A colorful police car caught the eye in Kuopio

On the streets of Kuopio on Tuesday, one could see a brighter and more colorful police car. Kuopio police are testing a new car this week, which should be available to police throughout the country early next year.

Field manager Mikko Antikainen says that a model of European police cars has been sought for the car and the reflective materials on its sides and rear.

Yellow is used elsewhere in Europe, although we have more moderate reflective materials than, for example, England.

Reflective material seeks safety, for example in traffic accidents. Motorists can detect the emergency vehicle further away, for example on the highway.

Most of the year is dark and, especially on motorways and highways, not everyone is quite enough, although there are emergency vehicles on the roadside. Also, the new car has yellow LEDs in the rear windows that can indicate the direction in which the car is to pass the accident site, Antikainen describes.

The new car attracted a lot of attention

There is an extra hatch on the side of the new police car, which allows you to put equipment on the opposite side of the door, for example. In the rear, the side windows have been removed and space has been made easier to clean.

Antikainen says that the police car received positive feedback on the first day and garnered attention on the streets of Kuopio.

Yes, it has caught my eye, but at least no one has started to laugh, Antikainen throws.

The new police car circles Finland for test use. After Kuopio, it moves elsewhere to Northern Savonia and then to Oulu. Experiences are collected from all areas. Existing blue-and-white police cars are due to be replaced with new, more colorful ones early next year.

"Visibility is super important"

Eight-year-old Urho Malinen is happy to run in the courtyard of the Salmela School in Sotkamo, wearing a new safety vest. He was one of the first to get his vest and he is proud of it.

This vest is great, of course, I'm going to wear it too. Reflective tapes make this great. Visibility is super important, otherwise, you can stay under the car.

Sami Mähönen, the chief of the attention-grabbing campaign, watches Urho go with a smile and says that this is where the work is just beginning.

Now you have to get your parents involved too because you can't leave the use of children's vests alone to the kindergarten and the school. The example of the home is the most crucial here.

Sami Mähönen has obtained money from companies for a total of 2,000 vests. The cost of making reflective jackets was 11,000 euros. The attention vest is distributed in schools and kindergartens to every child from 3 to 12 years old in Scotland.

The municipality promised to handle the distribution, and the Traffic Safety and Police will help with the training. Money for the vests was purchased from companies. It once happened that there were more paying companies coming in than there was even a need.

"It is not always a big idea to go far," Mähönen smiles. The idea came about when Mähönen checked the safety equipment of his daughter in Eskar.

Next up, Timo Määttä, a traffic safety instructor, reminds us that the whole attention vests campaign hit an important point.

On darker roads, only one in two walkers wears a reflector or a vest. Against this knowledge, it is good for homes to wake up to the need for visibility.

Traffic safety trainer Timo Määttä says frankly that without a clear model, the use of vests is quickly forgotten.

For the smallest, the vest can be worn, but if the model does not come home, the larger ones will leave the vest on the shelf.

The obligations that cyclists must observe

The advent of spring and the improvement of the weather conditions create the right conditions for the increasing use of bicycles. On this occasion, the police recalled the requirements for this group of road users.

The Road Traffic Law obliges cyclists to wear a reflective vest with reflective tape outside the settlements, during the dark part of the day and with reduced visibility, moving as close as possible to the right border of the lane.

Under the ATC, cyclists are required to use bicycles that are in good working order: brakes, bells, a device for emitting white or yellow well distinguishable light at the front and a red reflector at the rear, as well as white or yellow reflectors or reflective elements on the sides of the wheels. The law permits the placement of a red light-emitting device at the rear.

The rider is not allowed to move parallel to another two-wheeled vehicle, to operate the bicycle without holding the handlebars, and to release the pedals to control it, to operate the bicycle in pedestrian-only areas. On a pedestrian path, the cyclist is obliged to get off the bike and then cross to the other side, this prohibition does not apply to cyclists up to 12 years of age; move in or close to another road vehicle.

Traffic police are urging all road users to adhere strictly to road safety rules.

Grower harm mutant automated reflective color-fabric roller

As consumers growing buy apples by color, and as Michigan growers continue to shift to the fresh market, growers there have been experimenting more with reflective fabric to get light to fruit on the bottoms of trees.

