Free Reflective Strips to Aid Pedestrian Visibility

None by KCPW

(KCPW News 10-25-06) With shorter daylight hours come more pedestrian dangers. To help make people more visible to drivers, Salt Lake City is distributing 10-thousand reflective armbands and shoe strips:
"When a pedestrian wears a white shirt at night, they're visible from 180 feet away," says Salt Lake City Mayor's Spokesman Patrick Thronson. "The average car going 45 miles an hour takes 196 feet to stop. And these reflectors allow pedestrians to be visible from 500 feet."

Rocky Mountain Power donated $14,000 to make the reflective strips available for free at all city libraries, rec centers and government facilities. Thronson adds that reflector strips have proven effective overseas:

"Most pedestrians in Finland actually use them and a think-tank there estimated that Finnish children are 8 times safer with these strips than without," says Thronson.

Two weeks ago, the Salt Lake City police department announced it would begin heavily monitoring school zones and busy traffic centers for safety violations on the part of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2009 KCPW