Freewheelers wear High Visibility Reflective Motorcycle Jackets - July 10th 2006

Pictured are two Freewheelers EVS riders modelling high visibility jackets supplied by ICU-UCMe. Tom Craig, managing director of ICU-UCMe, recently presented Freewheelers with 15 blouson style jackets and 15 lightweight over-jackets to help increase the visibility and safety of our riders. Each jacket bears the charity's logo and the word "BLOOD" printed in large letters on the back.

The President of Freewheelers is very impressed with the new garments that ICU-UCMe Ltimited have supplied and states 'The jackets, which will be worn by our volunteers whenever they are on duty and will play a vital part in keeping our riders safe while they are on the bikes making valuable deliveries to local hospitals.

According to Department of Transport figures for 2004, more than 3,000 people were killed and 280,000 were injured in traffic accidents. Jackets such as those provided by ICU-UCMe are a very tangible way of reducing those needless deaths and injuries. Freewheelers EVS is proud to be associated with Tom Craig and ICU-UCMe.

Tom speaks at IAM National Motorcyclists conference on 30th April 2005, Lights up the conference with his speech 'Hindsight is not visable road safety'.

During the presentation Tom explained the needs to be seen and the stationary vulnarbilities of the motorcyclist as well as the need to be seen in all types of lighting and weather conditions.

Austrian Motoring Law

Since May 2005 drivers of four-wheeled vehicles are also required to carry reflective warning clothing. These must be kept inside the vehicle and, when necessary (e.g. in case of accident or breakdown), worn when getting out of the vehicle. Appropriate warning clothes are, for example, jackets, overalls, trousers and blankets, which correspond to Austrian Standard EN 471.

Please note: Anyone not carrying, or – when it is necessary – not wearing, warning clothing may be subject to a fine. If an accident occurs and no warning clothing is worn, as a result of which injuries are caused (e.g. by an approaching vehicle), claims for damages may not be paid in full.

High Visibility Vests Fail the Test

Study examines more than 100 vests all over Spain

A survey conducted on behalf of the Royal Spanish Automobile Club reveals that 63% of all vests sold in the market have safety problems.

Author; Antonio J. Lucas
Road Safety Department

The Royal Spanish Automobile Club (RACE) teamed up with the Spanish Department of Transportation and the National Consumer Institute to carry out a study in the course of which more than 100 reflective vests gathered from all over Spain were examined. The results of this examination show that 63% of the vests have safety problems, either with regard to the design of the garments or to their day-time visibility (coefficient of luminescence) or night time visibility (coefficient of retro reflection). Taking into account insufficient marking and information leaflets, this percentage of non-compliant garments increases to a total of 87%.

A number of renowned organisations participated in this study, which was conducted over a period of more than 5 months. Among them were AITEX, an accredited institution for CE certification in the area of personal protective equipment (protection and safety) and Lumaquin, a company specialised in the manufacturing and distribution of measuring devices for laboratory quality control.

The collection/procurement of the vests constituted one of the major parts of the work. In a first step, a survey was carried out among more than 540 drivers asking them, among other questions, where they bought their reflective vests and whether they were aware of the regulations. The results show that 98% of the drivers know that they are obligated to carry a reflective vest in their car. 59% of those interviewed know what a reflective vest has to be like. Most of those persons who had already obtained a vest, bought it in a specialist store for automotive parts or in a supermarket.

A team was then commissioned to buy the vests on the basis of the same buying criteria, keep the receipts and to note down the place, the date and the price of purchase, as well as all other relevant information. The study covered all other purchasing channels, including buying vests via the Internet. The vests were then numbered and submitted to analysis institutions for evaluation.

Loud clothes compulsory in Europe
27 May 2004

UK motorists who drive to Italy or Spain this year will have to carry a high-visibility vest in their cars, as well as a warning triangle and GB sticker.

It is likely that Portugal and France will follow suit, making it illegal for motorists to get out of their cars on dual-carriageways and non-urban roads without such clothing.

According to statistics compiled by Icu-ucme.com, which sells high-visibility vests, someone wearing one is likely to be seen by a motorist three seconds sooner in the dark. At 30mph, this is a distance of 42metres.

A spokesman for the company said: ‘A study by the American Automobile Association found that of 400 interstate pedestrian fatalities, one third were drivers or passengers who had left their vehicles following an incident, and three-quarters of the fatalities occurred after dark.’

However, the AA is concerned that motorists in Italy and Spain will risk injury by staying in their cars rather than getting out without a vest and facing a potential fine.

