Reflective clothing is a life-saving tool on roads

A familiar and deeply unsettling scene plays out daily on India's highways and roads. Trucks and cars speed along, with headlights cutting through the dusk, when a motorcyclist or cyclist suddenly emerges from the shadows. More often than not, the rider is helmetless, dressed in dark clothes and sometimes riding against the traffic stream. In that split second, visibility — or the absence of it — decides whether it is a close shave or a catastrophe. The tragedy is that the simplest preventive measure — fluorescent jackets during the day and retroreflective clothing at night — is almost invisible in our road safety discourse.India today is home to the largest number of two-wheelers in the world, and unfortunately, also the largest number of fatalities involving them. As per the MoRTH's Road Accidents in India 2023 report, 4,80,583 road accidents claimed 1,72,890 lives. Two-wheelers accounted for 44.8% of these fatalities, with 77,539 deaths — by far the highest among all road users. These numbers expose an uncomfortable truth: the backbone of India's mobility is also its most vulnerable link. Enhancing rider visibility is, thus, a life-saving necessity.India's road safety policy rests on the four Es — education, engineering, enforcement and emergency care. Helmets, stricter speed enforcement, safer highway design and emergency response systems have each received attention. But visibility — the fundamental ability of a rider to be seen by others on the road — remains ignored. This is despite clear evidence that high-visibility clothing significantly lowers crash risk.A 2020 study by IIT Roorkee in Delhi found that only 10.90% of surveyed motorcyclists wore bright-coloured or reflective clothing. Of those, just 24.30% reported accident involvement, compared to 92.60% among those who did not. The study also highlighted that two-wheeler accidents peaked between 7 pm and midnight, underscoring the dangers of riding in dark attire during low-visibility hours. The conclusion was inescapable: bright-coloured or reflective clothing dramatically improves survival chances.India's climatic realities make visibility a bigger challenge. Northern winters bring dense fog that reduces visibility to mere metres, triggering pileups of vehicles. A retroreflective vest or strip worn by a rider can mean the difference between being spotted in time and being fatally struck.The urgency of this issue is magnified by the swelling gig economy. An estimated six million delivery riders crisscross cities, many riding late at night. These riders, often in dark uniforms and racing against time, are invisible to other motorists until the last second. This critical workforce remains dangerously exposed.India has made progress with the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, mandating helmets, tightening penalties and requiring Automatic Headlamp On (AHO) for new two-wheelers since 2017. But the law is silent on rider visibility. The Supreme Court in Dr S Rajaseekaran vs Union of India (2018) underlined the state's duty to adopt scientifically proven safety measures. India has its own standard — IS 15809:2017 — for high-visibility warning clothing. Yet enforcement remains missing. India's electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) system, integrated with the iRAD platform, represents a leap forward in data-driven accident analysis. Police now record geo-tagged details, vehicle data and site photographs in real time. Including in it the recording of whether two-wheeler riders were wearing reflective or high-visibility clothing could unlock insights into visibility-linked crash risks and support evidence-based policy.India must elevate rider visibility to the same level as helmets and AHO. Public campaigns at petrol pumps and toll plazas should distribute reflective vests. Delivery platforms must be made responsible for equipping their riders with high-visibility clothing. Driving schools should teach visibility as a safety habit and insurers could incentivise compliance through premium discounts.On Indian roads, survival may ultimately come down to a simple choice: be visible, and stay alive.

Reflective clothing is a life-saving tool on roads

A reflective vest can mean the difference between being spotted in time and being fatally struck.

Alok Mittal

Reflective clothing is a life-saving tool on roads

A reflective vest can mean the difference between being spotted in time and being fatally struck.

Alok Mittal

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