Shocking High-Visibility Vest Check: Numerous Models Failed

Last year, the ÖAMTC and its partner organisations examined the reflectivity of 14 safety vests for the first time. At that time, a shocking 30 percent of the models did not fulfil their purpose. This year, the investigation was extended to 25 models - and, where possible, those from 2024 were retested.

The result was even worse, as ÖAMTC technician Steffan Kerbl reports: "Out of 25 safety vests, only ten passed, 15 reflected insufficiently or not at all. This is completely unacceptable - a safety vest serves one's own safety, especially to be seen in time in the dark. If it does not guarantee this and one feels safe, the consequences in road traffic can be fatal." This applies to vehicle drivers who, for example, get out in case of a breakdown, but also to pedestrians, cyclists and children who wear a vest to increase their visibility.

Differences between Safety Vests from Online and Retail Stores

25 safety vests for children and adults were tested. 20 models were ordered from various large online portals, five products were purchased incognito in retail stores, for example at discounters. After a quick test using a reference card, it was checked in an independent test laboratory whether the products meet the requirements of the applicable standards. "Interestingly, it turned out that all safety vests bought in retail stores reflected according to the standards, while this was not the case with 75 percent of the vests ordered online," explains Kerbl. The technician advises to check when buying online whether the standards "EN ISO 20471" for adult vests or "EN 17353" for children's vests are listed. The specimens from the retail store had a corresponding label sewn in.

Easily Test the Reflectivity of the Safety Vest Yourself

The ÖAMTC technician explains: "Whether in the store or at home: you can quite well test yourself whether a safety vest reflects properly: If you shine a flashlight or the light of your smartphone at eye level directly onto the vest, it should reflect brightly white at a distance of about three meters. The laboratory tests basically confirmed what we could already observe in advance with simple means: There were few borderline cases - either the products reflected properly or hardly at all." For visibility in the dark, the effect of the reflective strip is crucial - whether the vest is otherwise brightly yellow, orange or red does not matter, as long as the standards are met. The fluorescent colours serve visibility during the day.

"A properly reflecting safety vest is visible in low beam light from over 100 meters. With an insufficiently reflecting vest, it is as if without - visibility is reduced to a few meters. For the sake of your own health, you should therefore be careful when buying. By the way, you can't save anything here, because many of the failed safety vests were not even cheaper", says Kerbl.

(Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.