Retroreflective tape Regulations: How much do you know?

Retroreflective tape used in many traffic safety signs

It’s safe to say that very few people give much thought about a roll of retroreflective tape.

The truth is, retroreflective tape is one of that unsung safetyUse this marking tape on your trailers or tractors.

Those materials that quietly help create a safer environment for almost everyone.

Reflective material, and consequently retroreflective tape.

They were developed to enable objects to become visible at night or in low light situations.

Retroreflection tape allows road signs, barriers, posts, and non-illuminated vehicles to be clearly visible at night

Greatly reducing the traffic accident

In fact, a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),

An agency under the United States Department of Transportation states that retroreflective tape can effectively reduce impacts into trailers by 29%.

This report has, unsurprisingly,

Led by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

(FMCSA – the agency responsible for overseeing the safety of commercial vehicles)

Requiring large commercial vehicles such as trucks and tractor trailers be outfitted with retroreflective tape.

Show Your (Reflective) Colors – and Size

As you may know, reflective sheeting comes in many different colors.

As per the FMCSA’s recommendations,

The tape colors should only be red and white, or more specifically,

The reflective sheeting should be alternating red and white sections.

Also, the two segments should have a minimum of 12 inches in length plus or minus six inches.

This would mean a range of six inches to eighteen inches.

However, the tape should be trimmed if it would cause any form of obstruction.

Besides the 2 colors, the reflective sheeting should only come in the following widths: 2 inches, 3 inches, and 4 inches.

Commercially, these tapes would be designated as DOT C2 reflective tape for the 2-inch wide tape,

DOT-C3 for 3 inches,

And DOT-C4 for the 4-inch wide variant.

Marking Your Commercial Vehicles with Reflective sheeting Ideal for marking stationary objects increasing nighttime visibility.

It’s not just enough to randomly cover your commercial vehicle with retroreflective tape.

Rather, the tape should be placed in locations on your truck or trailer where the material would be most effective.

Reflective Tape Position

The FMCSA has determined these areas to be on the sides of the trailer,

The lower rear section of the trailer,

The upper rear section of the trailer and the rear section of your truck.

Retroreflective tape on the Sides of the trailer

Sides of the trailer – On the sides of your trailer,

Your Retroreflective tape should be positioned as horizontally as possible,

Beginning and ending as close to the front and the rear as practically possible.

The tape needs not be continuous; rather you could have evenly spaced sections of tape.

However, the sum of the length of your tape should be about half the length of the trailer.

Reflective tape on lower rear section of the trailer

Lower rear section of the trailer – The entire width of your trailer should be equipped with reflective tape.

Position the marking tape as horizontally as you can,

Beginning and ending as close to the end edges as possible.

Finally, the centerline for the strip of tape should be between 15 and 60 inches above the road surface when the trailer is empty,

Or as close to this measurement as possible.

Reflective tape on upper rear section of the trailer

Upper rear section of the trailer

This requirement is slightly different from the others in that the required tape color is white rather than an alternating red and white.

Two pairs of reflective tape should be positioned horizontally and vertically on both right and left upper corners, as close to the edge as possible.

The end result should be two inverted “L” tapes covering the two upper corners.

If, however, the trailer doesn't have any angles when viewed from behind, as with a tanker,

The reflective sheeting should be positioned as close as possible to the upper-most and outer-most perimeter on both the left and right sides.

Reflective tape on rear section of trucks

Rear section of trucks – For trucks,

Reflective sheeting should be positioned as close as possible to the edges of mud flaps or their support brackets, or on the rear fenders.

Tape should also be mounted on the upper contours of the truck’s cab,

Similar to how these would appear on the upper rear section of a trailer.

Maintenance Equals Safety

Remember, your reflective sheeting is only as effective as it is visible.

Even if you invest in the right tape and install these in the proper manner as defined by the FMCSA,

You should also take the time to clean them occasionally.

This is to ensure your tapes do their jobs properly.

Not to overly stress the point,

But dirty reflective sheeting won’t catch light properly leading to diminished visibility.

To learn more about the rules for refraction tape sticking positions

You can view this link Reflective Tape For Trailers

Reflective tape in Germany

In Germany

In addition to motorcyclists, other motor vehicle drivers are required to wear reflective clothing with reflective tape for clothing.

