Retro-reflected markings

Some things reflect light better than others

Nowadays lots of children wear bright, high-visibility clothing, and/or have retro-reflective markings on their school bags. Retro-reflective markings are grey-white strips that light bounces off in an unusual way – the light is sent back in the direction it came from. This means that light from a car or lorry's headlamps bounces off the strips towards the driver so they can see you clearly.

Road workers wear bright, high-visibility clothing with retro-reflective markings to make sure they're seen. Ambulances, police cars and other emergency vehicles have lots of retro-reflective markings on their cars and vans so they can be seen easily on the roads.