HILL AIR FORCE BASE – There has been a recent uptick in the number of people traveling to and from work, and around base on personal transportation devices such as bikes, scooters and skateboards.
Many people are also crossing busy roadways such as South Gate on foot in the morning during low-light hours.
If you are one of these people, please do yourself a favor and take steps to be seen.
Why? Because you don’t want to be hit by a car. That’s it.
HILLAFBI 31-218 mandates wearing reflective material at times of darkness, but should that be your primary method of motivation? Probably not. Your desire to not be hit or hit someone else is the reason to use and encourage the use of high-visibility materials.
The Utah Department of Transportation provides some staggering statistics on why wearing reflective gear helps you stand out and alerts drivers that you’re also on the road.
The average person driving at 30 miles per hour will travel about 110 feet before coming to a stop after recognizing someone is crossing the road.
Wearing different types of clothing will help you be recognized sooner.
Let’s compare:
• Black or dark clothing – You will not be recognized until you are within 70 feet, 1.5 seconds of the vehicle. The average driver will not be able to stop before striking you.
• A white shirt – You will not be recognized until about 200 feet from the vehicle. The driver will have about five seconds to recognize and come to a stop.
• Reflective vest – The driver will have about 15 seconds to recognize you and stop the vehicle. This can be shortened dramatically based on what angle the light is hitting the vest.
• Retro-reflective vest – The driver will have about 15 seconds to recognize and stop the vehicle. This is similar to wearing a reflective vest but this material is better at reflecting the light back at the driver, providing the driver 10 times the amount of time to stop the vehicle compared to when the pedestrian is wearing dark clothing.
• Lights – Using a flashing light can provide the driver with 27 seconds to recognize the situation and stop the vehicle. This is the best method of being seen while moving around base during low-light hours since it provides the driver 18 times the amount of time to stop the vehicle compared to the pedestrian wearing dark clothing.
So, the next time you ride into work on a bicycle or other form of personal transportation, remember to follow the rules and put on some retro-reflective material or lights.
Doing so will greatly increase the time a driver has to see you and will help keep you safe while crossing or traveling along base roadways.
For more information about using reflective materials or general base traffic safety, call the 75th ABW Safety office at 801-777-SAFE (7233).