Islanders urged to wear brighter clothes after dark
BE SAFE BE SEEN is the message Living Streets Guernsey is promoting with this year’s Hi-Vis Day, as the group encourages islanders to wear brighter clothes after dark.
Hi-Vis Day was on Friday and saw islanders dress up in their brightest clothes and make a donation to the charity, which goes towards high visibility vests for the public.
Guernsey’s narrow roads and lack of street lamps means that pedestrians are at even more risk when wearing darker clothes.
‘The limited street lighting means Guernsey’s roads can be lethal, particularly on a dark rainy night when vehicle stopping distances are affected,’ said Living Streets chairman Tom Le Pelley.
The pavement is not always safe as the narrow roads often lead to cars mounting the pavement, so wearing reflective clothing will alert drivers to the presence of a pedestrian and allow them time to manoeuvre.
Living Streets secretary Pat Wisher said that it was especially important to brighten up at the moment as the dark rainy weather reduces visibility and stopping distance and that the majority of people are wearing dark suits and coats.
‘People need to be aware that they are invisible,’ said Ms Wisher.
Research shows that a driver travelling at 40mph with full beams on has only three seconds to react to a hazard, a number which drops to 1.5 seconds on dipped headlights.
Wearing reflective clothes can combat this as at night drivers with headlights on can see reflective material from up to three times as far away as non-reflective materials.
Living Streets also wants to make islanders aware to always walk facing traffic where there is no footpath, to be able to see oncoming cars.
The hi-vis jackets will be available free of charge at the OSA recruitment pop up shop in Smith Street from 14 to 20 November.
