Every year a great number of fatal accidents occur on the Romanian roads. Many of these accidents involve heavy goods vehicles, and a great part of these accidents can be avoided, by marking the HGVs been marked with reflective marking tapes so that they were seen at night in due time for the oncoming motorist to react accordingly.

It is therefore a very sound and reasonable decision the Romanian government has now taken, to make reflective markings on HGVs mandatory on all vehicles over 7,5 t. The marking tapes must be approved according to the European Regulation ECE104, and show the e-mark in the tape.

Reflexite
Since 1968, the based Reflexite Corporation has been the world’s leading producer of prismatic retro-reflective materials.  Reflexite has a full product range that meets the tough requirements of the ECE 104 regulation, including products for both trucks with rigid sides and trucks with curtains.  In , Reflexite has for many years been the market leader in reflective marking tapes for trucks and trailers. Already in 1993 the made it mandatory to have such markings on trucks, and today Reflexite hold a market share of 70% in the transport industry.

The Reflexite^® VC104 tapes have been produced as single layer products, with 100% adhesion on the back. This means that there is no risk of any dirt or moisture penetration between layers; something which could potentially damage the tape. The thin structure also makes it very easy and quick to apply the tape even around rivets on the truck. In addition, Reflexite offers an extensive warranty on the products. 

The Reflexite tapes are available throughout the country via a net of distributors.

Application of the ECE104 tapes
But this new law in does not necessarily mean that you have to put your vehicle into a repaor shop, and leave it there for days where it cannot be in service on the roads where it belongs. If you choose the reflective tapes from Reflexite, the application process is really easy, and even someone with no experience at all can do the application in typically less than an hour per vehicle. This is convenient especially for the smaller fleets.

Reflexite’s European Manager Gary Hartfield says,: “Reflexite is the only company to offer an approved single layer product. The tapes are almost comparable to simple packing tape, in that they are as thin and easy to work with. The Reflexite tapes do not crack when bent, and it is therefore extremely easy to apply them nicely – even over curves and other uneven surfaces on the vehicle.”

The cost of the Reflexite tape per vehicle is only around Euro 50-70 for the truck owner, depending of the length of the truck. If external labour is required to apply the tape, this would add approximately Euro 100 to this cost.

The Reflexite range also includes a range of marking tapes especially developed for application onto curtains. And even this tape can be applied by yourself! There is no need for use of hot air gun or high frequency welding equipment, and application can be done to used as well as to new curtains. And the fact that the tape is supplied in one continuous roll and not in pieces, makes alignment along the side of the vehicle really easy to do.

ECE104 in Europe
The ECE104 Regulation was made mandatory in last year for all goods vehicles over 3,5 t., and results in reduced accident statistics have already started slowly to show. Reflexite holds an estimated 50% market share of the ECE104 market at present in . The Italian truck fleet structure is very similar to the Romanian fleet, in that in consists of a great number of small fleets with 1-5 vehicles, and just a small number of large fleets.

“We expect other European countries soon to follow with mandates for ECE104, as the benefits with reduced nighttime accidents versus the cost of applying the tapes are so significant”, Gary Hartfield concludes.