High-visibility clothing, a type of personal protective equipment, is any
clothing worn that has highly reflective properties or a color that is easily
discernible from any background. Yellow jackets worn by emergency services are a
common example. Occupational wearers of clothing with high-visibility features
include railroad and highway workers, airport workers, or other places where
workers are near moving vehicles or in dark areas. Some cyclists wear
high-visibility clothing when riding amongs motor vehicles. Hunters may be
required to wear designated high-visibility clothing to prevent
accidental shooting. Application for rail workers in the
United Kingdom Experimental use of high-visibility
clothing began in 1964 on the Scottish Region of British Railways. Fluorescent
orange jackets, known as "fire-flies", were issued to track workers on the
Pollokshields to Eglinton Street electrified section in Glasgow; they
were later tried in other areas, such as Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. Train
drivers operating in these areas were asked their opinion as to the
effectiveness of the jackets. Following trials, high-visibility clothing was
issued to engineering and other staff working on the electrified lines of BR's
London Midland Region in 1965. It was thought to be more important due to the
higher speeds of the newly electrified WCML route from Euston to Manchester,
Liverpool and Birmingham. The first version was worn as a jerkin and was
"visible at ... half a mile in normal weather conditions."
Since then, features of high-visibility clothing such as the EN510 quick release
standard and the EN471 high visibility standard, have improved the
effectiveness and contributed to improved safety for rail workers. The
specifications for high visibility clothing suitable for use on railways in
the United Kingdom are published by the Rail Safety and Standards Board.
Effectiveness = Motorcyclists =
The Hurt Report found that very few motorcyclists involved in collisions
wore high-visibility clothing, and that just over half of the collisions
studied, nearly two-thirds of those involving another vehicle, were due to
the motorist unintentionally violating the motorcyclist's right of way. "This
dominant culpability of the driver of the other vehicle... emphasizes the
special need for high contrast conspicuity for the motorcycle and
rider." A New Zealand case-control study found
that, if their odds ratios were unconfounded, the population
attributable risks were 33% for wearing no reflective or fluorescent clothing;
one third of motorbike accidents might have been prevented by wearing
high-visibility clothing. = Cyclists =
Traffic risks to the cyclist are similar to those faced by motorcyclists, with
the main differences being that bicycling speeds are typically lower,
and the bicyclist wears less protective gear. In a 2009 study, Most UK cyclists
and almost all motorists believed that high-visibility clothing would increase
cyclists' visibility. Almost all drivers agreed that cyclists need to wear
reflective clothing in low lighting environments, whereas less than
three-quarters of cyclists agreed, and less than half claimed that they always
did so. A Cochrane Systematic Review of research
evidence for the effectiveness of visibility aids was carried out by Kwan
and Mapstone in 2006. The authors found 42 studies which collectively suggested
that fluorescent clothing could increase the distance at which drivers could
detect and then recognise, cyclists in daylight conditions. The same review
found evidence that retro-reflective materials worn by cyclists at night had
a similar effect on driver perceptions. At that time there were no studies
published that had actually demonstrated an association with reduced collision
crashes for bicyclists wearing fluorescent or retroreflective
visibility aids whilst on public roads. A 2009 Australian study of drivers
trying to see stationary cyclists on a closed circuit found that fluorescent
vests were not a significant improvement on black clothing at night, and that
retro-reflective strips were more effective when attached to knees and
ankles than on a more or less static jacket.
A 2012 British case-control study showed a non-significant increase in the odds
of a crash for users of reflective conspicuity aids whilst cycling.
In 2014, a further case-control study conducted in Canada reported a decrease
in the odds of a collision with a motor vehicle when wearing 'light' colored
clothing in daylight but an increase in the odds of a collision for cyclists
using fluorescent clothing at night. The number of conspicuity aids used was
positively associated with an increase in collision crash odds but a
non-significant reduction in the likelihood of hospitalization. These
results show a large safety effect in simulated or experimental conditions but
little if any benefit of conspicuity aids use in observations of actual
utility cyclists. This apparent contradiction may arise because of a
form of risk compensation. Cyclists using conspicuity aids might be
overestimating the level of protection conspicuity aids actually confer when
used whilst cycling in traffic. Since April 2013, New York City
regulations require commercial cyclists, such as restaurant delivery persons or
bike messengers, to wear high visibility clothing while riding.
