Be visible!

Reflectors by Aarikka

In winter, it is quite dark and it is extremely important to be visible. You are seriousely walking at risk along the roads. It is the reason why you have to be visible by law. Don't worry, you won't get a fine if you don't have a reflector but the police will stop you and ask you to wear one. In order to avoid being killed, it is highly recommended to wear reflectors on your jacket and bag.


Many people, especially foreigners, don't like so much this idea as they got trauma while wearing an orange triangle or a yellow bib while going to dare care or elementary school. But in Finland, you are lucky. Reflectors are very attractive and available in any shapes. Hard or soft, in a star shape or an apple, representing the Moomin or Angry Birds characters, everybody will find a suitable reflectors. The prices are in a range from a few cents to over 10€. You can get some promotional reflectors from free. There are also reflectors for bikes, baby carriers, horses and dogs.

You can play with the following application to see how important it is to be visible: Visibility application
Click on "Aloita esitys" to start. Then, click on "Sulje ohjeet". On the dashboard of the car, you can choose if the pedestrian wears nothing, a reflector or a reflective bib. Then you can move the "meters" to set the distance between the car and the pedestrian. You can also choose between 2 lightenings.

Don't forget than in Finland no one cares about fashion. The only important things are to be warm and safe.

Did you know that reflectors were invented in Finland in 1955? Farmer Arvi Lehti created the first one to protect his horse carts and carriers.