The Best DOT Reflective Tapes For 2023

All semi-trucks and trucks with trailers are legally required to install reflective tapes to get visible on the highways at night. This measure is taken to prevent accidents due to poor visibility.

According to the studies, these reflective tapes have proven highly effective in ensuring the safety of commercial vehicles. In fact, if each truck in the US gets equipped with these red and white tapes, approx 7,800 accidents can be prevented every year.

1. Starrey Reflective Tape Red White

Starrey Reflective tape reflects bright lights and gives perfect visibility in low lights and poor weather conditions. The tape is mainly developed for the auto industry. It is made of sturdy materials.

Ensure yours and your vehicle’s safety by applying this robust tape to the motorbikes, truck, trailers, bike helmet, skateboard, and almost any vehicle that needs high visibility during the night. This round, red and white striped tape is made of Polyvinyl Chloride.

The tape fits pretty easily on each side of the truck and the rear end of the trailer, ensuring clear visibility to other drivers. The tape can be used on personal items at well.

Features:

• Resistant to water
• Can be applied without professional assistance (self-adhesive)
• Used for both indoor and outdoor applications
• It comes with a 3-year and 1-year warranty period
• Made of Polyvinyl Chloride

2. PROSHADE Reflective Tape

PROSHADE reflective tape is a DOT-approved tape that offers industrial adhesion. The tape can be applied to the truck, trailers, and all kinds of vehicles that need protection. The tape emits bright light and is weather and water-resistant. It can resist even strong power washing. The brand claims to offer a shine of around a thousand candles, making your vehicle easily visible to any motorist on the road.

The company has used PET material to make PROSHADE Reflective Tape. It is extensively used by truck and trailer drivers as a warning effect in low lights and inclement weather. The tape is compatible with multiple applications and objects. It can be used in construction areas and garage to highlight danger zones.

The tape fits all trucks including the ones that weigh over 10,000 Ibs and have a width of 80”. The tape guarantees vehicle and driver’s safety in all weather conditions and lights.

Features:

• Emits bright lights in all directions
• Good weather resistance; handle foggy, rainy, and dark weather pretty well
• Easy application
• Water and scratch resistance
• High-temperature resistance

3. Kohree Reflective Tape

Kohree Reflective tape is a DOT-C2 approved safety tape that can be used on all automobiles including trucks, motorbikes, trailers, and commercial vehicles. It is a perfect fit for agricultural equipment and bike helmets. The installation process is pretty simple.

Clean the vehicle or object’s surface before pasting the tape. Once glued to the vehicle, apply pressure to get it stuck firmly.

Being made of PET material, the tape offers great lights in dark and poorly-lit highways. The materials are strong enough to face poor weather conditions and liquids. The tape won’t come off even if the vehicle is washed intensively.

Improve the safety of your vehicles as well as people around you by attaching the Kohree Reflective Tape to your commercial and residential objects. The tape can be used on helmets, trucks & trailers, backpacks, hard hats, and even kid’s school bags.

Features:

• Compatible with different surfaces including nylon, metal, wood, and plastic
• Offer good reflection in all weather conditions
• Made of PET material
• High visibility with red and white colors
• Used in multiple applications

4. AISEY Reflective Safety Tape

Avoid the Department of Transportation (DOT) penalties by attaching AISEY reflective safety tape to all your commercial vehicles, especially trucks and trailers. This DOT-approved, high-rated, and micro prismatic tape offers a high level of reflectivity.

The tape is made of PET material, which ensures high reflectivity and strong adhesive. The tape shines bright in poorly-lit areas. AISEY Reflective Safety Tape makes an ideal solution for all kinds of automobiles including tankers and motorbikes.

Available in multiple colors, this reflective tape can be attached easily to the vehicles and agricultural equipment. Make sure to clean the surface before applying this strong adhesive tape.

Features:

• Water, scratch, and liquid resistance
• Resists high temperature
• Offers great brightness in low lights
• Resist fog, rainfall, storms, and snowfall
• Shines bright and ensures maximum safety
• Available in multiple colors and types including reflective caution tape, white tape, yellow and black striped tape, red and yellow tape, and anti-slip tape
• Multiple applications

5. Typhon East Reflective Tape

Typhon East Reflective Tape is used to enhance the safety of the vehicle and drivers in low and poorly lit roads. The Tape is made of PET material and is available in white color. It offers amazing reflectivity. Typhon East tape is resistant to UV rays and inclement weather.

You can peel its back off easily and attach it to the surface of the vehicle or other personal items on your own. This water-proof tape has the potential to withstand high temperatures and power wash.