At night, motor vehicle failure, or temporary parking

When the driver gets off, it is extremely dangerous

Wear anti-reflective clothing can be warning in advance of the coming and going vehicles

To ensure your travel safety

As always, stay safe on and off the road!

WEALLIGHT reflective sheeting are with you!

Our website：https://weallight.com

Ordinary world, to sanitation workers

Reflective clothing within the hard worker

There is such a group of people,

They are dressed in the most beautiful orange reflective clothing, but often people forgotten.

They crossed the streets and polished the city with hard work and sweat.

Each sanitation workers every day in their respective sections of the road back and forth clean.

Walking distance of several tens of kilometers, a total of cleaning to be a few pounds of garbage.

We have been accustomed to their presence,

Walking on the road occasionally by the body of the reflective clothes to attract attention.

But that’s it.

Wearing reflective overalls, thin and powerful Chen Su Min

Early morning

3:00 am

When people are still immersed in the sweet dreams

Everywhere is silence

Wearing a reflective clothing sanitation workers Chen Sumin has begun her day of intense and busy work.

Half an hour ride,

She arrived at her place of work,

Start a new day of work

In the dim lights and stars under the shine,

The whole road, accompanied by Chen Sumin busy addition to the figure that is her dog.

It is these ordinary sanitation workers

They are dirty and tired to their own,

Put the clean and beautiful left on the street.

Although they are covered with dust,

But has a flash of the soul.

Rugged back

Staggering footsteps

Traction filled with rubbish sanitation car

In the open streets on the slow.

Every day six or seven hundred pounds of garbage,

Running back and forth five or six,

Sent to the garbage transfer station 3 km away.

6 o’clock in the morning

Chen Sumin will be cleaned after a pile of garbage into the sanitation tricycle

The dirty streets have restored the cleanliness of the day.

After more than three hours of hard work,

Complete cleaning,

She rushed home, for the sick in the bed of his wife to do breakfast.

Early in the morning

8:30 am,

Take care of her husband after breakfast Chen Su-min returned to her job,

Started daytime work – street hygiene maintenance.

10:00 the city’s traffic gradually increased,

Chen Su Min in the bustling streets and busy up

Most of the garbage discarded on the street is a leaflet,

This makes Chen Sumin elderly in the flow of the streets to catch up with the wind blowing the garbage.

If the sanitation of the hard work to get everyone to share and understand,

Even if only a “self-sweep before the snow,” a small move,

But also make this cold morning full of moving and warm.

At this time of the old people have become a look of confusion at the end,

His eyes like to see what, I do not know

Noon work heavy task, she can only rely on the morning to bring lunch to eat.

If one day there is a temporary rest point,

Is Chen Su Min and every sanitation workers wish

Love environmental health everyone is responsible, respect for the hard work of sanitation workers,

Please do not littering them to add too much burden on them,

They are a group worthy of more respect, understanding and support.

Life created by both hands is worthy of respect,

Ordinary work often highlights more touched.

Evening

The curtain of the night finally falls upon you,

Chen Su Min also took the trouble to patrol the streets were discarded peel, garbage.

The colorful lightening just begins,

Steady flow of people, still erratic that light.

The last car garbage to the garbage transfer station

In the city under the reflection of the neon lights,

The backs of the streets toward them are calm and strong.

In the face of survival,

Perhaps only this back in order to support them to face all the difficulties,

Only this back, only for the city to add a beautiful landscape.

They used hard work and hard sweat in exchange for the beautiful environment of our city

They are indispensable people in our lives for a moment

Is worthy of our respect, understanding and support

City of civilization

Let us start from their own, from now on, from small things to start

Do not litter, do not mess up garbage

Respect them, respect their fruits of labor

They are one of the most concentrated types of work in the city of the elderly and the women;

Their reflective work clothes most eye-catching,

But they are the most obscure group of people.

They are with a weak shoulder to carry the “clean the city, the benefit of the people” burden,

To ordinary simple work, in exchange for the city’s clean and beautiful,

Practicing the “city beautician” glorious and sacred duty.

When the silence of the street is not a silhouette of the time

They have long been holding a broom to run around in the streets.

When the sanitation workers in the morning when the hard work on the street

I believe most people are still asleep

Orange reflective service in the lights under the shine

Flashing little bit of light.

They are not rhetoric, only silent dedication.

Is they, with a broom swept out the city’s civilization.