Traditionally, the fabric is laid by hand in Michigan in what is a three-person job, but at least one grower family is working to automate the process — a task that hasn’t come without challenges.

Kyle Rasch's early attempts at an automated color-fabric roller involved a distributed trampoline. "It was not ideal," said Kyle, 25, a third-generation grower in Greenville, Michigan, northwest of Grand Rapids. "We could do only one row At a time, and it was a slow process, but it did the job."

The Ranches had seen a few custom-built pieces of equipment, but little on the market for the task. So, Kyle used the U-shaped leg from his wind-battered childhood trampoline as an axle to hold a roll of color reflective fabric like a paper towel roll holder in a kitchen.

He attached that to the hydraulic weed-spraying booms on the family’s tractor, along with a spring to hold it tight against the tree trunks. "We took some duct tape, some zip strips and made a little farmer apparatus," he said.

He and his family liked the results, so they worked with their equipment vendor, which manufactured two rollers that fasten to the sprayer booms, the arms of which fold up and extend to allow them to lay the fabric on both sides of the alley at once.

They prefer exposed ground in the middle of the alley to allow access for people and equipment.

 The family demonstrates the use of the rollers in July at the International Fruit Tree Association’s Summer Tour.

It's still a three-person job — one to drive the sprayer, the others to shovel small piles of dirt on the stretched fabric to hold it in place. They consider the rollers a cheap improvement to speed up the job — less than $1,000 for each Adapter that holds up to 40-inch rolls on each side.

Reflective material itself, common in Washington state, is pretty new in Michigan, said Phil Schwallier, a Michigan State University extension horticulturist.

Midwest sunlight is typically more diffuse to spread light more evenly, while up until 10 years ago, growers produced primary apples destined for the processing market, where color doesn’t matter.

These days, the climate has been changing to make color inconsistent, while growers have been converting to high-value fresh varieties like Honeycrisp and SweeTango.

Typically, in Michigan, growers lay strips only under the trees to leave access to the orchard alleys that get muddier than in Washington.

The machine speeds things up, but stretching foil by hand is a relatively easy chore, Schwallier said.

"It's not that bad," he said. Just thread a rope through the roll. One person pulls it and walks backward while two people shovel. That method covers only one row at a time, so the machine doubles the pace of work and Eases the stress on workers' backs.

Last year, they stretched fabric on about 5 acres and noticed packets increased 10 to 15 percent from those trees, said Tom Rasch, Kyle's father. "This is from the sun reflecting in and giving the fruit a Better background color," he said.

The reflection material also ripened their fruit more uniformly, allowing them to pick as much as 70 percent in the first pass.

"We're impressed with what we've seen so far," he said.

Studies elsewhere by the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission also have reflected reflective fabric to increase fruit size and yield.

This year, the Rasches are expanding to 15 or 20 acres of SweeTango, Honeycrisp and some of their harder-to-color Galas.

The Ranches advised growers to use caution with the fabric — put it out during a heatwave and you could sunburn the fruit on the bottom. Instead, they try to stretch on a relatively cool day to let the fruit build up a little sun tolerance before The hot weather arrives.

Tom Rasch next hopes to work with the equipment company to add a disc to furrow dirt on top of the fabric automatically, cutting down on labor even more.

The sole occupant of sunk fishing boat rescued after hours in the water

A man who was plucked out of the sea by French-side sea rescue service SNSM on Thursday night after his fishing vessel sank in the Anguilla channel is thankful to be alive after spending more than seven hours in the water hoping for rescue.

SNSM was informed by the surveillance center CROSS at 2:15 pm that the fishing vessel Integrity had sunk "around Anguilla" with one person on board. A crew of four SNSM volunteers on the semi-rigid inflatable Rescue Star headed for Anguilla, but initially without the Position of the sunken boat. A few cushions spotted in the water in the middle of the channel, but no evidence of a sinking boat.

It was learned the individual, identified as Kumakie Parris, had managed to alert a friend by phone at 11:15 am when his boat sank, and the friend then went out with his boat to look for him. It was only after 1:30 pm That the friend finally alerted the Anguilla fire department to launch the official emergency chain.

The Anguilla police had one last contact with the shipwrecked man around 1:45 pm, confirming that he was in the water and still alive, but without being able to specify his exact position.

