On 10/15/14, 9:58 PM, N8N wrote:
On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 8:36:22 PM UTC-4, J Burns wrote:
On 10/15/14, 7:56 PM, wrote:

And red reflective tape on the front of a car is ILLEGAL.



Where is it illegal?


I would assume verywhere in the US. Red is reserved for the rear,
amber or white only on the front. That is definitely true for
lights; I would assume the same would be true for retroreflective
sheeting. If nothing else, it's a spectacularly bad idea, as it
gives a conflicting message to other road users - red indicates the
rear of a vehicle, therefore it ought to be moving away from the
viewer, but in reality it's the front and it's not.

Other colors (blue, green, etc.) are illegal as well; blue because it
is reserved for emergency vehicles and other colors simply because
they have no function assigned.

If you wish to research this in more depth, start with FMVSS 108,
that is the basic document that lays out requirements for lighting
and conspicuity devices for road vehicles.

nate


Wow, 27,000 words. Apparently it's manufacturing specs. I read it and
couldn't find what you were talking about. So I searched for "red," 44
times. It says what must be red. I searched for "not," 201 times. It
doesn't prohibit red anywhere.

When "clare" said it was ILLEGAL, I googled. People have asked about
putting reflective tape on cars and bikes. The only restrictions on
reflective tape that people have found are state laws regarding trucks
and trailers. I can see that. If I came over a rise and thought I saw
the back of a truck, I'd hate to find out too late that it was the side
of the truck crosswise on the road.

I didn't have reflectivity in mind when I applied the tape, but I was
glad when I saw it. At night, I didn't want oncoming traffic to wonder
if I was a one-eyed car. No car would have a reflective stripe the
width of a man's shoulders, 16 inches above a headlight. It gives the
immediate impression of a rider in a jacket with a reflective band.

Because it doesn't resemble the rear of a vehicle, it never occurred to
me that the tape is a different color. I checked tonight. With the
bike on its center stand, the stripe is visible above the roof of my
car. Red goes from 620-750 nm. I'd say the car reflectors were around
725 - deep red. I'd say the tape was around 675 - red with an orange
hue. By day or night, it has a day-glow effect, much brighter than the
tape that marks the rear of a trailer. I've used that tape to mark tool
handles I want to spot 100 yards away in brush, day or night.

There aren't many sidewalks around here. If I'm walking on the road, I
watch and listen for cars and step off the road if there could be a
problem. As a driver, I like to be aware of pedestrians well in
advance; so at night I do drivers a favor by wearing light pants.

The road past my house has a 20 mph limit, although I think 35 would be
perfectly safe. A neighbor would drive a lot faster, maybe 50 or 60.
At that speed, he was betting the unexpected wouldn't happen. He
regularly ran the blind stop sign by my house without even slowing much.

One night I wore dark pants because all my light ones were awaiting
washing. I heard him about 400 yards behind me. As any vehicle was
pretty much out of control with him at the wheel, I walked 6 feet from
the pavement, on mowed grass. When he passed, a stop sign and street
light were 5 yards ahead of me. He hardly slowed.

He parked in his driveway and rushed back to point out my fault: he
hadn't seen me because I was wearing dark pants. I didn't point out
that as long as he didn't veer 6 feet off the road, I'd been in no
danger. I didn't point out that children and pets may be harder to see
than a man under a street light at a stop sign. As a devout Christian,
he lived in a special glow from which he perceived sin in others.

Neither he, nor any other Christian neighbor, friend, relative, or
policeman, ever said there was anything confusing about the red tape at
the base of my windshield. When I'd get inspected, mechanics would
scratch their head and ask if it was an airplane. A relative once told
me I'd embarrassed her when I rode behind her school bus; all the other
kids said I looked like another school bus. Nobody has ever remarked on
the red tape.

Go ahead, try it! Slap a stripe of red tape across your car, above the
windshield and above the back window! When your insurance agent sees
it, he'll give you a 90% reduction on liability, collision, and theft
insurance! The next time you have to ask mall security where you left
your car, they'll be able to tell you immediately!