Police appeal to pedestrians: Wear bright, reflective clothing!
Just how important light-colored, reflective clothing is especially in the dark season that has just begun, was shown with exemplary clarity in two momentous traffic accidents in Bad Berleburg.
The first accident occurred at 06.30 clocks in Bad Berleburg. Here a 47-year-old car driver drove to the local roundabout, at the same time a young woman wanted to cross the pedestrian crossing in front of the roundabout. Due to the darkness, rain and the pedestrian's completely black clothes, the car driver overlooked her and caught the young woman crossing the road so that she was thrown onto the bonnet and then fell to the ground. With an ambulance, the injured was then sent to a hospital.
The second accident happened a good hour later on the K 50.
There, according to initial findings of the police was a 20-year-old motorist with his Ford Fiesta. He met a dark-clad 65-year-old pedestrian on the roadside. To prevent a collision with the almost unrecognizable pedestrian, the young man tore the steering wheel. So his Fiesta came off the road, drove up a slope area, then tipped over, slid on, fell on a guardrail and finally stayed on the roof. The 20-year-old was seriously injured in the accident. He was hospitalized. By the way, a criminal complaint was filed against the 65-year-old pedestrian for failure to provide assistance and escape.
Against the background of these accidents, the police reminded once again that with the dark season that has just begun, pedestrians and cyclists, in particular, are exposed to considerable dangers.
The reasons for this are the unfavorable weather and visibility conditions that occur in the so-called dark season, such as darkness, rain, fog, slipperiness, and snow, which cause great problems for all road users.
Many pedestrians go in unsecured places on the road, without paying enough attention to the vehicle traffic.
Very often, pedestrians wear dark, if not black clothing. That may be fashionable, but also carries great dangers. Because pedestrians are very difficult or even not recognized by other road users.
But the principle of "seeing and being seen" should be a top priority for all road users, especially in the dark season. Pedestrians are advised to wear bright, reflective vest and carry bright, reflective items.
A car driver sees a brightly dressed pedestrian from a distance of 80 to 90 meters, a dark-clad only from a distance of 25 meters. Reflective materials fastened to the clothing allow pedestrians to "shine" even from a distance of 150 meters.
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