Safety Vests Tips

Basic Categories of Safety Vests

There are three basic classes of visibility safety vests depending on the environment in which they work.

• Class 1 – used in low traffic areas by off road maintenance workers and parking lot attendants – these don't need American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval.
• Class 2 – designed for use where speeds are 25 mph or less, these ANSI safety vests are often used by crossing guards and traffic control officers.
• Class 3 – also needing ANSI approval, these traffic safety vests are normally used by highway construction workers in environments where speeds regularly exceed 50 mph.

• Lighted safety vest – both reflective for high visibility but also including a light source to increase visibility and assist job performance.
• Water related safety – from providing high visibility during water activities to professional quality vests that may include life saving capabilities.
• Rainwear – normal visibility drops during rain so using highway safety vests designed for high visibility in rainy conditions are available.
• Construction safety vest – provides high visibility on larger construction sites, particularly when heavy machinery is employed.
• Safety harness vest – varieties of this product are used in air and sea operations along with different types of construction operations.

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Construction Safety Vests For Flaggers

At the construction site, the visibility of flaggers is key to their safety. Construction safety vests are not only ideal, but can fulfill a requirement from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). According to OSHA, garments for flaggers can be a variety of fluorescent colors, including orange, yellow or yellow green. These garments can be construction safety vests, shirts or jackets. Flaggers working at night should wear construction safety vests or comparable garments with a retro reflective material. The retro reflective material can be numerous colors, including orange, yellow, white, or a fluorescent color. OSHA requires that the reflective material be visible to a distance of 1,000 feet away.

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Standards for Safety Vests Used During the Day Versus Those Used at Night

The standards for construction safety vests differ somewhat depending on whether they are to be used during daylight or nighttime hours. The prime criterion is that visibility during nighttime hours should equal that of traffic safety vests during the daytime. This goal is accomplished in one or more of the following ways.

• Totally reflective safety vests – using highly reflective material on both the vest itself and all horizontal, vertical, or angular stripes sewn into the vest - the material is bright during the day and, in the evening, when headlights or work lights are on, all material becomes reflective.
• Highly reflective stripes or designs on the vest – using this method, even white and silver can be added to the usual orange, yellow, and lime green as acceptable colors – the vest is made of high color material for daytime visibility but the stripes are made of mirror-like material that shines at night when exposed to a light source.
• Lighted safety vests – infusing a light source in the vest that makes the stripes or entire vest glow when faced with a light at night, these safety vests are highly visible in the dark.

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Valuable Variations on the Classic Safety Vest

Depending on your job duties and working conditions, there are some enhancements available for construction safety vests. From a variety of styles to more or less visibility, you might find one or more of the following helpful to you in your workplace.

• Safety vest with pockets – particularly useful if you are a surveyor, use walkie-talkie communications, or performing a job requiring you to keep small objects or tools close at hand.
• Expandable safety vest – if you work in a climate that is cold in winter yet quite warm in summer, this vest expands when you're required to wear heavy outer clothing and contracts for lightweight summer work wear.
• Tear away safety vest – if your workday involves being on site, then off site, then on site again, a tear away vest might help you save time and aggravation.
• Flame retardant vest – should you work in a situation that poses a potential fire danger, you are safer with one of these.
• Lighted safety vest – gives you higher visibility for dusk and night work, the light emitters make you glow in the dark.

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Traffic Safety Vests

One version of the reflective safety vest is the surveyor's vest. These traffic safety vests commonly have a zippered front closure and may be available in a solid material, such as cotton or a mesh fabric. Higher traffic areas call for class 2 or class 3 versions of the traffic safety vests. Class 2 and class 3 traffic safety vests are suitable for high traffic areas where speeds exceed 55 miles per hour. Class 2 and Class 3 safety vests must meet minimum standards for square inches of material, so extras, like outside pockets, are sometimes not an option. Class 3 traffic safety vests carry more square inches of material than Class 2 vests. However, you can still get away with imprinting logos on most Class 2 and Class 3 vests.

