![]() ![]() “Folded”īecause of this, in the picture below, if all the cyclists have just reflectors (not lights), only the cyclist directly in front of the car will be visible. Especially if the oncoming vehicle doesn’t turn the lights on (not working, forgot to turn them on, doesn’t have any…). Still, when lit from a side, reflectors don’t reflect a lot of light, and are not as visible as (bicycle) lights. Resulting in reflecting beams coming from the right, to the left side, not back to the car.įor this reason, many reflectors have a surface that is “folded”, so they can reflect light from several angles. Reflector reflects the light at the same angle it receives it. That means that if it is lit from the left side, it will reflect the light to the opposite side – to the right. It needs to be repeated: in order to work, reflector needs to be under direct light, and it directs light right back. Surface of a reflector is scratched, or covered with dirt, or moisture.Functioning of reflectors depends on others. Driver forgot to switch on their headlights, or the headlights don’t work.The little light that gets reflected back towards the driver is also dissipated in the fog. In case of fog, headlights will have their light dissipated and very small amount will reach the reflector.This is often the case with rear reflectors – they can often be seen mounted so they face downwards, or too upwards, or even to one side.ĭriver’s eye is outside the cone of light that reflector sends back. ![]() This effect is worsened when the reflector is not correctly mounted. Driver’s eye is out of the narrow, directed, cone into which reflector reflects the light back.When it is finally lit and spotted, it might be too late. Reflector outside the headlight beam of the approaching vehicle. It is outside light beam of the approaching car – it is not lit. ![]() This is because reflective materials reflect light only in certain conditions, which can easily not be met. A reflector doesn’t have a battery that can go wrong, but it can “decide” to stop working for any reason listed below: One can then wonder – why use lights on a bicycle? Aren’t reflectors enough? This sometimes makes people believe reflectors are all it takes to be seen on a bicycle. When driving a car at night for example, you will often see reflective surfaces of traffic signs, road markings, even orange reflectors on bicycle pedals moving up and down when shone upon by your headlights.
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