In April 1964, 84 vehicles were fitted with reflectorised front registration plates consisting of black characters on a background of a white reflective material commonly used on traffic signs. Such plates are known to be more legible than ordinary plates in headlights at night and to be as legible as ordinary plates by day. The main purpose of the present experiment was to find out whether the reflective material would survive the severe treatment to which front registration plates are subjected. After two years the reflective backgrounds had suffered an average loss of 42% in reflective power. However they were on the average still 60 times brighter than white paint when viewed in headlights. Moreover the loss in reflectivity, being largely due to fine scratches of the surface coating of the material, could be partly restored by polishing with a car polish. It was concluded that an effective life of several years can confidently be expected from reflectorised registration plates of this type. Some evidence was also obtained from questionnaires filled in by the drivers that the use of reflectorised plates might improve safety at night by making more conspicuous other vehicles, moving or parked with some or all of their lights out. (Author)
A Road Trial with Reflectorised Registration Plates for Motor Vehicles
1966
18 pages
Report
No indication
English
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