers will be on sale. Retro-reflective materials can be attached to clothing in the form of icons and bracelets, hang on the bags and backpacks in the form of key chains, as well as sew on clothing. The official website of the Russian Post notes that they will all be cheap - no more than 100 rubles.

The joint action of traffic police and postal service is aimed at protecting pedestrians. In the dark, many drivers do not notice people at crossings and near the tracks, and flickers are designed to solve this problem. The usual reflective tape, which is sold in many stores, is not in demand: many people do not want to spoil the type of clothing. Flickers, especially temporary ones, will get rid of inconveniences for both pedestrians and drivers, consider the organizers of the action.

Traffic chooses O Grove to encourage the use of reflective vests among cyclists

Agents of the Civil Guard distributed these elements among users who circulated yesterday by the PO-316 -This road is within the "Protected Cycling Routes"

Agents of the Civil Guard of Traffic of the subsector of Pontevedra distributed yesterday reflective vests between the cyclists who circulated by the PO-316, to the height of the roundabout of San Vicente de O Grove. The members of Traffic stayed at that point for one hour with the aim of promoting and promoting the use of high visibility garments among cyclists to improve their safety before other drivers of vehicles.

The campaign has been launched in O Grove but will be extended to the whole province, focusing, above all, on those roads classified as "Protected Cycling Routes" that run throughout Pontevedra and that in O Salnés are concentrated in the area of the peninsula Mecca and Sanxenxo. The campaign launched by the Traffic Subsector of the Civil Guard of Pontevedra has the collaboration of the Galician Federation of Cycling, aware that their federated and bicycle lovers are risking their lives on more than one occasion when they go out to enjoy a sport that, each time, has many more followers.

The choice of the San Vicente roundabout has not been a coincidence, since the PO-316, a road that crosses the Isthmus of A Lanzada, is included within the Protected Cycling Routes, that is, within a group of roads that are used to to be used by cyclists on a regular basis and that has led the Traffic Department to highlight them in order to avoid the occurrence of abuses in them.

In Galicia, there are a total of 12 roads included in this catalog, which add nearly 700 kilometers in which to enjoy the bicycle without the fear of being hit by a vehicle. In these paths, the DGT has implemented a series of measures such as the signaling of the route, the temporary reduction of the speed limit and greater vigilance by the Civil Guard agents in compliance with the rules, in particular, the respect to the lateral distance in overtaking (1.5 meters minimum), the inadequate speed or the anti-regulation maneuvers. This last measure not only applies to car drivers but also controls cyclists.

In addition to the PO-316, PO-312 and the PO-317 (San Vicente road) included in this program are also located in O Grove, among the cyclists. valued in a very positive way, since it guarantees certain security in each one of your exits at the time of circulating through these spaces.

Warning clothing meets the new standard EN ISO 20471

New warning clothing standard: progress, clutter or everything "half as bad"?

EN ISO 20471 is the first international standard for high visibility clothing. It replaces the European standard EN 471.

But what changes? And what does the new standard mean for manufacturers and distributors as well as for consumers/buyers of the clothing previously manufactured according to EN 471?

This brings with it the new warning clothing standard EN ISO 20471.

With the new EN ISO20471 requirements for warning clothing for use are set for the first time risk-related, in 3 classes especially for the protection against "high risk". The previous interpretation "for professional or professional use" of the EN 471 is thus a thing of the past.

Class 3 is still the highest and Class 1 is the lowest level of protection, depending on the quantities of warning material (background material) and reflex (retro-reflective material).

IMPORTANT: For the use of the lowest class 1 warning clothing, it is advisable to combine it with clothing of the higher classes to increase the visibility.

According to EN ISO 20471, the amount of warning background material is now determined "net". That is, without logos or other (also provided) imprints.

The warning reflective fabric must definitely also enclose the torso for high-risk clothing (class 2 + 3) for better visibility from all sides. High Class 3 must always wear clothes with sleeves.

Another new feature is that only the higher quality level 2 is allowed for reflective strips. The mention of the previous number in the new pictogram is therefore omitted.

The properties of the classes must now be retained even after at least 5 washes.

The biggest change in EN ISO 20471 is that warning clothing is considered and assessed in terms of "risk". This particularly helps the consumer in assessing which warning clothing is suitable for the particular application. The extensive range of warning clothing from KIND easily meets all requirements.

Back to school: how to choose the binder of my child?

Choosing the schoolbag of your child is important because it will keep it for a whole school year, and sometimes more. To find the right one, follow the guide!

Many parents leave their choice of schoolbag to their child. But if it is he who chooses it, you must still make sure that it corresponds to his needs. According to the Ministry of National Education, the average weight of the backpack for the school is 8.5kg. That's almost 20% of the weight of the student when it should not exceed 10 %! To prevent your child from having pain in the back, neck or shoulders, you must choose it.

Back to school: how to choose your schoolbag?

The first thing is that you have to choose a backpack designed for children. Thus, it will be adapted to their morphology and designed in lighter materials, not to add weight unnecessarily. Then, it is important that the binder does not rest too much on the neck or the shoulders, so you have to take it near the body and with two straps and not on the shoulder. These should be wide and well padded for your child to be comfortable. Finally, do not adjust too long: "to avoid accentuating the camber of the back, the backpack must remain 5 cm from the waist," says ShopALike. It's also better if the bag has reflective tape or reflective material so your child can be seen by motorists when it's dark going in or out of school.

Choosing a backpack with outer pockets is a good idea to spread the weight of the business. The handles on the top allow to raise it without too much leaning and thus limit the effort of the back and the shoulders. Finally, school bags with wheels are a good option for elementary and middle school students since weight is not always on the shoulders. But you still need suspenders so he does not have to lift it at arm's length on the stairs.