Reflective line marking for long trucks - New law in Belgium from 1 January 2001

Reflective line marking for long trucks - New law in Belgium from 1 January 2001

Belgium - Heavy trucks on dark roads in low visibility is a very dangerous combination. Statistics show that 67% of fatal crashes involving trucks and passenger vehicles were caused by the passenger vehicles crashing into the truck - in 15% of the cases through rear impacts and in 38% of the cases through side impacts. Many of these accidents could have been avoided, had the driver of the passenger vehicle been able to detect the truck in time to avoid crashing into it. Detection could have been made possible by the application of reflective markings on the truck - warning the driver of the car in time for him to react and break.

In order to prevent such accidents from happening due to low distance visibility of long vehicles, it has for many years in the US been legislative to have reflective markings on the side of the vehicle. Initially this legislation was implemented for new vehicles only, but recently also a retrofit regulation has been implemented, requiring the same to be the case for all registered vehicles on the roads.

Based upon the good results obtained in the US, a new and very similar regulation has also been written in Europe - Regulation ECE104. In Holland, parts of the regulation was implemented November 1 1999, making it mandatory for trucks longer than 22 meters to have reflective markings. The full regulation is expected to have been implemented throughout Europe within the upcoming years. In Belgium, it will as of 1 January next year become law that all trailers with Exceptional Transport longer than 19 meters and/or wider than 3,5 meters must have a special permit. One of the requirements for getting the permit is to have a retroreflecting line marking covering minimum 80% of the length of the complete transport side (i.e. truck / load / trailer). The colour recommendation for the reflector on the side is yellow and red to the rear of the trailer. The markings must be certified to the ECE 104 regulation.

One of the leading companies in the field of reflective marking products, is the American corporation Reflexite. Back in 1968, Reflexite invented the microprismatic reflectors, and with more than 30 years of experience, backed by continuous research and development, Reflexite now offer one of the brightest and best engineered reflectors in the market. In anticipation of the ECE104 legislation the company recently introduced a series of reflective marking tapes for the use on trucks and trailers. Special attention has been given to the fact that different applications require different product solutions, and the result is a product not only exceptionally bright but also so thin that the application of the product is made very easy. Reflexite is the first supplier to receive approval "E" numbers for its retro reflective vehicle contour marking tapes. The registered numbers E4-104R-00-0001 (for rigid sided vehicles) and E4-104R-00-0002 (for curtain sided vehicles) confirm that the Reflexite product range meets the stringent requirements of the ECE 104 regulation which must be used in this new Belgium regulation.

The Reflexite VC104 marking tape is designed to be applied onto old as well as new trucks and trailers. A full colour range including yellow, white and red markings is available, all clearly marked with the European E-mark (E4) as required also by the Belgium and Dutch regulations.

June 2000