Hi Visibility Clothing

Hi Visibility Clothing

Fall and winter are on the way, and with that comes shorter hours of day light. Workers should keep in mind the shorter daylight hours and make themselves more visible to traffic by wearing hi visibility clothing. 

Hi vis clothing can be as simple as wearing a safety vest.  However, if the weather is cold or rainy you might want to wear something like a high visibility jacket or hi vis rain gear.  The important thing is to remember to be safe by increasing your visibility,- especially in the dark or rain. Also, keep in mind that wearing a pair of hi vis safety pants is an easy way to achieve Class 3 for your safety clothing. Simply by wearing a pair of Class E hi vis safety pants along with  a Class 2 or Class 3 vest, jacket or shirt, that you actually achieve a Class 3 rating for the intire outfit.  Be seen and be safe.

Be Seen and Be Safe

Wearing a Reflective Safety or Reflective Rain Gear Make Safety Sense

Be seen and be safe.  Everyone who works near moving traffic knows how important it is to be seen.  Construction workers, flaggers, equipment operators, etc., are all at risk of blending into their backgrounds and not being seen by motorists.  Wearing a high visibility safety vest or other reflective clothing is one of the best ways to increase worker visibility and can literally save your life.  The sooner a worker is seen, the more time the motorist has to avoid the accident. 

In an effort to reduce the number of accidents, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has established standards, ANSI/ISEA 107-2010, for high visibility vests and other high visibility clothing.  The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has ruled that all workers who are within the public right of way of a Federal Aid highway must wear ANSI 207-2010 Class 2 or Class 3 clothing. 

Such high visibility clothing is available in many forms, the most common being the reflective safety vest, also sometimes known as a traffic vest or construction vest.  

Additionally, in the reduced visibility of rain or fog, reflective clothing is even more crucial.  If you’re working in bad weather, reflective rain gear should be worn to increase your visibility.  ANSI approved rain jackets have a weatherproof outer shell to repel water, and a breathable inner layer to keep you dry and comfortable.  Along with the rain jacket you can wear reflective rain pants that usually have pockets.

An ANSI Class 2 or Class 3 reflective safety vest or reflective raingear will help you to be seen and be safe.  

Public Service Safety Vests - ANSI 207-2006

Public service safety vests, also known as ANSI 207-2006 vests, are high visibility vests, intended for law enforcement, fire and emergency responders.  The vests are designed to meet the visibility standards of ANSI 207-2006.  Typically worn by police, fire fighters and emergency medical services (EMS) personell, ANSI 207-2006 vests are designed to protect first responders from roadside traffic, by making them more visible even in inclement weather or at night. 

In addition to the added visiblility, a public service safety vest has the added feature of being a "breakaway" vest, meaning that the front, back and sides of the vest are attached with velcro, making it easy to tear off should the vest get caught on an object. Public service vests are also shorter in length than a regular safety vest, and have cut-out sides for police weapons or EMS equipment.  

A great selection of public safety vests, as well as other ANSI reflective vests can be found at http://www.mysafetywear.com/.

Preventing Worker Injury and Deaths from Traffic Accidents

The statistics are starting. It is estimated that, nationally,  over 1000 highway workers lose their lives annually as a result of work zone accidents caused by negligent drivers. Construction flagmen, crossing guards in school zones and at the beach, and emergency responders — who stand near or in traffic to protect others and build our roads - are at constant risk of death or injury.  

Workers who work near moving traffic are at high risk of injury and death from traffic related motor vehicle accidents. 

One way to reduce the risk of death or injury is for workers to be more visible to oncoming traffic by wearing a reflective safety vest or other high visibility clothing.   High visibility clothing includes reflective T-shirts, sweatshirts and winter coats and raincoats, as well as safety vests.  Safety vests can be worn all year round, and are available as an "expandable vest,"  that can be worn over top of a coat, for example, and then adjusted to a smaller size when needed.

Construction Vehicle Accidents

Construction vehicles can cause severe injury when involved in an accident on a worksite.  Because of their size and the weight of the loads they carry, workers can be severely injured or killed if an accident occurs.  To help prevent such accidents, workers on a construction site need to be visible to the drivers of construction equipment, particularly in bad weather or low light conditions. To increase worker visibility, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) has established standards for reflective safety vests and other reflective clothing worn by workers when in the vicinity of moving construction equipment or other vehicular traffic.   

