High Intensity and Engineer Grade Chevron Stripes / Tapes - NFPA 1901
In 2009 Fire Apparatus and Emergency vehicles will be subject to new guidelines in regards to reflective striping. The new standards call for striping on the front, sides and rear of all fire and emergency apparatus. A reflective type I tape or better is recommended. Type I tapes are also referred to as engineer grade reflectives. They are the most common and the most affordable class of tape and carry a 7 year outdoor life. Type 3 tapes are known as high intensity reflective tape and are more expensive but are still fairly affordable. They are rated for 10 years outdoors. We carry the type 1 and 3 reflective sheeting in both yellow and red and in both 4" and 6" by 150 foot rolls. We also carry a full line of other colors at our main reflective store. The two chevron tapes are further described below.
The specifics of the new regulation are as follows:
NFPA 1901 Guidelines For the Reflective Striping of Fire Apparatus and Emergency Vehicles (draft)
15.9.3* Reflective Striping.
15.9.3.1* A reflective stripe(s) shall be affixed to at least 50% of the cab and body length on each side, and a minimum of 25% of the width of the front of the vehicle.
15.9.3.1.1 The stripe or combination of stripes shall be a minimum of 4 in. (100 mm) in total width.
15.9.3.1.2 A graphic design shall be permitted to replace all or part of the required striping material if the design or combination thereof covers at least the same perimeter length(s) required by 15.9.3.1.
15.9.3.2 At least of 50% of the rear vertical surfaces of the apparatus shall be equipped with a minimum 4 inch alternating YELLOW and RED chevron reflective striping sloping downward and away from the center line of the vehicle at an angle of 45 degrees.
15.9.3.3 All reflective material required by 15.9.3.1 and 15.9.3.2 shall conform to the requirements of ASTM D4956, Standard Specification for reflective Sheeting for Traffic Control, Type I sheeting or better.
A.15.9.3.1 If the purchaser specifies roll-up doors, they should consider affixing a strip of reflective material to the rail area below the door. If the purchaser specifies vertically hinged compartment doors, they should consider affixing 4 in.(100 mm) minimum width reflective stripes or chevron-type reflective stripes on the inside of the doors.
The required striping must be installed before the unit is placed in emergency service.
Engineer grade or Type 1 reflective tape and is simply a solid color in daylight to the naked eye. When light hits the tape it is reflected to the source and the reflective tape lights up. Engineer grade type 1 tapes reflect at a rate of about 75 candlepower for white and less for other colors.
This is the same material that you would typically find on emergency vehicles and makes up the majority of the reflective lettering that you see on fire apparatus. We carry the flexible engineer grade version because it will stretch making it perfect for applications on vehicles.
High intensity or type 3 reflective tape is characterized by a honeycomb pattern (encapsulated lens reflective tape). Within each honey comb grid there are high concentrations of glass beads. This concentration of beads makes for a much brighter tape. High Intensity tapes reflects at a rate of around 250 candlepower for the white and less for other colors. Orange safety cones and road barrels use this material as well as many street signs. Quite a few fire departments prefer the high intensity type 3 material because it can be seen from further away and has a longer outdoor life.
Click Here for Engineer Grade Type I Reflective Tape in 4" Widths
Click Here for Engineer Grade Type I Reflective Tape in 6" Widths
Click Here for High Intensity Type III Reflective Tape in 4" or 6" Widths
Click Here to see all of our Widths, Colors and Types of Reflective Tapes.
Click Here to see our Pavment Marking Tapes and Road Markers.
If you have any questions about which tape is right for your application or need samples feel free to email me at steve@colebrothers.com
Steve Cole - Owner
850-934-3157