Are they, with a dustpan end out of the city clean.

It was their first note of the labor movement every morning.

WEALLIGHT ‘s Vision – Guardian Sanitation workers

In every corner of the city,

Have the same as Chen Su Min waving the work of the hard work of the figure.

They are dusk every day,

Doing the most tired and dangerous work,

But the lowest wage.

However, a driver’s negligence

May be a passing of life

WEALLIGHT do not want to see

We make every effort to help them, guard the city’s guard – sanitation workers

Every sanitation worker can make shining light

Would like to WEALLIGHT reflective material has been to protect you.

We offer free samples, would like to know more, now contact us! https://weallight.com

Find Me on WhatsApp: +86 186-5973-9121

Truck Reflective Material Factory —— WEALLIGHT Is A Reflective Material Factory

Truck reflective material factory strength, excellent R & D team, high-precision equipment, the meticulous pursuit of products, high standards of quality checks, customizable production program, scheduled delivery of credit.

WEALLIGHT is such a strong reflective material factory, we are still constantly strong their own team, to ensure that you buy in our reflective film quality is very good.

WEALLIGHT Reflective tape factory – excellent R & D team

Fire fighters often in the smoke and night and other low-light environment fighting, any light for them is the dawn of life.

To this end, WEALLIGHT in the reflective tape for clothing, fire engines reflective materil stickers, luminous fire safety signs, and so do a lot of professional research and development and production.

Firefighters Huang Zhichuan research and development of the “reflective fire water hose”, as the application of high value, the actual effect of good “original” scientific and technological achievements in Beijing public security police scientific and technological innovation “Golden Ideas” results show was concentrated display.

WEALLIGHT R & D team to track the feasibility of its application and quantification. 

Reflective fire hose inspired by a fire, smoke line of sight blocked, two firefighters in the fire where missing. “Is the comrades on the uniforms of the reflective belt so that we quickly find them.

I thought, we can paste the strip in the fire hose, so set up a life rescue channel. “

 

In the case of smoke blocking the line of sight, firefighters can only rely on intuition to find evacuation routes, great danger.

Usually, the rescue lighting depends on the lighting line and guide rope, but the limitation lies in not only need power, but also length limit. Fire hose with reflective tape that does not require power and can be infinitely extended.

The use of reflective equipment to solve the problem of evacuation “ideas” just say, Huang Zhichuan has been comrades and leaders of the support.

Reflective fire hose for several experiments show that in the smoke environment, reflective water hose can greatly improve the identification of water hose, effectively shortening the evacuation time of firefighters and trapped people. Moreover, the firefighters in the smoke and dark fire scene, can quickly find the fire hose, to avoid the risk of being stumbled by the water.

WELLIGHT R & D team draws on this good idea, while its possible problems, the professional research and development.

1. Reflective film adhesive adhesive capacity, the need for super waterproof, high temperature, resistant to twists and turns;
2. Reflective film surface wear resistance, reflective water hose needs long-term friction in the concrete floor and asphalt, you need to ensure its long-term reflective brightness;
3. Reflective film flame retardant properties, need to use the flame retardant production process and raw materials to ensure that its high temperature environment will not cause secondary damage to our fire fighters;

WEALLIGHT Truck reflective material factory – High precision equipment

Sophisticated embossing process equipment, so reflective film embossed a clear pattern, the surface is smooth without a sense of concavity.

 

Strict adhesive control standards, precision to the thickness of the adhesive to 0.1mm, to ensure that the first paste to ensure late sticky.

 

Accurate to 1mm of the cut control, boutique and piracy distance is often only 1mm.

WEALLIGHT road reflective film factory – the pursuit of the product

Multi-angle reflective, where to see are reflective, shiny level design, different angles of light exposure, have a reflective effect.

 

Good glue, oily permanent pressure sensitive adhesive, super waterproof, the longer the use of adhesive more firmly.

 

Do detail, is the key to quality. More flat surface, more delicate printing, more beautiful paper tube.

 

WEALLIGHT vehicle reflective vinyl factory – high standards of quality checks, customizable production program, scheduled delivery of credit

WEALLIGHT QUALITY ASSURANCE – Six QUALITY MECHANISM: IQC, SBI, SOP, FQC, IQC, ORT

Customizable program, scheduled delivery of credit – independent production.

