A safety reflector is a retroreflector

Retroreflector

A retroreflector is a device or surface that reflects light back to its source with a minimum scattering of light. An electromagnetic wave front is reflected back along a vector that is parallel to but opposite in direction from the wave's source. The device or surface's angle of incidence is...

 intended for pedestrian

Pedestrian

A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...

s, runners

Running

Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...

, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and vehicle

Vehicle

A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

s. A safety reflector is similar to reflective stripes that can be found on safety vests and clothing worn by road workers and rescue workers. They are sometimes erroneously called luminous badges or luminous tags, but this is incorrect as they do not themselves produce light, but only reflect it.

A safety reflector helps to make a person or vehicle visible to other people and vehicles on the road up to three times further away than without a reflector, since it reflects light from headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Safety reflectors are especially useful in rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 areas where there are no streetlights.

Unlike reflective stripes that are permanently fixed to clothing, the safety reflector is a stand-alone device that can be attached to any article of clothing

Clothing

Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...

 as needed, often using a safety pin

Safety pin

A safety pin is a simple fastening device, a variation of the regular pin which includes a simple spring mechanism and a clasp. The clasp serves two purposes: to form a closed loop thereby properly fastening the pin to whatever it is applied to, and to cover the end of the pin to protect the user...

 and some string. For vehicles, the reflector is usually a fixed part. In bicycles, reflectors are usually on wheels, pedals, under the seat, on the back of the luggage rack, and in front of the front fork. In motorcycles, automobiles, and other vehicles, reflectors are built into the front and rear ends (and sides) next to the headlights and breaklights.

The reflector is claimed to be a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 creation, invented by a farmer from Pertteli

Pertteli

Pertteli ; ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Salo on January 1, 2009.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region. The municipality had a population of 3,833 and covered an area of 156.08 km² of which 1.93 km² is...

, a small township in Western Finland. The inventor did not consider pedestrian safety when creating the first reflectors: he simply wished to protect his horse carts and carriages. Reflectors were introduced to Finns in 1960. Nowadays one can find reflectors of all possible shapes and colours, as design and fashion industries have turned their faces towards this diminutive gadget. Special 'clip-on' reflectors for bicycles and other human-powered vehicles

Human-powered transport

Human-powered transport is the transport of person and/or goods using human muscle power. Like animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming...

are also common.