Major resources were then deployed: the Dutch Coast Guard on two Metal Sharks, which took on board two police officers and some Anguillian firemen; the Gendarmerie's Nautical Brigade; private boats Funtime, Night Rider, and others; Rescue Star of SNSM St. Martin; As well as a DASH-8 aircraft which flew over the whole area making round trips.

Despite all the resources being deployed the missing man was still had not been located as night began to fall. Rescue Star re-fuelled at the Delta Petroleum dock and resumed the search with thermal binoculars, this time searching the area from Pointe Plum to Blowing Rock, from South to North.

Suddenly the man was spotted in the water in the beam of the flashlight and was hoisted on board. He is in good condition, with no visible wounds or injuries. CROSS was immediately informed at 7:40 pm that he had been found

Parris explained that his engine had broken down, then a big wave broke on his boat. At that time, about 11:15 am, he contacted his friend in Anguilla, put on a life jacket (a decision that saved his life) and tried to pump His boat to empty it, when another big wave hit him on the beam and the boat capsized.

"He saw boats looking for him; he shouted, raised his arms; the plane passed over him; but no one saw him," SNSM reported. "A small head between the waves is almost impossible to see. He had nothing to signal his whistle, no light, no reflective tape on his safety vest. His phone in a waterproof pocket no longer worked. He swam for hours trying to reach the coast of St. Martin.

"The crew gave him a phone to call his family who was ecstatic that he was alive."

SNSM particularly thanked sponsor Delta Petroleum, which came out to refuel the Rescue Star after closing time, permitting the search to be resumed and the man saved. SNSM also thanked CROSS, the Dutch Coast Guard, Brigade Nautique, DASH-8 plane, and all The private boats involved in this international maritime rescue collaboration for their efforts.

SNSM advises sea-goers to always wear a life vest, in water sports and, ideally, equip it with a light, a whistle, and reflective tapes to have the maximum chance of detection if the worst happens – because miracles like the one last night happen very, very rarely!

Readers Respond to the High Number of Traffic Deaths in Portland This Year

Last week, WW wrote about three of the 34 people who have died in Portland traffic this year. To improve safety, the city has spent more than $47 million in the past two The number of traffic deaths in the first six months of 2019 equals the number for all of last year. Here's what readers had to say.

Martin Crommie: "Would be nice if someone was out there to stop the Mad Maxes that seem to think the road is for them alone."

John Retzlaff: "When Vision Zero in Portland is about being anti-car and not about pro-safety, then this is what you get. Road diets do not improve safety, half the lanes and the same amount of traffic Is not safe."

 Frosti11icus, via Reddit: "My dad always told me, 'Just assume a vehicle won't stop for you because if you're wrong you'll die.'"

Rudi Van Desarzio: "You can blame pedestrians and cyclists all you want, but that's not how the law is written and never has been. It is your responsibility as a driver to have control of your vehicle Such that you do not run into people and kill them. That's the bottom line. If it means you have to drive 5 mph and that riding a bike or taking the bus is faster, so be it. Driving around in your single occupied vehicle At 15 mph above the speed limit is not a 'right.'"

Nick Sauvie: "The fact that the majority of these deaths occur in outer Southeast Portland is a result of decades of insufficient transportation investment. Vision Zero and road diets are steps in the right direction."

Morningside: "Right or wrong, pedestrians and people on bikes need to act defensively. I see it too often where people don't pay attention to."

Harley Leiber: "East of 82nd, everyone who is bipedal should wear an orange reflective vest."

Aww, via Reddit: "As someone who is one degree away from TWO people who have killed a pedestrian while driving in the last 18 months, this article strikes home. While I know most people here mean well by sharing their experiences with transportation issues, Let me say this one thing: Please never drive while intoxicated. Ever."

Caltrans increases traffic line width with high-profile striping on the state highway system

Motorists across the state of California will notice a new generation of road striping on highways, freeways, and interstates that is wider, brighter, and long-lasting. The California DOT (Caltrans) has increased the width of all 4-in.-wide Longitudinal traffic lines to 6-in.-wide high-profile striping on the state highway system.