WEALLIGHT’s service

About WEALLIGHT

WEALLIGHT is engaged in research and development of reflective materials for many years the factory, a professional development and production team, to provide you with professional advice to buy.

We produce a variety of reflective materials and luminous materials, including: Truck reflective tape DOT C2、Luminous heat transfer vinyl、reflective heat transfer vinyl、glow in the dark tape、glow in dark fire safety signs、reflective film、bike wheel reflective sticker and so on.

We offer free samples, would like to know more, now contact us! https://weallight.com

Find Me on WhatsApp: +86 186-5973-9121

Micro Prism Super Grade Reflective Tape —— Diamond Grade Micro Prism Reflective Tape

About WEALLIGHT Super Grade Reflective Tape

Super Grade Reflector Tape is through the reverse reflection of light to reduce the night traffic accident. WEALLIGHT Super Grade Reflective Tape reverse reflection coefficient can be achieved even beyond the national standard primary reflective film standard, with 3M, Avery and other internationally renowned brand products comparable.

WEALLIGHT through six inspection mechanism to ensure product shipping quality:

1. IQC feed inspection mechanism
2. FBI pre-inspection mechanism
3. SOP standard operation guidance self – inspection mechanism
4. FQC online inspection mechanism
5. OQC sampling mechanism
6. ORT reliability test inspection mechanis

01 Reflective basic knowledge

What is light? Light is an electromagnetic wave

(In vacuum) visible light wavelength range is 380 ~ 780nm; Infrared light is about 780 ~ 10 ^ 7nm; UV light 1 ~ 380nm; shorter than the ultraviolet light X-ray, γ-ray (

Optical unit

Light intensity = Candela cd

Illumination: The light on the surface of an object lux

Brightness: The intensity of light from the surface of an object produced by scattering or by reflection at night / Unit area. Cd / m²

Reverse reflection coefficient

The ratio of the luminous intensity coefficient to the surface area of the retroreflector.

Unit for candela per lux per square meter (cd·lx-1·m²)

The retroreflective factor is the most important technical indicator for detecting various reflective materials

Two ways to achieve retro reflex

Glass beads and cubic crystal type also known as micro-edge type

02 Microprism Super Grade Reflective Tape Structure Principle and Production Technology

Microprism Reflective Vinyl Structure

Light through the surface into the grade reflective reflector tape, into the prism on the corner, and then reflected back from the original direction.

Micro-prism-type retro reflective sheet core technology is the difficulty of the prism base layer of the production, so the product description as a key to explain.

Micro – prism reflective patches Seamless Continuous Production

Extrusion rolling without seams, continuous production process, before that, only the United States, Japan, South Korea and a few other countries can achieve production. WEALLIGHT prism super grade reflective film, the first time in China using the world’s most advanced extrusion pressure Pattern technology, to achieve this section of reflective material without seams, large width, high efficiency and continuous production for China’s related industries to achieve a zero breakthrough.

Micro – Prism Super Grade Reflective Tape technology difficult

A motherboard design and production

B mold production

C substrate material

D precision extrusion embossing technology

New Micro – diamond Reflective Base Film Production Process

Raw materials drying → Plastic melting → Measuring out of the film → Mechanical molding → Cover film Polishing → Finished winding products

New processing technology features

1. Application field expansion: new processing technology, can achieve the majority of thermoplastic micro-precision machining, effectively expanding the application of the product
2. Significant increase in efficiency: the product to the mechanical molding before, completely belong to the molten state, relatively easy to shape, reducing the mechanical molding time, effectively greatly enhance the production efficiency

Quality control to enhance: raw materials into the finished product, the entire process of continuous production line, reducing the midway link, so that the whole process are controlled state

03 Unique formula and product characteristics

WEALLIGHT Prism super grade reflective tape base film, the use of the world’s leading polycarbonate (PC) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) optical materials as a substrate extruded embossed.

Plastic particles

Special weathering formula and twin screw modified equipment to modify, to maintain the original optical properties of optical materials and mechanical properties on the basis of the material to achieve weather resistance and rheological properties of the upgrade.

Modified equipment

Polycarbonate, referred to as PC

PC, a kind of amorphous, odorless, non-toxic, highly transparent colorless or slightly yellow thermoplastic engineering plastics, with excellent physical and mechanical properties, heat resistance and low temperature resistance, can be long-term use at -50 ~ 120 ℃ Light transmission rate of 90% or more, second only to PMMA, and its own has a good weather resistance, reflective material is one of the preferred use of materials.