Standards Various ISO member bodies have published
similar standards for high-visibility clothing to be worn as personal
protective equipment. = ANSI/ISEA =
The American National Standards Institute published standard 107 for
high-visibility clothing in 1999. The standard defines three classes of
successively more-visible garments, to protect workers exposed to successively
higher levels of risk from motor vehicles and heavy equipment. The
International Safety Equipment Association developed the standard, with
revisions in 2004 and 2010. The standard specifies three classes of
activities and the minimum quantity of fluorescent and retroreflective material
to be worn in each class. In Class 1 activities there is a relatively low
hazard from slow-moving vehicles, for example, in a parking lot. Garments must
have retroreflective strips 1 inch wide and a minimum of 217 square inches of
fluorescent material. Class 2 activities take place in proximity to vehicles
moving up to 25 miles per hour, for example, railway workers or school
crossing guards. The standard requires reflective bands of greater width and
755 square inches of conspicuously colored fabric. Class 3 activities take
place near traffic moving faster than 25 miles per hour, for example, highway
construction. The standard requires at least 1240 square inches of fluorescent
fabric, and two-inch retrorefector bands. Only very large vests have enough
area to meet this standard, so full sleeves may be required. A further class
of garment is Class E high visibility pants, which, in conjunction with a
Class 2 or Class 3 vest, are recommended by the standard for Class 3 activities.
In 2006, ANSI released American National Standard for High-Visibility Public
Safety Vests standard 207, in response to issues raised by public safety
officials with respect to the ANSI 107 vest design. Their concerns were both
tactical and influenced by a need to differentiate between law
enforcement/emergency personnel and the vests worn by construction workers. For
example, red material identifies fire fighters, and blue is used for police.
The 207 standard has different requirements for fluorescent background
material, specifically allowing for a shorter design that allows equipment
belt access. It also includes many optional features, such as a 5-point
breakaway design for easy removal, panels readily identifying the wearer as
an emergency responder, and radio and badge pockets/holders.
= EN 471:2003 = EN 471 is a European Standard for
high-visibility clothing. It specifies three classes of garments:
Class 1 Class 1 defines the lowest visibility
level e.g. High-visibility trousers with two 5 cm reflective bands around each
leg. These become Class 3 when worn with a Class 3 jacket.
Class 2 The class 2 defines an intermediary
visibility level. Example: vests. Two 5 cm bands of reflective around body or on
one 5 cm band around body and braces to both shoulders..
Class 3 The class 3 defines the highest level of
visibility. Example jacket with long sleeves, jacket and trouser suit. Two 5
cm bands of reflective tape around the body, arms and braces over both
shoulders. Class 3 should be worn when working within 1.2 meters of a Highway
with traffic moving in excess of 50 km/h.
= 89EEC = A European Union directive which covers
high-visibility clothing. = EN ISO 20471:2013 =
Specifies requirements for high visibility clothing which is capable of
visually signalling the user's presence. The high visibility clothing is intended
to provide conspicuity of the wearer in any light condition when viewed by
operators of vehicles or other mechanized equipment during daylight
conditions and under illumination of headlights in the dark. Performance
requirements are included for color and retroreflection as well as for the
minimum areas and for the placement of the materials in protective clothing.
= North American hunting regulations = Hunting laws in each state or province
may require hunters to wear designated garments in blaze orange to prevent
misidentification of humans as game animals, and resulting shooting
accidents. The require total visible area and times of use vary by
jurisdiction and by the type of hunting in the area. Hunting clothes are
available in blaze orange camouflage, where the bright orange color is plainly
visible to human eyes, but the shape of the hunter is broken up by irregular
patterns to prevent identification as a threat by game animals such as deer, who
cannot see the color. Gallery
High-visibility clothing examples See also
Chartreuse yellow Display - high-visibility in nature
Safety orange Retroglo
Retroreflector Retroreflective sheeting
References External links
Towards bottom of page information on track workers, and hgh-visibility gear
is detailed. Working on creating a safer standard for
high-visibility clothing.