You can use it for multiple applications including bikes, motorcycles, mailboxes, vehicles, automotive, trailers, tankers, and more. The adhesive is strong. You can expect the tape to last for years without showing the wear and tear signs.

The tape comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. Should you face any trouble, you can return it to the merchant and claim a full refund.

Features:

• Self-adhesive tape
• Offers high durability
• Multi-purpose tape
• DOT-approved product

6. XFasten Reflective Tape

XFasten Reflective Tape is known for making commercial vehicles or the personal object easily visible in poor lightings. The tape is compatible with all surfaces and almost every material. From jogging outfit to truck and trailer, XFasten Reflective tape can be attached to any commercial and residential object seamlessly.

If you drive on the poorly-lit roads, then this high-quality and durable tape is an ideal option for your vehicle. It creates a warming effect and makes your vehicle easily visible to the motorists driving on the road.

In addition to being durable, this reflective tape is weather and moisture resistant. Whether you power wash your vehicle or park it out in the sun, the tape will stay intact for years. The tape is especially recommended for joggers, motorists, bikers, and hikers.

Features:

• Compatible with different materials including concrete, fabric, metal, plastic, and wood
• Remains intact after prolonged use
• Multi-purpose tape; it can be used on mailboxes, helmets, backpacks, trailers, and boats
• Highly reflective in all weathers and lights
• Residue-free and Water-proof tape

7. 3M Scotchlite Reflective Tape

3M Scotchlite Reflection Tape firmly adheres to the surface and emits a bright light to allow people to see the object clearly. This DOT-approved tape is a must for commercial trucks and trailers that are often driven at nights and in low lights.

What sets this tape apart from the common reflective tapes is its compatibility with curved and contoured surfaces.

Apply it to a clean surface and expect the tape to offer great reflection in all weather conditions and dim lights. The tape can be attached to the exterior surfaces. The 3M Scotchlite Reflective Tape can be used on bike helmets and hiker’s backpacks.

You could also sew it to your Halloween costume. The tape makes the object clearly visible. It alerts the motorists about the stationery items such as walls, barely visible objects, walls, and poles.

Features:

• Vivid light reflection at night
• Provide clear visibility to the drivers and people on the road
• Offers versatility
• Strong adhesion
• Easy to install

8. AISEY Industrial Honeycomb Tape

Accidents are unpredictable these days. But, you can prevent unnecessary accidents by investing in this high-quality reflective tape. The tape features arrow-patterned design and emits bright light to make the vehicle or object visible in low lights and poor weather.

The tape could be applied to a broad range of commercial and residential items. You can attach it to warehouses, guard rails, railings, parking lots, trucks, tankers, and trailers. The tape is made of reflective material that shines bright in all lights.

The tape gets its name from its yellow and red-colored stripes, making it unique and incredibly bright. The glossy and arrow patterned AISEY industrial honeycomb tape is specially designed for smooth surfaces.

Features:

• Available in multiple colors and types
• Self-adhesive tape
• Water and weather resistant
• Reflective stripes and arrow patterns
• Used for indoor and outdoor applications

Starrey Reflective Tape

This wash resistance tape can resist the UV rays, stormy weather, snowfall, and heavy rain. You could apply this strong Starry Reflective Tape on all commercial and residential objects. Comply with the DOT requirements and attach the Starrey Reflective Tape to the back and rear end of the truck and ensure your vehicle’s safety in all weather conditions and lights.

Other than the vehicles and automotive, Starrey Reflective Tape can be used on the mailbox, ships, mechanical tools, agricultural equipment, joggers, RVs, construction places, garages, warehouses, and more.

This tape is available in yellow and fluorescent colors. The tape shines bright in low lights and stays intact even after being washed and exposed to high temperatures or unfavorable weather.

Features:

• Available in multiple colors and different sizes varying from ½ inch to 3 inches
• Used for multiple applications
• Offers great visibility
• Industrial adhesion
• Self-adhesive and wash resistance

All You Need to Know About DOT Reflective Tapes

Reflective tapes have been mainly used by large and semi-trucks to avoid accidents on highways. Spotting the small or nearly invisible objects on the driveway is pretty difficult for truck drivers. It is hard to catch them with your rear-view mirror or parking sensors.

In order to increase the visibility of these narrow-profile objects, the DOT reflective tapes are used. Basically, these tapes are used to make the small objects visible on the highways and parking lots, reducing the risk of accidents at night.

According to the NHTSA Federal Law, it is compulsory for all trucks to have a minimum of 80-inches wide and 10,000 pounds DOT approved reflective tape. The main aim of the tape is to minimize accidents on the road due to poor visibility issues.