With warm weather fast approaching, a reflective safety vest, sweatshirt or T-shirt should be worn to increase worker visibility.  For increased comfort in warm weather, ANSI reflective vests come in an open weave mesh fabric, as well as solid fabric, and come in a variety of styles and with a variety of features, such as pockets for pencils or cell phones, as well as zipper or Velcro fronts.

SAFETY VESTS – For Your Own Safety, Wear A Construction Vest

It doesn’t often make the news, but each year scores of men and women are injured or killed while working on or near roadways.   Construction workers, equipment operators, law enforcement personnel and first responders such as fire fighters and EMS workers are all at risk of blending into their backgrounds and not being seen by motorists.  Wearing a safety vest, also known as a traffic vest or a construction vest, can literally save your life, by offering extra visibility to oncoming traffic or equipment,- while still allowing a full range of motion.  The added visibility provided by a traffic vest makes it an essential piece of protective gear you don’t want to be without. 

In an effort to reduce the number of accidents, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has established standards, ANSI/ISEA 107-2004, for reflective safety vests and other high visibility clothing.  These standards divide reflective clothing into three classifications: Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3.  Each classification is distinguished by the required number of square inches of reflective material.  To assure that traffic vests or other items of reflective clothing are visible both in the bright sun as well as at night, the standard sets the amount of reflective material the garment must have. A construction vest is intended to make the wearer more visible, whether worn during the day or at night.  Construction vests complying with these standards have quickly become accepted throughout industry as an effective way to protect workers by increasing their visibility. Workers who are  within the right-of-way of a Federal-aid highway who are exposed to either traffic or to construction equipment within the work area are required to wear reflective vests, and possibly additional high visibility safety apparel.  Workers who would be required to wear a traffic vest or reflective jacket include but are not limited to:  surveyors, equipment and truck drivers, construction and maintenance crews, inspectors, flaggers.

Reflective safety clothing is available to meet the various requirements of differing work and weather conditions, and includes safety vests, light weight summer T-shirts, sweatshirts and, for cold or wet weather, reflective jackets, reflective coats and reflective raincoats,- all available as either ANSI Class 2 or Class 3.  

Additionally, Construction vests are available in either a lightweight, open weave, polyester mesh fabric or in solid polyester fabric.  The open weave mesh fabric is recommended for use in warmer climates.  Construction vests are also available with either a zipper or Velcro front closure.  Several varieties of surveyor’s vests with up to twelve pockets are available from most manufacturers.

SAFETY VESTS – For Your Own Safety, Wear An ANSI Safety Vest

It doesn’t often make the news, but each year scores of men and women are injured or killed while working on or near roadways.   Construction workers, equipment operators, law enforcement personnel and first responders such as fire fighters and EMS workers are all at risk of blending into their backgrounds and not being seen by motorists.  Wearing an ANSI safety vest can literally save your life by offering extra visibility to oncoming traffic or equipment, while still allowing a full range of motion.  The added visibility provided by an ANSI vest makes it an essential piece of protective gear you don’t want to be without. 

In an effort to reduce the number of accidents, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has established standards, ANSI/ISEA 107-2004, for reflective safety vests and other high visibility clothing.  These standards divide reflective clothing into three classifications: Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3.  Each classification is distinguished by the required number of square inches of reflective material.  To assure that ANSI safety vests or other items of reflective clothing are visible both in the bright sun as well as at night, the standard sets the amount of reflective material the garment must have. An ANSI safety vest is intended to make the wearer more visible, whether worn during the day or at night.  ANSI safety vests complying with these standards have quickly become accepted throughout industry as an effective way to protect workers by increasing their visibility. Workers who are  within the right-of-way of a Federal-aid highway who are exposed to either traffic, or to construction equipment within the work area are required to wear a reflective safety vest, and possibly additional high visibility safety apparel.  Workers who would be required to wear an ANSI safety vest include but are not limited to:  surveyors, equipment and truck drivers, construction and maintenance crews, inspectors, flaggers.

Reflective safety clothing is available to meet the various requirements of differing work and weather conditions, and includes safety vests, light weight summer T-shirts, sweatshirts, reflective jackets and coats, reflective raincoats,- all available as either ANSI Class 2 or Class 3. 

Additionally, ANSI safety vests are available in either a lightweight, open weave, polyester mesh fabric or in solid polyester fabric.  The open weave mesh fabric is recommended for use in warmer climates.  Also, ANSI reflective safety vests are available with either a zipper or Velcro front closure.  Several varieties of surveyor’s vests with up to twelve pockets are available from most manufacturers.