If you run a business that relies on vehicles, trailers or other equipment for day-to-day operations, you know how important it is to keep those vehicles on the road and in good working condition.
Regardless of NHTSA requirements for fleet vehicles, single-unit trucks, or smaller trailers, reflective tape is a cost-effective way to help increase the visibility of your vehicles and protect your bottom line. In the past, they’ve been excluded from safety regulations for large trucks because they’ve been undercounted in fatality cases by about 20% due to misclassification in federal and state databases.⁵ Based on these findings, the NTSB has recommended that the NHTSA start requiring conspicuity tape on single-unit trucks. This despite the fact that single-unit trucks, while accounting for only 3% of all motor vehicles, are “involved in 9% of fatalities among passenger vehicle occupants in multivehicle crashes.”⁴Īnnually, there are almost 6,500 accidents where passenger vehicles collide with the rear or side of a single-unit truck. However, these regulations don’t apply to single-unit trucks, fleet vehicles like dump trucks and delivery trucks, city buses, ambulances, tractors, or maintenance and utility vehicles. Yearly, the NHTSA estimates that reflective tape prevents between 191 and 350 wrongful deaths, up to 5,000 injuries, and 7,8000 crashes compared to fleets without reflective tape.³ A 2001 study showed that this requirement reduced passenger vehicle impacts into the sides and rears of trailers by 41% in dark, unlit conditions. In 1992, the NHTSA started requiring conspicuity tape on the sides and rear of trailers that are over 80 inches wide or weigh more than 10,000 lbs. For example, a 2015 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study estimated that 2,660 vehicle occupants were saved by conspicuity tape on heavy trailers between 19, and that conspicuity tape reduced nighttime accidents involving heavy trailers by 21% between 19.² Numerous studies have shown that reflective tape (also known as conspicuity tape) is an effective way to improve vehicle visibility and reduce accidents.
#3M REFLECTIVE TAPE DRIVERS#
Vehicles driving at 60 mph need about 200 feet to stop.¹ To help drivers see and react to your vehicles on the road, it’s important to make those vehicles more visible. High beams can reach from 350 to 500 feet ahead. Low beam headlights typically stretch from 160 to 250 feet in front of the vehicle. Drivers can see less of their surroundings at night, making even large vehicles virtually invisible to them. Visibility, particularly at night, is a key factor in accidents involving heavy trucks, semi-trailers and single-unit trucks. Anything you can do to reduce the risk of accidents and protect your bottom line is an investment worth considering. And if you’re in the fleet vehicle business, you know that accidents can expose you to both exponential costs and legal liability. If you own a fleet of vehicles, capital equipment that’s critical to your business operations, or business property, you know the importance of protecting your assets and minimizing legal liability.
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