Why is High-Visibility Safety Apparel Important?
You’ve seen them while you were driving down the highway … roadway construction workers standing within inches of fast moving traffic. Every day brave police officers, EMTs and firefighters are investigating crimes, caring for patients or putting out blazes, again within inches of motorists.
It’s a tragic story that public safety professionals have heard too many times:
“A 25-year-old Ohio state trooper, was struck and killed in 1985 while placing warning flares at an accident scene. He was trying to let approaching traffic know of the dangers ahead. The accident occurred during a heavy rainstorm and he was worried about everyone else’s safety. Unfortunately, as so often is the case, the person at greatest risk in that situation is the police officer walking unprotected down the busy highway.” (NLEOMF: Line of Duty- Reckless Drivers Run Down Nearly a Thousand Cops)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigators have found in roadway fatalities “that personnel [should] wear personal protective clothing that is suitable to that incident while operating an emergency such as highly visible reflectorized flagger vest (strong yellow-green or orange).”
Ever look for a high-visibility vest or jacket? It can be confusing. You flip through a catalog or log onto the web, and there are a lot of choices under the rubric of “high-vis” apparel. You want to get the best, brightest piece of safety apparel you can; but up until now there wasn’t much guidance.
Because of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and their standards, you can shop with confidence. The next lesson explains just who ANSI is, their charter and mission, and why it’s important to know about them when it comes to high visibility garments. For now, know that apparel undergoes extensive testing done by independent certifiers (not ANSI themselves) to make sure that your item is ANSI compliant. Now it’s a snap to figure out what level of protection you need and select the right vest, jacket, harness, coverall, trousers, etc.
A simple $30-40 ANSI-compliant traffic vest could be the difference between safe visibility and death.
The “Understanding ANSI Standards” Galls University course will give you a quick and thorough understanding of roadside safety and the ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 and ANSI 207-2006 standards for high visibility safety apparel.
When you are finished, you will be able to select the right level of protection for you and your colleagues, know why fluorescent fabric is required, why there are different classes and what they mean, as well as how to increase a Class 2 jacket into a Class 3 ensemble.
Public safety is your lifeblood; make sure that you maintain your own personal safety while aiding others.
Learn even more about ANSI Compliant Apparel. Continue on or click any of the links below to go directly to that topic.
