LEXINGTON, MA (October 29, 2009) – As runners are faced with autumn’s shorter daylight hours, Saucony, Inc., a leading global supplier of performance athletic footwear and apparel, is setting the standard for visibility with the launch of its highly reflective ViZiPRO Collection, a new line of performance apparel and accessories. Saucony’s ViZiPRO Collection, now available at select running specialty retailers, is inspired by the dedicated runners who want to extend their ability to run confidently in fall and winter’s reduced daylight by enhancing their visibility to increasingly distracted drivers.
“With digital PDAs like cell phones, GPSs and MP3 players, as well as on-the-go meals and back-seat kids, drivers today have more distractions than ever before,” said Todd Dalhausser, general manager of Saucony apparel. “Add to that the reduced daylight of fall and winter, and a runner’s visibility while on the roads can be severely compromised.
Our mission is to inspire people to run. ViZiPRO does that by removing the limitations, delivering both uncompromised performance and enhanced visibility for runners in any season, in any light, at any time,” added Dalhausser.
The ViZiPRO Collection includes jackets, vests, sport tops, headgear and hand gear for both men and women that feature its trademark fluorescent orange color that maintains an incredibly luminescent, reflective surface for heightened visibility of the wearer. The new performance apparel products utilize a combination of lightweight, water-resistant fabrics engineered for maximum comfort and mobility. Select items from the collection also feature a road-side (right side) sleeve holster which holds an accompanying blinking LED light for enhanced visibility.
Recent statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report that nearly 6,000 people were killed and 500,000 injured due to driver distraction in 2008. Of on-road pedestrian fatalities, 10% were related to pedestrians not being visible to drivers. The report also states that 6 p.m. - 9 p.m., the time when runners are most likely to be out on the roads, is also the most dangerous time of the day for pedestrians.
The ViZiPRO Collection passed rigorous tests to ensure runners training in these low-light conditions can be better seen, giving them a visual advantage when out on the roads. According to industry-standard chromaticity testing results, Saucony’s ViZiPRO fluorescent orange fabric rated highest in visibility among its competitors.
A chromaticity test measures the relative visibility of reflective and fluorescent materials and determines which provide the greatest visibility─a critical feature when running the roads.
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