It has been determined that almost all road accidents (no matter if they included motorcycles, cars, bicycles or even huge lorries) occur during the night and in circumstances of decreased visibility, for example fog. It is therefore vital that any road-using vehicle should be specially fitted with a form of reflector to act as an added visibility safety measure and it is a virtually near guarantee that there's a reflector to meet every single model and make of car and motorcycle since in the majority of cases the reflectors for vehicles such as this are not made especially for particular models and makes and can very easily individually be stuck on or attached.
There are also lots of businesses specialising in the manufacturing of plastic items that as well as producing reflectors in a range of polymers (from standard ABS compounds to others for instance PPS, DMC and ULTEM which have a very high level of heat resistance) for a wide number of vehicles (manufactured using vacuuming or moulding production processes), also provide a re-metallising service for headlight reflectors of classic and modern cars alike. Such companies are often asked to manufacture suitable reflectors for many various makes and models of cars which have not passed their M.O.T. tests.
For bikes in particular, reflectors are typically manufactured as a moulded tile of transparent plastic, with a smooth exterior surface (in order to allow light such as from an approaching vehicles headlights to enter) whilst the back of the reflector takes the form of a range of angled spherical beads or micro-prisms. These reflectors use the principle of retroreflection to notify motorists to the presence of the cyclist on the road. Retroreflection occurs when light is reflected back to the source with a minimum amount of light being scattered and lost in the surrounding area, making Retroreflectors an ideal materials for use in the manufacture of bicycle and car reflectors.
When light strikes the back of such a reflector (meaning the surface housing the spherical beads and micro-prisms) it will do so at an angle which is greater than the ‘critical angle’ (the angle of incidence above which total internal reflection can take place). Total internal reflection however implies that (due to the orientation of the interior surfaces) the light is completely reflected back out via the front of the reflector in the same direction it came from originally and immediately alerts the various other road users towards the presence of the other vehicle on the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment