In Austria, every driver must have a safety vest with them. The legislature doesn’t care whether it’s any good – but the driver should make sure that it does what it promises in an emergency. The German motorists’ club ACE tested 21 examples. Four of them are really good. It’s not the cheapest at just a cent.
In the event of a traffic accident or breakdown, the high-visibility vest increases your visibility, especially in the dark. As a result, they make an important contribution to road safety – at least that’s the ideal. At first glance, the high-visibility vests tested hardly differ: whether ordered online or bought in a store – they are all neon yellow and have reflective stripes. The test team from ACE and GTÜ tested the candidates on the 450 meter long, flat runway of an airfield under real conditions with different types of headlights, halogen, LED and laser. During the test, the distance to the respective light source was continually increased. With the weakest light source – halogen with low beam – the first vest was barely visible after just 100 meters. At 175 meters it was invisible to the human eye. It is the cheapest copy from the manufacturer Triamisu, available on Amazon for just one cent plus shipping costs. It is the only product that did not pass the practical test. All other high-visibility vests in the test can be seen in all types of light up to 450 meters away – most of them good and some excellent. What is noticeable on the airfield with all vests: If the test person moves with the high-visibility vest, they are generally more visible. Four high-visibility vests reflect particularly well: those from Gauke (seller: Heldenwerk via Amazon) and Stonekit (Engelbert Strauss) as well as the children’s vests from Korntex (Obramo) and printwear (from the textile wholesaler). The results were confirmed by a second test under laboratory-like conditions (see video above!). ConclusionThe differences in quality of the tested high-visibility vests are small, but there are also inadequately reflective examples available that hardly differ externally from good vests. Although the worst vest in the test is the cheapest: Basically, the safety effect of the vest cannot be judged from the price: the four vests in the test that are most visible in the spotlight are in the low to medium price segment (2.37 to 4.95 euros). It therefore does not necessarily play a role in terms of visibility whether the product is branded. What all well-reflective vests have in common, however, is the DIN EN 20471 test standard. In the test, only the vest that failed did not meet this test standard. One vest per seat Even if only one vest is required per car: it is advisable to have one on board for each passenger. After all, no one wants to be overlooked if they have to get out at night due to an accident or breakdown. It’s better to buy too big – then it will fit over even the thickest jacket.
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