The new 6-in.-wide, highly reflective road striping debuted in 2017 as part of the "Across the Top" I-80 project in Sacramento. Crews made various improvements across a 10-mile section of I-80, and the $136 The million project was an ideal project to test the new striping since the interstate is heavily traveled and a main route to the capital city. Caltrans was able to see if the materials could sustain the wear and tear of heavy traffic, and monitor the durability and effectiveness Of the new striping.

Using glass bead retro-reflectivity, light rays enter glass beads and are reflected at drivers allowing motorists to better see the traffic lines on the road.

After seeing the success, Caltrans decided to re-stripe 50,000-plus lane miles of the state highway system in the next decade with the new road demarcation lines replacing the longtime standard 4-in.-wide stripes. The material of tape and thermal plastic embedded with glass beads. Both the reflective material and reflective tape used in striping contains tiny glass beads that enhance reflectivity, particularly when illuminated by vehicle headlamps or in rainy conditions. a minimum level of reflectivity despite constant heavy wear. However, not all parts of the state will see the new striping material because it will not be applied on roadways above 3,000 ft in elevation where snow removal equipment is used. The shovels that scrape snow and ice off the roadway would also remove the thermoplastic striping so Caltrans' maintenance crews will continue to repaint those lines when damage occurs.

Also disappearing, as the new striping is laid, are the raised, non-reflective pavement markers known as Botts' dots, named after the Caltrans scientist who invented them in 1953. With the advent of the new striping, the ubiquitous little bumps have lived Their usefulness as lane separators.

Caltrans has implemented the use of health marking material by developing warranty-based performance specifications, permanent tape, methyl methacrylate (MMA), and thermoplastic with enhanced wet-night visibility. The marking selection guideline was developed to aid Project Engineers with the process of selecting Traffic marking on highways. The marking material selection process is based on the estimated remaining pavement service life, pavement type, climate, location, and the expected performance of the striping material.

Caltrans recognizes the potential cost-effectiveness and safety enhancement of broader traffic stripes and warranty-based markings on a system-wide basis. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Amendment (SNPA) to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Based on the document, the minimum retained retro-reflectivity of markings.

Based on the technical literature and agency responses, wider stripes improve driving conditions such as long-range detection under nighttime, stimulation of the peripheral vision, lane positioning, and driver comfort. Markings provide an important means of visually communicating how drivers must use a roadway The new 6-in. striping, with its wider and brighter profile, is expected to enhance safety for older drivers and truckers as well as in challenging conditions such as rain. Per FHWA's Handbook for Design Roadways for the Aging Population, the increase in the width of longitudinal traffic lines benefits older drivers and increases the visibility of lane line delineation for all road users by providing improved roadway guidance, especially during periods of impaired visibility, such as wet night conditions.

Markings must be capable of conveying information during inclement weather and evening hours when there may be little to no illumination from overhead lighting. The 6-in.-wide striping provides a valuable continuous stream of information about the roadway that signs or signals cannot supply. They alert drivers to changes in the roadway and help them maintain their position inside the lane without requiring the driver to take their eyes off the road. Striping is used to separate vice traffic streams and channel traffic into the proper roadway positions. When motorists operate a vehicle, they use markings to guide them through the roadway.

More visible markings with wider widths and higher retro-reflectivity can increase the distance with which the lines are detectable and may improve a motorists' ability to perceive the marking in their peripheral vision. These enhancements improve lane keeping and positively impact safety.

As Caltrans prepares for future innovations and technologies, the department has been proactive in reaching out to transportation industry leaders. Caltrans consulted with auto manufacturers Tesla and Google, two major players in the autonomous vehicle industry, about the striping changeover. Autonomous vehicles feature configured sensor The technology of the digits of the highways, the lines of the highways and the high-performance markings of the highways and the markings. The 6-in.-wide highly reflective striping will be a better roadway guide for autonomous vehicles than the 4-in. striping.

Caltrans'goal is to enhance safety on California state highways and make it easier to navigate no matter what time a person travels. In the past, fog and heavy rain have hindered motorists' abilities to see the striping on the road so it is Caltrans hope With the bright material 6-in. striping will provide more visibility. With the new material being used to enhance reflectivity and the light rays from vehicle headlamps that project off the glass beads, the white 6-in. reflective striping will shine a safe passage For motorists traveling in the Golden State.