Street reflectors are road equipment placed in the streets to provide light when the area is dark, especially when the only available light is that from the passing vehicle. Different street reflectors can be found all over different parts of the streets, even in the sidewalks. These street reflectors’ main purpose is to assist in the road and street safety. They prevent obscurity when driving on the street. They allow visibility despite extreme conditions such as snow, rain, fog and extreme darkness. However, street reflectors can also be of assistance in guiding traffic. They are often of the raised pavement marker type. The reflectors are more conspicuously placed in accident prone areas and areas where roads can be easily covered by different elements such as snow, rain and water.
The street reflectors help all the road users, not just the drivers of the vehicles. The drivers benefit from them most. The reflectors prevent them from causing car accidents and affecting other people while driving down the street. The drivers can better see the road and drive more proficiently and effectively with the reflectors providing more light for them. They use the resulting reflections from the reflective lane markers and posts. The pedestrians also benefit from the street reflectors. There are types that are meant to cater to them such as the ones present in the pedestrian crossing area. These reflectors tell the drivers that up ahead is a pedestrian crossing zone. This makes crossing the road safer for pedestrians. The citizens also benefit from the reflectors such as that of the blue one. The blue street reflectors indicate that there is a fire hydrant ahead that they could hit and cause them injury. These examples demonstrate how these assist different users of the road.
Different reflectors can be seen in roads and highways. Legislatures have already mandated that these must be placed precisely in areas where needed. This is why most street reflectors are the reflective markers that indicate the boundaries of the lanes in streets. However, the different pavement reflector types cannot be used just wherever. These reflectors must be chosen and used depending on its specific purpose. The different reflectors have different characteristics and colors to differentiate what the reflection is indicating. For example, street reflectors in yellow are often used to mark the lanes in streets, especially those with two way traffic and in highways.
As mentioned earlier, blue reflection from these markers indicate the presence of a fire hydrant. Red reflectors indicate what not to do. These reflectors are often accompanied by street signs and markings to specify the specific action that should not be done. The markers that reflect white light indicate the sides of the roads. The white reflectors, however, are not as used as often as that of the yellow ones. But despite the different colors indicating specific messages, the reflectors must be placed in strategic areas to make the message come across. If the reflectors cannot be seen by the road and street users, the street reflectors will not be able to serve its purpose. But if placed in the right positions, these reflectors can make the road users be more aware of the dangers associated with streets and roads.
