Wearing high visibility, reflective, accessories and clothing can help to reduce road accidents and improve child safety.

Lets face it, we don’t tend to wear bright, high visibility clothing in autumn and winter do we? Our dress seems to darken along with the shorter days and, although we may not realise it, this could have serious road safety implications.

The days are shorter, both morning and evenings are darker and motorists find it difficult to distinguish our dark clothes which could result in an increase in reaction time and potentially road accidents and pedestrian road injuries.

Although Britain’s roads are among the safest worldwide, in 2008 there were 712 six to eleven year old children killed or seriously injured while walking and a further 155 killed or seriously injured while cycling.

Wearing bright or reflective items of clothing and accessories may not wipe out these statistics entirely but if it manages to reduce the number of accidents resulting in deaths and injuries to pedestrians on the road then surely it is worth it.

As parents we worry about the safety of our children and want to do everything possible to minimise the risk of accidents etc. We teach them basic road safety, where and how to cross the road safely and it is also our responsibility to ensure that our children can be seen by drivers.

Brightly coloured or fluorescent clothing does a great job of showing up well both in daylight and at dusk but more measures are needed after dark. If your children are going out after dark they should wear some form of reflective clothing such as a High Visibility kids vest to give drivers the best chance of seeing them. If you are out near traffic when it is dark you need to wear something reflective to make sure that you can be seen in car headlights.

Improve your visibility by wearing vests, High Visibility Arm Bands or clip on reflectors. High Visibility Reflective Safety Stickers on coats and school bags can also contribute to your child’s safety.

Check The Lights On Bikes!

By law you must have clean and working lights on your bike. The lights should be white at the front of the bike and red at the rear. Bikes should also be fitted with red rear reflectors. As an extra aid, Spoke Reflectors are available which also increase the chances of you being seen at night.

That’s the bike itself sorted, but don’t stop there! It makes sense so wear a high visibility reflective bib and reflective helmet when out cycling too.