Poly methyl methacrylate: acrylic, commonly known as PMMA

PMMA, density 1.188-1.22g / cm3; highly transparent, light transmittance of 90% -92%, the highest transparency in the plastic; glass glass transition temperature 80-100 ℃, the use of temperature -40 ~ 80 ℃, heat relative Low electrical insulation, good weather resistance and insulation; their surface hardness is higher, plus hard surface hardness can reach 4-5H, scratch-resistant effect is better.

Common plastic products to distinguish between methods

Comparison of performance of related materials

Reflective tape product features

WEALLIGHT Prism Diamond Grade Reflective Tape, the use of microcrystalline cube-corner cube prism of the modified reflective design technology, coupled with a large, continuous production process, the product to achieve a wide range of high and reverse the advantages of reverse coefficient while ensuring its surface reverse Coefficient of uniformity and stability.

Product retro-reflection coefficient can meet or exceed the national standard (China) reflective film standard, with 3M, Avery and other internationally renowned brand products comparable.

Reflective film GB standard (China)

According to the national standard seven kinds of reflective film in the minimum inverse reflection coefficient were: (test conditions: standard white, -4 ° angle of incidence, 0.2 ° viewing angle cd • lx-1 • m2)

04 Reflector tape weather resistance

Factors affecting the outdoor aging of reflector tape

Affect the reflective tape in the outdoor life of the seven factors: dew, humidity, temperature, sunlight, rain, lightning, wind.

The main factor affecting the service life of the reflective film is the ultraviolet radiation in the sun.

Classification and characteristics of ultraviolet light

UV-A: wavelength of 315-380nm, resulting in the degradation of certain polymer molecules; lead to skin tanning, but not burn the skin; can penetrate the glass.

UV-B: wavelength of 280-315nm, in the earth’s surface to the sun, its shortest wavelength, the strongest energy, resulting in most of the polymer degradation; lead to skin burns.

UV-C: wavelength 100-280nm, only the outer layer of the atmosphere; by the ozone layer in the atmosphere to absorb; can be carcinogenic; can be sterilized.

Polycarbonate weather resistance

Polycarbonate (full light transmittance) outdoor placement test

Polycarbonate (yellow index) outdoor placement test

Polyvinyl methacrylate weather resistance

As shown above, WEALLIGHT polycarbonate raw materials after weather modification, after 3 years of outdoor placement test, the light transmittance can still be maintained at more than 85%, while another important optical properties of the yellowing index has not changed, completely Can meet the national standard (China) 50% -80% of the requirements. The WEALLIGHT polymethyl methacrylate raw materials by weather modification, the optical and mechanical properties can be maintained within 10 years without major changes.

WEALLIGHT quality assurance – Six inspection supervision mechanism

1. IQC: raw materials into the company, after a rigorous inspection before the acceptance of storage.
2. SBI: Before the use of raw materials, the use of personnel to confirm the quality of raw materials.
3. SOP: Staff pre-job training, SOP guide operations, each process after the completion of self-test.
4. FQC: special FQC job online inspection.
5. OQC: OQC sampling, inspection of qualifying to confirm, the Treasury confirmed a seal can be stored.
6. ORT: According to company standards, some special requirements test. The results need to be registered, qualified products need to be stamped before release.

05 Reflective Tape Actual Effect Picture

WEALLIGHT High-strength Reflective Hoop Tape Effect of the Actual Picture I

WEALLIGHT High-strength Reflective Tape DOT C2 effect of the Actual Picture II

WEALLIGHT Super Grade Reflective Tape Effect of the Actual Picture III

WEALLIGHT is engaged in research and development of reflective materials for many years the factory, a professional development and production team, to provide you with professional advice to buy.

We produce a variety of reflective materials and luminous material, including: Reflective Film, Reflective Tape For Clothing, Reflective Tape DOT C2, Bike Reflective Tape, Reflective Heat Transfer Vinyl, Luminous Tape, Luminous Safety Signs, Luminous Heat Transfer Vinyl and so on.

Can be made according to the standard material, can also accept custom. Can be customized for your brand, for your retail wholesale!

We offer free samples, would like to know more, now contact us! https://weallight.com

Find Me on WhatsApp: +86 186-5973-9121