Why Do U.S. Specification Vehicles Have Reflective Decals?
3 Answers
U.S. specification vehicles have reflective decals for safety reasons. Below is relevant information about reflective decals: 1. Function: Reflective decals are primarily used to enhance vehicle visibility. At night, their retroreflective properties allow drivers behind to take braking measures earlier, thereby preventing traffic accidents. According to national standards, they must be affixed to truck bodies to clearly outline the vehicle's contour. 2. Principle: Reflective decals utilize optical principles, featuring a specially structured PVC film that reflects light back to its source. They consist of a weather-resistant film layer, micro glass bead layer, focusing layer, reflective layer, adhesive layer, and release liner.
I paid special attention to this last time I drove at night on the highway. U.S. traffic regulations require vehicles to be equipped with reflectors, especially the red reflective strip at the rear. The reason is quite practical—North America is vast and sparsely populated, making long-distance night driving common. Those reflective materials suddenly light up when hit by headlights from behind, alerting others to the distance. Once, while driving through a heavy rainstorm in Montana, the reflective stickers on the truck ahead shone like a lighthouse, giving me two extra seconds to hit the brakes. This kind of passive safety device is particularly suited to American road conditions, since not every area has streetlights.
When studying vehicle regulations, I noticed the meticulous design of reflectors on US-spec vehicles' bumpers. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS 108 explicitly requires such devices, primarily considering three factors: first, the high nighttime accident rate in North America; second, poor lighting conditions on rural roads; third, the prevalence of large vehicles. The reflector panels use special micro-prism materials that can precisely reflect headlights back to approaching vehicles. During testing ground comparisons, I observed vehicles without reflectors were difficult to identify beyond 200 meters, while those equipped with reflectors remained clearly visible at 450 meters. Particularly in foggy conditions, the reflective performance proves more consistent than vehicle lighting.
