Recall from August 2014, reflective elements must be used by all pedestrians, moving along the road after dark outside the built-up area, and not only children and adolescents. Such colorful, shiny reflections, however, fell in love with the youngest. In the photo of children during the action “Wear reflections” in Bydgoszcz, Dariusz Bloch / Archive.

The Trade Inspection inspected clothing for the warning, reflective accessories and hearing protectors.

Reflectors are becoming more and more popular. It is influenced by the increase in our awareness, but also by numerous educational campaigns.

Recall from August 31, 2014, reflective elements must be used by all pedestrians moving along the road after dark outside the built-up area, and not only children and young people up to the age of 15, as it was before. There are many reflections on the market. However, not all of them, as it turns out, provide total security. This is the case, for example, with gadgets (promotional materials) that may be similar to them, but should not be treated as such. For the reflector can only be called an accessory that has passed the conformity assessment procedure and has the CE mark.

The Trade Inspection has decided to take a closer look at such reflective accessories. The audit took place in the second quarter of 2017 in nine voivodeship. Inspectors checked mainly wholesalers and stores. They looked at 53 products and questioned 16 of them (30.2%). Grounds? Even the negative results of laboratory tests, errors in the instructions for use and the lack of a declaration of conformity confirming that the manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment procedure.

The vests with reflective materials were dangerous, they were not visible enough

Every second reflective vest examined in the laboratory had a low luminance coefficient. What does it mean? Lack of adequate visibility of the user, which poses a threat to his health and life when he is moving on the side.

In the case of reflections, no such irregularities were found, but there were objections to the instructions for use. For reasons of formal incompatibility, the inspectors also questioned 5 hearing protectors.

Most entrepreneurs have voluntarily removed errors. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection initiated proceedings in five cases.

So what do you buy reflections?

As advised by UOKiK experts, let’s watch out for gadgets. Companies often give out accessories that look like reflections. It is not known, however, whether they have the appropriate properties, because they have not undergone a conformity assessment procedure. Confirmation that they meet the requirements is a CE mark, placed directly on the reflector or on the attached label.

The instructions for use must be written in Polish. We should learn from it at least under what conditions it should not be used and how to store it so that it does not lose its properties.

Attention. Wear a reflector so that the headlights of the car illuminate. The lower, the better. Thanks to this, the driver will notify you in advance. Do not cover the scarf with a scarf or bag. Fix reflective elements on the side of vehicle movement.

Check the condition of the reflectors. If you have wiped the reflective tape on the clothing or backpack, replace it. If water got into the reflection, buy a new one because the old one lost its properties due to the moisture.