But, the question is which reflective tape you should buy for your vehicle? And, what factors you must consider when selecting an ideal tape for your vehicle? You will find different types of reflective tapes claiming to offer great visibility at night. But, only a few comply with the DOT safety requirements.

What are DOT Reflective Tapes?

All trucks and trailers have to adhere to the DOT safety regulations. The DOT reflective tapes come in mainly two colors i.e. red and white. They need to be at least two inches wide. The tapes are used at the back and bottom of truck trailers. Used at the back and top of the vehicle are the silver and white DOT-approved reflective tapes.

DOT tapes are also found in warehouses. They are used to highlight the danger zones. These tapes are used with Vinyl tape for further safety.

The tapes come in different types and colors. But, the DOT-approved reflective tapes have a label that reads as ‘DOT-C2’. So, make sure that you check the label before investing in these tapes. Usually, Reflective tapes are used for commercial purposes.

They are mostly seen on trucks and trailers. But, they can also be used for residential purposes. For instance, you could stick the DOT reflective tapes at the bottom and sides of the mailboxes.

The driveways are also marked with these sturdy and bright tapes to make the road and hard obstacles clearly visible to the drivers. The red and white tapes are used to mark the driveway. DOT tapes are also available for morning joggers and regular runners.

These tapes are designed to mark your jogging outfit so that the other joggers and vehicles do not bump into you. Other uses of DOT reflective tapes are in posts and bollards, boasts and ships, children’s bags, trash barrels, and more.

Buying Guide For DOT Reflective Tapes

Reflective tape can be highly reliable and versatile given that you choose the right one for your vehicle. It is important to pay special attention to the quality, sturdiness, versatility, and durability of the tape before investing in it. These red and white stripes are supposed to protect you from unforeseen accidents. Check out the pictures of the tape in an illuminated state. The first thing to consider when buying a reflective tape is its DOT status. The tape with a ‘DOT-C2’ label is a DOT approved tape. Let’s see the other important factors you must take into consideration while choosing a reflective tape for your trucks and trailers.

Color

Reflective tapes are available in multiple colors. Make sure that each color implies a specific use. For example, the black and yellow striped reflective tapes are used in warehouses and danger zones, where the entry of the people is restricted due to possible hazards. They are also used in crime scenes to keep people from entering a specific zone. The plain white color reflective tapes are used on lanes.

For trucks and trailers, the striped red and white tapes are used. They are installed at the bottom and sides of the truck to make the vehicle visible in dim lights. If you want to use the reflective tapes for personal use, such as marking your children’s school bags or highlighting your jogging outfit, you can opt for white and fluorescent tapes.

Also Read: Best Tire Pressure Gauges

Type

The standard glass bead is the most common and extensively-used reflective tapes on vehicles. The standard bead tapes are available in three major variants namely the economy, commercial, and engineer variants. You can find the standard reflective tapes on streets, helicopters, and officers’ vehicles.

The other type is used for commercial purposes that need high safety and bright tapes. The micro prismatic sheeting is pretty expensive and is commonly used in the areas that need brighter reflections than the standard tapes.

Adhesion

Look for pre-cut strips and easy-to-adhere reflective tapes. The robust tape will adhere to the given object strongly. The tape must be compatible with all kinds of surfaces – be it the curvy trailer of the truck or a straight driveway.

In addition to adhesion, the reflective tape must be weather and water-resistant. Even if exposed to liquids and snow or rain, the tape must not come off the object. 

Need

Depending on where you need to stick it, you could select the type of reflective tape that fits your requirements and budget the best. For instance, the regular glass bead tapes can be used for residential purposes such as highlighting the kid’s school bags or marking the mailboxes. You can opt for the economy variants as they are quite affordable and effective.

If you are looking for reflective tape for the commercial uses such as trucks and trailers, marking the crime area, and highlighting the danger zones, then the micro prismatic sheeting is the best option. Though they are pretty expensive than standard glass bead tapes, they offer great visibility and make objects clearly visible even in dim or no lights.

Price

As mentioned before, reflective tapes are used for both residential and commercial purposes. For the regular applications, a low-price tap can be used. The price of the reflective tapes can vary depending on the materials they are made of and the lights they emit.

You will not want to pay a fortune for a reflective tape that is used on a mailbox or jogging outfit. The standard glass bead type is common for residential uses (where you don’t need high-security).

On the other hand, micro prismatic sheeting is designed for commercial uses. These reflective tapes come with a high price tag. Try to browse through the internet and compare the prices before making a purchase.

