The LUMI Safety Vest to Accompany Children on Their Way to School
27.03.2026 | from Touring Club Suisse (TCS)
Reading time: 4 minutes
Image rights: Touring Club Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzero - TCS
Photographer: Marc Baertsch
27.03.2026, From the 2026/27 school year onwards, children entering kindergarten in their first HarmoS year will receive a new safety vest designed by TCS. Named LUMI, the vest has been developed to enhance the visibility of 4- to 6-year-old children on their way to school, both day and night. In accordance with new visibility standards, featuring a customizable design, and developed in collaboration with teachers and students, this new safety vest will be distributed annually to over 100,000 children across Switzerland.
The triangular reflective band introduced in 1975, which accompanied children on their school journeys for decades and was known as 'Triki', will be replaced from the 2026/27 school year by a new vest fully developed by TCS. This advancement is part of the ongoing adaptation of safety measures to meet today's visibility requirements. The new LUMI children's safety vest offers increased visibility while being easy to wear every day.
More reflective elements and playful design
The standards have become stricter, and traffic conditions have changed in recent years, necessitating an improvement in the minimum reflective areas and 360-degree visibility. The LUMI vest complies with the EN 17353:2020 standard and meets these new requirements thanks to the reflective elements distributed all over the vest. The longer back section ensures good visibility even when the child is carrying a school backpack. This design allows for better perception and visibility of the child by other traffic participants—day and night. Being visible in traffic is also a goal of the 'Made Visible by TCS' awareness campaign.
Beyond its safety function, the LUMI vest has been designed to be attractive and encourage daily wear. Its modern two-tone design incorporates graphic elements from the world of road traffic. Its name, short and comprehensible in the three national languages, evokes light and visibility. A Velcro patch sewn onto the chest allows a personalized badge to be attached, such as one received by children after attending lessons with traffic instructors. By combining enhanced safety with a playful dimension, LUMI aims not only to comply with current standards but also to be completely accepted by children.
Designed for independence and real-world conditions
The LUMI vest was developed in close collaboration with those who will use it daily. Ten kindergarten classes participated in prototype tests. Feedback from teachers during a survey and from students helped refine the cut, choice of materials, and closure systems to develop a practical version that meets the needs of children aged 4 to 6 years.
Lightweight and made from modern, durable synthetic material, the vest is designed to be worn in all seasons. It can be donned in three different ways, adapting to the child's level of independence and classroom organization. Large side openings allow it to be easily pulled over the head like a poncho. Children who are more practiced can use the front zipper, wearing it like a jacket. Side snap buttons allow teachers to place the vest directly on the shoulders—similar to the previous reflective band—and then close it. This versatility facilitates wearing and simultaneously promotes individual independence.
A national distribution from 2026 with a goal: to enhance safety on the way to school
From the 2026/27 school year, all children entering kindergarten will receive a LUMI vest, distributed by police forces or through schools. In the first year, over 100,000 vests will be allocated, with a similar number distributed across Switzerland each year thereafter. The project is supported by the Road Safety Fund.
By introducing the LUMI vest, TCS pursues a central goal: to improve the visibility of the youngest children and enhance their safety on their daily journeys. By combining conformity with current standards, easy handling, and acceptance by children, this new generation of safety equipment ensures that the vest is not only more visible but also worn daily. TCS also urges parents to systematically equip their children with a LUMI vest, which makes them much more visible in the headlights of a car.
From Triki reflective band to LUMI vest
1975:
Introduction of the Triki reflective band by TCS for children aged 4 and older
2013: Introduction of a safety vest for children aged 6 and older
2021: Redesign of the Triki reflective band with new motifs
2025: Adjustment of the Triki reflective band to the new applicable standards
2026: Development of a new concept in the form of a vest for children aged 4 and older -
introduction of the LUMI vest
From 2026: Start of the nationwide distribution of the new LUMI vests
Press contact:
Vanessa Flack
Media spokesperson TCS
Tel. 058 827 34 41
Editor's note: Image rights belong to the respective publisher. Image rights: Touring Club Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzero - TCS / Photographer: Marc Baertsch
Conclusion of this article: « The LUMI Safety Vest to Accompany Children on Their Way to School »
Touring Club Suisse (TCS)
Since its founding in Geneva in 1896, the Touring Club Suisse (TCS) has been serving the Swiss population. It is committed to safety, sustainability, and self-determination in personal mobility, both politically and socially.
With over 2,000 employees and 23 regional sections, Switzerland's largest mobility club offers its over 1.6 million members a wide range of services related to mobility, health, and leisure activities.
Every 70 seconds, an assistance action takes place. Each year, 200 patrol officers operate on Swiss roads with about 361,000 deployments, enabling immediate onward travel in more than 80% of cases. The ETI Center organizes about 63,000 assistances annually, including 3,500 medical assessments and over 1,300 repatriations. TCS Ambulance is the largest private provider of rescue and patient transport services in Switzerland, with 400 employees, 22 logistics bases, and around 45,000 operations per year. The legal protection offices handle 52,000 cases and provide approximately 10,000 legal consultations.
Since 1908, TCS has been advocating for more safety in mobility—made possible through membership. It develops educational materials, awareness, and prevention campaigns, tests mobility infrastructures, and provides advisory services to authorities. TCS distributes approximately 115,000 reflective belts and 90,000 reflective vests to children each year to ensure their safety in mobility. The driving centers annually count 42,000 participants in training and further education in all vehicle categories.
With 32 sites and around 900,000 overnight stays, TCS is also Switzerland's largest camping provider. The TCS Mobility Academy researches and shapes transformations in traffic, such as drone vertical mobility or shared mobility, with 400 electric cargo bikes 'carvelo' and 43,000 users. TCS is a co-signatory of the Roadmap for Electric Mobility 2025.
Note: The "About Us" text is taken from public sources or from the company profile on HELP.ch.
Source: Touring Club Suisse (TCS), Press release
Original article published on: Die Sicherheitsweste LUMI wird Kinder auf dem Schulweg begleiten