More than 10 people are killed on the hard shoulder of British motorways every year; it is far safer to wait for help behind the crash barrier.

There are no plans for the UK to make the carrying of illuminated vests a requirement, according to the Department for Transport.
Italian Motoring Law

Since July 2003 it became law in Italy that all vehicles must carry high visibility garments.

Spanish Motoring Law

In July 2004 Spain will be introducing similar legislation. When getting out of a vehicle on any dual carriage way or non-urban road, an emergency high visibility garment must be worn. An on the spot penalty will be imposed on those failing to comply.

The Institute of Advance Motorists.

Advanced Driver Magazine – Spring 2004
News and Views on advanced driving from the Chief Examiner

Be an advanced ‘unintended pedestrian’

During the winter I was driving home from IAM House in the rush hour on a particularly cold, wet and windy evening when the automatic gearbox started to make horrible grinding and screeching noises. The transmission felt very sluggish and the drive to the wheels became intermittent. I managed to nurse the lurching car off the main road at a roundabout and kept it going for about a hundred yards, trying all the time to get to the relative safety of the nearside kerb. The transmission suddenly seized totally, and the car came to a dead stop in the middle lane of the three-lane exit road into suburbia.
I got out of the car feeling very vulnerable with vehicles whizzing by all around me. I managed to put my warning triangle out as far behind the car as I dared and then dashed to the safety of the pavement. It was only then that I realised that I’d left my mobile phone and my overcoat in the car.

There are more than 20,000 breakdowns on our roads every day and many of them happen in far more dangerous circumstances than those that I experienced; but most drivers and riders don’t do anything that could help to reduce some of the dangers associated with becoming an unintended pedestrian after breaking down. I had a warning triangle and hazard lights that probably helped to protect my car, but I didn’t have anything that would help to protect me.

IAM members know how to deal with the hostile traffic environment as drivers and riders, but I suspect that many are no better prepared than I was for a sudden breakdown. I risked life and limb to retrieve my overcoat and mobile phone from my disabled car, which was fairly well protected by the warning triangle. After I had made the necessary phone calls, I stood shivering at the roadside and reflected on how vulnerable I had been when I was an ‘unintended pedestrian’ in the road.

By sheer coincidence, the next day I had a call from Tom Craig who runs a company that produces high visibility fluorescent jackets and waistcoats that make drivers and passengers who have to leave their vehicle unexpectedly more visible to other drivers. High visibility jackets have been around for years, but Tom’s ICU-UCMe jackets and waistcoats are specifically intended for drivers and their passengers. They come in packs which fit neatly into the door pocket so that if you have to become an unintended pedestrian unexpectedly, the jacket is immediately to hand as you leave the vehicle.

Any driver or passenger can become an unintended pedestrian suddenly and unexpectedly, just as I did. Breakdowns, punctures and stopping to help other road users in trouble are not common events for most drivers. And, if you have the same sort of luck that I have, it’s odds on that it will be dark and raining when it does happen to you. There is evidence that drivers are able to see someone wearing high visibility fluorescent clothing up to three seconds earlier in the dark than they would do if the person wasn’t wearing it. At 30mph, that could give a driver up to 132ft (42m) to see an unintended pedestrian in the road in the dark and to take avoiding action.

I’ve now had a new automatic gearbox and transmission fitted on my car, under warranty. I’ve also got an ICU-UCMe high visibility fluorescent jacket in the pocket of the driver’s door. The next time I have a problem, it will be the first thing I grab; the second will be my mobile phone.

The Chauffeur Magazine, December03 - January04

ICU-UCMe have looked at the various companies that could benefit by installing the high visibility jackets in their vehicles for use by company employees and their clients when any emergency situation arose whilst they were travelling and had to vacate the vehicle and they found themselves as unintended pedestrians. The imperative need safe you need to be seen by other road users.

To launch the product Tom spoke to Mike Bowles the MD of a Hertfordshire based Chauffer company called Executive & Security Services Ltd and outlined the product and his strategy.
Mike realised straight away the need for extra road safety and the need for the ICU-UCMe jackets and strategy. ICU-UCMe will be equipping Mikes fleet.

The introduction of the new high visibility jackets and strategy supplied by ICU-UCMe, not only the companies chauffeurs but to all persons in the car ensures that the customers safety is not just taken for granted, but that positive procedures are in place for every person leaving the car in an emergency situation to be clearly seen by other road users.

Executive & Security Services Ltd
Ess House,
Belnheim Close,
Sawbridgeworth, Herts

Mike Bowles, MD