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Safety Vests for Women

Unlike many other items of personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety apparel, there are few choices of reflective safety vests designed expressly for women. Because of the nature of a traffic safety vest, a non-fitted item that simply fits over one's clothing, manufacturers believe there is little need to tailor ANSI safety vests to different genders.

Women still need not look foolish nor be uncomfortable while wearing a safety vest. They can be purchased in different sizes (S, M, L, etc.). Therefore, even if she is surrounded by a group of co-workers that could easily suit up for a professional football team and, at least, look the part, a female worker, wearing a small or medium sized safety vest can still be comfortable and effective.

With all the choices available, expandable for cold weather, mesh material for warm conditions, short sleeves or no sleeves, etc., a woman can wear the most effective reflective safety vests available and still look professional at her jobsite.

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OSHA and ANSI Involvement in Safety Vest Standards

Both Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) publish standards based on minimum protection levels for reflective safety vests. When discussing OSHA and ANSI standards for workplace safety and personal protective equipment (PPE), it should be noted that ANSI does not directly set standards and OSHA normally uses ANSI data. They approve a variety of independent testing sources to perform laboratory and real world evaluations of items and practices. The data collected and the results they derive are analyzed by ANSI and standards are then published.

OSHA, on the other hand, also analyzes volumes of data regarding workplace safety and PPE. However, in the protective equipment area, OSHA most often takes ANSI standards and uses them as their own. For instance, ANSI safety vests, approved because a high visibility safety vest meets both reflective and observed visibility minimums, will also be OSHA safety vests. This leaves OSHA to both recommend PPE standards and integrate how they should be used to promote worksite safety and accident avoidance.

For example, ANSI recommends that traffic safety vests be orange, yellow, or lime green as their base colors. If their standards are clear, concise, and understandable, OSHA will normally adopt this position as its own. If, however, ANSI stated that “green safety vests” were acceptable, OSHA might work with ANSI to clarify their position and change this to “lime green” or “yellow green” to avoid a company from making errors or a worker from using a hunter green (dark) vest, which has low visibility.

Another example are traffic “flaggers”, which OSHA decided should be primarily clothed in red or orange only, to help drivers quickly recognize they may have to slow or stop because of highway activity. Had ANSI not addressed this issue, OSHA would work with them to coordinate their standards to eliminate confusion and increase worker safety. Be aware that some confusion can still exist. In this case, the U.S. Department of Transportation recommendations state that a flagger's vest, shirt, or jacket should be orange, yellow, or lime/yellow green.

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Blue Safety Vests

While orange, yellow, and lime green (or yellow-green) are the standard colors for traffic safety vests, blue safety vests are used for a very important, specific purpose. Blue safety vests are worn be emergency response personnel. The royal blue color quickly differentiates medical and paramedical personnel from other individuals at the scene of a traffic accident, fire, or other emergency.

Often, you will see words imprinted on the horizontal reflective stripes of a blue safety vest. It may simply state “EMS” or “EMT” to further identify the wearer as an emergency medical professional. At times, you might see a title emblazoned on the horizontal stripe, such as “incident commander,” “triage director,” or similar words. If an emergency that involves many injuries has occurred, it can not only be helpful, but may save lives if the professional in charge of triage (determining the extent of injuries so the order in which patients should be treated makes sense) can be identified quickly.

Even if no titles are displayed, should you find yourself at the scene of an emergency that involves personal injuries, look for the people wearing royal blue safety vests if you need medical assistance or are aware of another who is in need. It could save your life or theirs.

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Reflective Safety Vests

For nighttime protection, you have options when it comes to selecting reflective safety vests. Reflective safety vests are available in an array of colors. Orange and lime are the most common choices. Reflective safety vests come available with a single, double, or chevron striped pattern. Silver and fluorescent colored stripes are widely used. One version of the reflective safety vest features a convenient front Velcro closure and elasticized side straps which make it easy to take on or off. The chevron safety vest comes with a wrap around Velcro belt for closure. Vests often come in a vinyl polyester material with or without PVC coating. The reflective stripe often varies from 1” to 1-1/2 “ wide.

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