Traffic Safety

Traffic Safety

As a vehicle owner, you play an important role in traffic safety. It's your responsibility to ensure roadside visibility with essential warning equipment if your vehicle is stopped, disabled, or being worked on at the side of the road. Traffic safety equipment is designed specifically to make a stopped vehicle visible to oncoming traffic and to protect the driver and passengers standing outside of it.

Whether you're dealing with a flat tire, a dead battery, or a full breakdown, having the right equipment on hand helps you stay visible until help arrives.

To help you build out your roadside emergency kit, learn which portable traffic safety items you should keep in your trunk.

Warning Triangles

Warning triangles are reflective, collapsible triangle stands that are placed behind a stopped vehicle to warn oncoming traffic of your presence. The reflective coating is visible up to approximately 0.8 km away and has a weighted base to withstand high winds. With a weatherproof construction and a foldable design for easy storage, these simple but effective tools can be easily stored in your vehicle and reused for any emergency.

Most warning triangles come in a pack of 3, because proper placement uses more than one triangle at increasing distances behind the vehicle to warn approaching traffic. Look for a kit that includes multiple triangles in a single carrying case, so you're not buying multiple pieces separately.

Flares

Ignitable safety flares are usually designed to burn for 15 to 20 minutes, providing a high-visibility warning at night or in poor weather conditions. Not only can flares alert oncoming traffic or pedestrians to your presence, but they can also be used as a call for help if you're stuck in remote regions.

Pay close attention to the burn time when deciding which type of flare to purchase. Flares with longer burn times (around 20 minutes) are best suited to situations where help may take longer to arrive.

Smaller multi-packs allow you to space flares out like warning triangles around your vehicle. Remember that combustion flares are not electronic or LED beacons. While flares provide the convenience of not needing to carry batteries or periodically recharge them, igniting them should be done with caution to avoid injury.

If you're stocking your kit for the first time, a 20-minute highway flare is a solid single-flare option, while a pack of three 15-minute flares gives you the flexibility to space them out behind your vehicle the way you would with triangles. Compact options, like an electronic emergency flare puck, are worth keeping as a backup since they take up very little trunk space.

High-Visibility Vests

High-visibility vests are reflective and should be worn by the driver any time they're standing outside of the vehicle, at a breakdown site, or while performing any roadside work. It's important to note that reflective vests aren't protective gear in the way safety glasses or work gloves are. They're simply achieve high visibility so you can be seen by passing traffic in an emergency.

A basic high-visibility vest is inexpensive enough to keep one in every vehicle, and it folds down small enough to store in a glovebox or door pocket so it's within reach the moment you need it.

This is especially worth keeping top of mind in winter, when shorter daylight hours and heavier snowfall make it harder for other drivers to spot someone standing at the roadside.

Building a Complete Roadside Kit

For a comprehensive roadside emergency kit, warning triangles, flares, and high-visibility vests are the most effective when used as a set. Start with flare and safety triangle sets mentioned above to cover the basics. Then you can add a vest and extra flares as needed.

In Canada, blizzards, black ice, and freezing rain can increase your risk of a roadside emergency. Take a moment to see what equipment you should have at your disposal in a winter emergency kit.

Don't wait for an emergency to realize you need traffic safety equipment. Being prepared and having all the necessary products stored away in your vehicle can be the key to protecting you, your passengers, and others on the road in the event of a roadside emergency. For a broader look at what else belongs in a well-stocked kit, the Government of Canada's emergency car kit guide is a helpful starting point.

For the best traffic safety equipment to keep you visible in any situation, browse our complete selection of warning triangles, flares, reflective vests, and emergency kits online at NAPA Canada or get all your roadside emergency questions answered from our experts at your local NAPA Auto Parts store.