I was just reading Ride Magazine April issue. There’s an article on page 6 saying that the law comes into effect in France January 2013 and Ireland some time in 2014. Quote from the ariticle below:
“The law comes into force in France next January and Ireland in 2014. It says that riders and pillions must wear reflective gear with a total surface area of at least 150 square centimeters.”
Hi Andy, as is often the case where regulation gets involved the whole thing gets completely out of hand! 150 sq cm is a square 12.24 x 12.24 cm, so could this be a simple patch that people have on their clothing, or helmet? The motorcycle headlight will be far more visible than this anyway. There were also some spurious arguments about motorcyclists being run over on the ground (detached from their bikes) – what a mess.
Does this equate to about a 5 inch square and if so will it be front and back or just one? How will reflective piping be measured to be compliant?
Regards
Derek
I have been told of cagers who cannot reach their hi-viz waistcoats are already being fined.
As a biker you cannot get your fluoro jacket on after an accident so you are required to wear it before the accident. (already applies in rain or poor visibility)
French Bikers are already required to add fluoro areas to their helmets (guess Steve is already Ok)
Just a further thought on the new hi-viz recommendations. The new rules say the reflective area needs to be at least 150 cm2. You can get two reflective armbands for less than £3.00 and they have an area of 2″ x 2″ which works out at 154 cm2 each! There are options for as little as £1.00, see http://www.hivizextras.co.uk for example. I might attach some of these to my touring jacket sleeves they would not be obtrusive.
There is also the issue of the single use breathalysers that we will need to carry looking on the web at http://www.frenchbrethalyzer.com it claims that French manufacturer Contralco make the only NF approved ones available in the UK which cost £2.99 each or a pack of 5 for £11.95.
It is a shame they did not make them in fluorescent packaging as then would could have strapped them to our sleeves thus killing two birds with one stone. Still at least we are contributing to the French trade balance and helping to preserve that very important AA+ credit rating!!!