Durability

The durability of the reflective tapes depends on the materials they are made of. Usually, the sheet could last for a year or two. But, high-quality tapes can survive the harsh weather elements and wear and tear for 3 to 4 years.

Try to invest in the DOT reflective tapes that are strong enough to resist high temperatures and unfavorable weather. It must not tear easily. Durability is extremely important in reflective tapes used for commercial purposes such as trucks, vehicles, motorbikes, and trailers.

Due to constant exposure to kerosene and oil, the tapes are likely to come off the vehicle easily. That being said, you should stick to the waterproof and weatherproof tapes that resist water, unfavorable weather, and high temperature.

Visibility

DOT reflective tapes are specifically used to allow people to see the marked zone from miles away. A versatile reflective tape will offer high visibility, preventing people from entering the restricted areas or hitting a particular object in low lights.

Usually, the paths and objects are unclear at night and in poor weather conditions. Due to low lighting, it gets difficult for people to spot dangerous objects or vehicles on the road. So far, this is the number reason for increasing cases of accidents on the highway. Due to a lack of visibility, vehicles are likely to collide.

Whether you need a reflective tape for residential or commercial use, check its visibility in low lights. Check out the pictures of the illuminated tape. A high-quality and DOT-approved tape should feature bold colors that are clearly visible from a distance.

Application

Look for reflective tapes that are easy to apply to the vehicles or personal items. It must only need to be peeled and placed on the object. Usually, reflective tapes do not need professional assistance in the application process. They are smooth enough to be applied single-handedly on the truck, mailbox, warehouse, and even the driveway.

For the best outcome, stick the tape to the vehicle instantly after peeling. Make sure that the object is washed and cleaned thoroughly before the application. You don’t want to compromise the durability of the tape by sticking it to a rough, dirty, and dusty surface.

Q & A

What are the Common Applications of DOT Reflective Tape?

Reflective tapes are mainly used in vehicles, roads, warehouses, construction areas, and other commercial places. But, you can also use it for regular purposes. For instance, reflective tapes can be sewn to your jogging jackets and applied to bike helmets. It can be used to mark the letterboxes, children’s school bags, bollards, low hanging objects, and more.

Their main purpose is to avoid accidents by making the objects visible from a distance. They are also used as a sign of danger in warehouses, petrol pumps, crime scenes, and roads.

How Reflect Tapes are Applied to the Trucks and Trailers?

You need to apply the tapes in such a manner that it meets the DOT conditions. The tapes are to be applied to the sides and rear end of the trailers.

The tape must be glued to the back end of the truck with two colored sheets, each approx 600mm long.

Which DOT-approved Tapes are the Best for Commercial Applications?

Reflective tapes are available in mainly two types i.e. standard glass bead tapes and micro prismatic sheeting. The former is less durable and versatile but is an ideal option for residential applications. Micro Prismatic sheeting, on the other hand, is used for commercial purposes. They are sturdy and versatile.

Moreover, they offer intense reflection. But, micro prismatic tapes are extremely expensive. They are only recommended for truck and trailers, driveways, warehouses, construction areas, and danger zones. You need to look for a thick and high-performance reflective tape that is brighter and clearly visible in low lights and misty weather.

What Features You Need to Look for When Selecting a Reflective Tape for Trucks and Trailers?

A high-quality reflective tape has the potential to last for years without showing signs of wear and tear. They are durable, versatile, and strong enough to deal with weather and temperature. The reflective tape must comply with DOT safety regulations.

They must be weather-resistant and water-proof so that the tape doesn’t tear when exposed to weather elements and liquids. It must be easy to apply to vehicles. Moreover, the tape must reflect light in every direction to offer maximum safety.

Is It Compulsory To Have A Reflective Tape On Trucks?

The 1992 NHTSA Federal Law has made it mandatory for all truck and trailer drivers to apply a robust and DOT-approved reflective tape to the bottom, sides, and upper parts of the vehicle. The trailer needs to be visible in dim lights and inclement weather.

This ensures the safety of the trucks. Reflective tapes are not necessary for personal use. But, you can sew the tapes on your jackets, clothes, and bags for safety purposes.

Final Words

A robust and durable reflective tape that meets the DOT requirements needs to be applied to the trucks, trailers, warehouses, roads, and other areas. It is compulsory for all truck drivers in the US to invest in a high-quality reflective tape that reflects light in every direction.

So, these were some factors to consider when choosing a reflective tape for commercial and residential use. Buy any of the above-listed tapes and ensure your vehicle’s safety.