How Safety Reflectors Work

Nothing is wrong. It’s “reflective”, not “glow in the dark”, and there is a big difference!

Glow-in-the-dark products make light on their own, and have a built-in energy source. It can be a battery or a chemical reaction (like in glow sticks that you need to “pop” before they light up). Eventually they run out of power and stop emitting light.  Glow-in-the-dark products often emit light in all directions and light up the nearby surrounding.

Reflective (or more correct “retro-reflective”) means reflecting light back to where the light came from. If you shine a flash light on a pedestrian reflector (or a reflective road sign) the reflector bounces the light back to the flash light. The closer you hold the flash light to your eyes, the brighter the reflector appear.  We like to put the backend of the flash light on our noses and aim the other end at the reflector to simulate a driver with the car head lights. Reflectors work with any kind of light source – flash light, car light, sun light, even candle light – as long as the reflective material is clean and NOT broken, scratched or painted over.

The ball chains are intentionally not too strong. In case you get stuck, the chain is supposed to break before you get hurt or your jacket is ripped. After all, a reflector is cheaper to replace than a torn jacket or backpack zipper.

Please contact us if your chain broke and you need to replace it.

Without reflectors, a driver can se a pedestrian at night at from about 100 feet. With good quality reflectors, the visibility increases to up to 500 feet. Look for the EN13356 mark to ensure adequate reflective power.  A smaller sized reflector or one made with inferior reflective material (read cheaper) may not increase visibility as much.

Under ideal conditions (dry weather and along dark empty road without distractions), we have measured the funflector® reflectors to be visible from at least 600 feet.

In the US, ANSI standards specify the reflective and conspicuous power of reflective work wear for road workers, first responders etc. However,  for reflective accessories, there is no standard to lean on to know if we are doing our job or not to manufacture effective pedestrian safety reflectors. That’s why we turn to the EN13356 standard.

The European EN13356 standard for “Visility Accessories for non-professional use” has instead become the defacto world standard. Manufacturers and resellers use it everywhere from the Far East to the Americas. It specifies minimum size and minimum reflective power at different angles. Read more about the standard here. 

The higher the quality of the reflective material, the smaller the safety reflector tag can be and still have enough reflective power. For the smallest allowed size, only a few manufacturers make reflective material that is powerful enough. 3M is one of them. The three little triangles on the reflective material tell you that they are made from 3M™ Scotchlite™.

The funflector® tags have the same high quality 3M Scotchlite layer on the back as on the front. When they dangle, they reflect equally well from both sides.

The funflector wrap has a suede like back to make it more comfortable on bare wrists and ankles. It also keeps it from sliding when wrapped around a sleeve or pant leg.

Drivers see it very differently than you. When you wear a safety reflector, a driver with normal headlights (low beam) can see it from over 500 feet. The microprism structure of the reflective layer reflects all light back to where it came from, which is to the car and the driver. Very little of the light is scattered in your direction.  That’s why you don’t see how bright the safety reflector can be when you wear it yourself.

Here are a few ways to test it:

1. Hang the reflector somewhere (preferably outside at dusk or when it’s dark) and take a photo with flash ON (a smartphone works great). See how far back you can go and still see it on the photo.
2. Hang the reflector up along the road (for example in a bush or on a stick) and drive by. Make sure the reflector is facing the car or can dangle freely.
3. Take a flash light and hold it close to your eyes (preferably hold it right in front of your nose, as if you are Pinocchio). Shine the flash light on the reflector, which should be at least 10 feet away. If it is dark enough (like dusk or darker) you will see the reflector turning bright white.