This Clothing Could Save Your Child's Life

You better sit down, this article may shock you. 

It's June next week! Can you believe it? Half way through the year already!

Light-heartedness aside, the days are certainly colder, wetter, and darker. The roads are very dangerous places and often children are not fully aware of that. Children don't have the same ability to judge distances, speed, and noise direction of traffic and vehicles as teens and adults do. This is why your kids NEED reflectors on their clothing. 

In 2014, 43 pedestrians died, 221 pedestrians were seriously injured, and 614 pedestrians suffered minor injuries in police-reported crashes on New Zealand roads.

The highest number of child pedestrians are injured between 2pm and 4pm, followed by 4pm to 6pm, as the sun sets. During these four hours motorists rush home from a tiring day and children return from school or extracurricular activities.

The chances of being struck and killed as a pedestrian increases by 1100% after dark.

The distance needed to stop at 80km/h is 70m. If your child is wearing medium to dark coloured clothing with no reflector, the driver cannot see them until 20m away. Adding simple reflective elements to the outer clothing will mean the driver can now spot them at a distance of up to 150m!

How does it work? Reflector - sometimes called a "retro reflector", is a product that actually reflects light from a source back to the eye of the beholder. The source can be headlights or a torch. It can be a sheet of reflective material, or a soft vinyl reflective film. There are prismatic reflectors and glass bead reflectors, but both reflect light sufficiently to make the wearer visible in the dark up to 150m away from the light source.

Examples of reflective elements that could help to save your life are: reflective taping, reflective graphics, reflective zipper pulls. All of these can be simply and effectively applied to your child's clothing. Here at Therm, we ensure all of our products have reflective elements already built in. 

But that is still not enough. 

Take steps to be safe when walking on roadways. 

Walking is good for your health, and here at Therm we love to get outside, day and night, rain and shine. Don't become a statistic. Here are some other things you can do to be sure you are safe and are seen:

• Always exercise caution at intersections, and lead by example with your children. Look both ways, don't run or take risks if you are running late. 
• It's safest to walk on a footpath, but if one is not available, walk on the shoulder and face traffic.
• Avoid distractions such as electronic devices that take your attention off the road.

Teach your child road safety at every opportunity. 

Find out more at New Zealand Transport Agency - Road Safety Tips to Teach your Children.

Click here to take a look at Therm's full range of reflective and waterproof clothing. Keep your kids warm, dry and safe this winter.