Abstract
When emergency vehicles such as ambulances cannot turn on colored lights at nighttime, it is difficult to see these vehicles when they are stopped. Ambulances do not have a way other than red lights to signify their presence on the road. Ambulance crews are at risk of being involved in traffic accident if their ambulance loses its lights. Affixing a retroreflector to an ambulance is useful to increase its conspicuousness, but this measure conflicts with Article 38, Paragraph 3, of the safety standards for the Road Trucking Vehicle Act. Moreover, all reflectors must follow Article 42 of the safety standards for the Road Trucking Vehicle Act and Article 62 of the announcement that prescribes details of the safety standards for the Road Trucking Vehicle Act. These regulations prescribe that a car must not have anything attached to it that could disturb traffic and that cars must not be equipped with reflectors that have red reflected light in the front and/or white reflected light in the rear. In other words, there is not an obvious legal problem with reflectors if drivers adhere to these regulations. Retroreflectors are certainly superior in term of visibility, but recently developed reflectors have excellent retroreflective characteristics. Although retroreflectors are conspicuous from cars with their headlights on, common reflectors that have not only retroreflection but also other reflection are helpful for pedestrians at nighttime. The ability to see ambulances at night can be improved when the vehicles use reflectors rich in retroreflective properties; however, these reflectors do not adhere to the criteria of retroreflectors in the aforementioned laws and regulations. Because it is important for other vehicles and pedestrians to be aware of emergency vehicles to ensure the safety of ambulance crews, doctors, nurses, and patients, we propose that reflectors with these retroreflective properties should be used in ambulances.
