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    • Safety Reflectors, Science and Facts

    CE-Certified for Quality & Safety Rated Pedestrian Reflectors.

    All the safety products we sell, must be CE-certified. The requirements for pedestrian reflectors are stated in the EU personal safety directive.  All C Me reflectors are CE-certified according to the EN13356 standard as there are no such safety standards in North America.

    CE stands for Conformité Européenne, which is "European Conformity" in French. A product in one of the controlled products categories can not be sold legally in Europe unless it has passed the tests to receive the CE marking.

    Quality reflectors work in the way that incoming light is broken three times inside the prisms of the reflector, before the light is then sent back to the eyes of the driver.  A proper reflector must have enough reflecting surface area which is a minimum of 15cm2, and in the case of dangling reflectors, must be reflective on both sides as they are designed to hang down and twirl about. According to the standard, the minimum requirement for reflectivity is 400 C.I.L. (coefficient of luminous intensity, which is expressed as mcd/lx and is measured at various angles), basically, this means the measureable amount of light which is sent back to the drivers eyes. All of our reflectors exceed this.

    Did you know that in addition to laboratory testing for reflectivity, that certfied safety reflectors must also be tested for the following:

    • Abrasion resistance (brushing resistance)
    • Washing and dry cleaning requirements (for applicable reflective type)
    • Durability against heat
    • Low temperature requirements (folding)
    • Exposure to water (water penetration)
    • Influence of rainfall

    As proof of the approval, the CE letters are engraved on our hard prism reflectors as well as printed on our standard packaging, this includes the slap wraps.  Scientific testing takes place at third party authorized certification bodies. SWAG 'reflectors' do not have to meet any of these standards.

    All reflectivity values are registered and saved, i.e. the reflectivity values of each production batch can be compared even many years later. 

    The high quality and excellent reflectivity of our pedestrian reflectors are the result of large and continuous product development.  The reflector production process complies with the ISO9001 quality standard and the ISO14001 environmental standard.

    Buyer be aware, some other brands of reflectors may look the same or similar, however, they are not all created equally and reflect the light back in the same manner.  Some would not pass the requirement for reflectivity, making them much more of a toy than a safety item!

    How They Make Pedestrian & Cyclists Safer

    Hanging safety reflectors are designed to dangle about as you move. For optimum visibility the reflector should be attached on the side of the body that faces traffic. Most often the zipper pulls have a small hole in them which is where the reflector attachment can be secured. The side coat pocket is best as the reflector would then be seen from the front, the side and also from behind as you walk, run or cycle. They are not designed to be used as zipper pulls on the front of your jacket as they would be seen only from the front and would not be able to hang and dangle about as well.

    A car traveling at a speed of 80 km/h moves 22 meters per second. The average reaction time is one second. The physical response takes another second. In this time the car has already traveled 44 meters. On average, a pedestrian without a reflector can be seen at a distance of 30 meters with low beam lights, this is even less for a cyclist as they are usually travelling towards the vechilce even faster. This leaves the driver with only 1.3 seconds of time to react and respond. With a our Pedestrian Reflectors you have a driver's attention from over 150 meters. This means that the driver has almost seven seconds to react and pass the pedestrian safely. That is a big difference!

    Traffic Accident Statistics

    • In Canada, nearly 3000 fatalities, and some 15,000 serious injuries resulted from traffic accidents. - Transport Canada's 2006 Statistics
    • According to the same statistics, 12.9% of this were pedestrian fatalities, and 12% were serious injuries to pedestrians. Bicyclists fatalities were 2.5%, and 3.3% were serious injuries. - Transport Canada's 2006 Statistics
    • In 2007 in British Columbia, there were 1,861 collisions involving pedestrians. There were 2,010 injured or killed (including the occupants of the motor vehicles), with pedestrians accounting for 96.6% of the victims. - ICBC Road Safety Research
    • Crash involvement rates (crashes per 100,000 people) are the highest for 5 to 9 year old males, who tend to dart out into the street. This problem may be compounded by the fact that speeds are frequently a problem in areas where children are walking and playing. In general, males are more likely to be involved in a crash than females; in 2003, 69 percent of pedestrian fatalities were male, and the male pedestrian injury rate was 58 percent higher than for females. - Pedsafe, US Department of Transportation, Federal Highways Administration
    • Canada's Road Safety Targets To 2010, aims to reduce the number of vulnerable road users (pedestrians, motorcyclist and cyclists) killed or seriously injured by 30%. - An Initiative By Transport Canada And The RCMP

    The Hard Facts

    • The age groups that have the highest percentage of pedestrian fatalities are children younger than 10 years of age and adults aged 65 and older. Cyclists fatalities have the highest share among children between 6 and 14 years of age. The percentage for these age groups are about twice as high as the average percentages for all age groups. - Safety Net (2009) Pedestrians & Cyclists, Project co-founded by the European Commission, Directorate-General Transport and Energy
    • More children between the ages 5 - 14 die as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle than from any other cause, natural or accidental. - The US National Safety Council
    • The chances of being struck and killed as a pedestrian increase by 1100% after dark. - The US National Safety Council
    • Halloween is the most dangerous day of the year for pedestrian injuries and deaths among children. Children are walking at night and in costumes which may impede their vision and create tripping hazards. - The American College of Emergency Physicians
    • 71% of fatal adult pedestrian crashes occurred at dusk or dawn or in areas where visibility of the person was restricted. - AAA Foundation For Traffic Safety
    • A car travelling at 48km/h, the chance of being fatally injured as a pedestrian is 45%, at 64km/h this increases to 85% for the pedestrian. - Safety Net, the European Commission, Directorate General Transport and Energy
    • 8 out of 10 drivers who struck people at night didn't see them. 90% of motorists who hit people at night are not ticketed for any traffic violations. - Indiana State Police Report

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