ShmiraWear Looks to Address Pressing Communal Concern

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shmira-wearBy Noam Amdurski, Matzav.com

For years, community askanim in various cities have been trying to raise awareness regarding the importance of wearing reflector belts at night, especially in areas that are not well lit. The number of accidents in frum communities is even greater on Friday nights, when many people are walking the streets, often dressed in dark colors, which make it difficult to see them.

Now, a new company, is looking to address this issue. ShmiraWearTM is producing coats that contain reflective belts built-in to the garments. ShmiraWearTM is made by Luminosity International, LLC, the first safety manufacturer to design a reflective and hi-visibility line for the frum market.

shmira-wear-1ShmiraWearTMuses a technology known as retro reflection. It helps the eye perceive light in low-light conditions. In more scientific terms, retro reflection occurs when light rays are returned in the direction from which they came. A large amount of reflected light is returned directly to the original light source, such as a car’s headlights. Retro reflective materials appear brightest to an observer located near the original light source, such as behind the wheel of a car.

Luminosity International is owned and managed by shomer Shabbos Yidden and manufactures hi-visibility reflective safety apparel for men, woman and children.

Luminosity works in conjunction with Hatzoloh, schools and community leaders to educate the community about the benefits of reflective safety apparel.

Some facts:

A pedestrian is injured or killed every 7 seconds.

Child pedestrian injury remains the number two cause of unintentional injury or death among children ages 5 to 14. Approximately 585 children ages 0 to 14 are killed each year and there are 33,518 visits to the emergency room due to nonfatal pedestrian injuries.

73% of pedestrian injuries and fatalities occur in urban areas and 90% are in normal weather conditions.

Close to 50% of injuries and fatalities amongst pedestrians occur on Shabbos.

Frum Yidden are at an even greater risk when walking due to the lack of sufficient sidewalks and our primary use of dark clothing.

Consider this: A driver needs 260 ft to see a pedestrian and react at 60 mph.

Dark clothing = 55 ft of visibility (less than 1 second of reaction time)

Yellow clothing = 120 Ft of visibility

White clothing =180 ft of visibility

Hi-Visibility and Reflective Clothing = safely seen by a driver with at least 500 ft of visibility

Wearing reflective apparel is proven to reduce visually impaired accidents by as much as 45%. Being seen is the difference between life and death.

{Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}


11 COMMENTS

  1. Frum men need to take precautions because they wear dark clothes. As for women, what a great reason to retire all those “Italian funeral” clothing (i.e. black, black, black) and get back to wearing the “begadim tzivonim” (colorful clothing) that the halacha says women wear. A new campaign is needed: Ladies and girls, it is pikuach nefesh to wear black at night, so start wearing COLORS to simchas, shiurim, and fundraisers! When you wear black to a simcha, in addition to casting gloom on someone’s simcha, you are endangering yourself!

  2. Comment #6 you speak for us all!
    I suggest that a special fund be set up to give “shmiras hanefesh” incentives for any woman who wears non-black. By th way – this might also play a pivotal role in solving the shidduch crisis as well…

  3. A certain Mashgiach in a certain yeshiva in Lakewood wears a reflector! I know! I walked home with him from yeshiva one Friday night.

  4. This is very funny but it could unexpectatly chatch on… Black has a few reasons to be worn by women in the frum community
    1. Slimming
    2. Ya look like a fashion designer especiallly if you live in the NY area
    3. Cheap to come by if ya dont want to spend the money on designer clothes
    4. If the whole comunity is waring back and your the only one in pink you’ll stand out making it a tzniut issue
    5. More time is spent in the waredrobe matching colours when ya’d rather be daving for a shidduch

  5. There is actually a website, which I believe is run by a frum person out of Lakewood at http://www.brightideasusa.biz, which has plenty of excellent stuff, including reflectors, reflective vests, and reflective backpacks. I have seen their stuff in various stores in Lakewood as well, and from my travel around Lakewood, they seem to have a quality product by the sheer number of their products being used in the developments where lighting is poor.

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