Traditional Retro-Reflectors Currently Used By Domestic Bicycle Manufacturers Fail The Test At ICAT Lab
Author(s): City Air NewsNew Delhi/Ludhiana/Chandigarh June 5, 2015: The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), which is Government of India owned Automotive Testing and R & D centre has found the traditional Retro-Reflectors...
cityairnews
Jun 5, 2015 12:30
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New Delhi/Ludhiana/Chandigarh June 5, 2015: The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), which is Government of India owned Automotive Testing and R & D centre has found the traditional Retro-Reflectors currently being used by the domestic Bicycle Manufacturers to be of inferior quality and not confirming to the basic photometric requirements as per ISO 6742-2 standards set for the retro reflectors.
The Union Ministry of road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has been stressing on the need of fixation of Retro- Reflective Tapes instead of traditional Retor-Reflectors ,which is more visible as well as use of Fluorescent paint, a move that would help bicycle riders to pedal around safer at late hours in the country.The Union Minister of Road Transport Mr Nitin Gadkari has already written to to Mr Ram Vilas Paswan , Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to update and mandate the safety standards for bicycles with need on providing fixation of retro reflective tapes at specified locations on the bicycles to make them visible at night times.
Gurgaon based ICAT which had done the testing for both Retro Reflectors as well as Retro Reflective tapes found theperformance of the RR tapes as far superior as compared to the conventional bicycle retro reflectors as far as retro reflection values are concerned. Higher amount of retro reflection values essentially correspond to better conspicuity (easily seen) on the roads.
During tests ICAT found that the the retro-reflectors used on Bicycles picked from the market do not conform to the basic photometric requirements as per ISO 6742-2.More over the Centre found The average cost of a good quality retro-reflector is about Rs. 10 per sq. inch and typically 35-40 sq. inches of retro reflectors are used on a bicycle (including front, rear and side). On the other hand, the cost of a good quality RR tape is about Rs. 1.0 per sq. inch.
“Bicycle users are one of the most vulnerable road users , susceptible to high rate of road accidents. In the year 2012 alone about 6,600 cyclists were killed in road accidents. Poor visibility of bicycle riders due to lack of proper reflective devices installed on bicycles, is major reason for the high rate of accidents with motorized vehicles” Mr Gadkari has pointed out in his letter.
“Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been working closely with Department of Consumer affairs and Bureau of Indian standards to improve safety of bicycles and ensuring its compliance in the manufacturing of bicycles and getting it mandated through quality control order. The ministry has also provided the quality standard for retro-reflective tapes for use in automobiles. ”said Mr Gadkari.
“The campaign to fix reflective tapes on bicycles free of cost for easy spotting of cyclists by drivers of other vehicles at night is the joint initiative of the International Road Federation (IRF) , and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India is already on in Delhi and likely to be taken to other major cities including Chandigarh ad Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Koch.” Said Mr K.K.Kapila, Chairman, International Road Federation (IRF), a global body working for better roads.
“ Installation of retro-reflective tapes on bicycles will help make bicycles a safer mode of transportation on various busy roads , particularly during late hours. In Delhi IRF, Delhi Traffic Police and MoRTH had recently carried out of putting retro reflective tapes on about ten lakh bicycles. ”said Mr K.K.Kapila, Chairman, Internatioal Road Federation.
“Cyclists are the second most vulnerable road users after pedestrians . Cycles with retro-reflective tapes can be spotted from a distance of at least 100 meters at night and during foggy conditions. According to data available for 2012, around 114 cyclists died in road mishaps in the city. At the national level, the number of cyclists killed in accidents stood at 6,600. Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu accounted for the maximum deaths, claiming over 50% of fatalities across the country.”said Mr Kapila
“International Road Federation (IRF) has been urging the government , Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the industry Ministry for making installation of retro-reflective tapes on bicycles mandatory. BIS has already done the technical evaluation and final decision is pending for long time. “said Mr Kapila.
Date:
Friday, June 5, 2015
