Summary Statement
Description of ANSI standard for high-visibility clothing, including classes of garments and how to reduce risks
Construction crews along roads and highways are sometimes exposed to the hazards of not being seen by motorists and others. This "low visibility" is dangerous and can be potentially fatal.
Until recently, there were no authoritative guidelines in either Canada or the United States for the design, manufacture, and use of high-visibility clothing. But the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has issued a standard that helps ensure that workers routinely exposed to the hazards of low visibility on the job are more easily seen.
ANSI Standard 107-1999 spells out material performance specifications and provisions for the design and use of high-visibility apparel.
"We are encouraged to see this sort of standard passed," says Brenda Ackerman of 3M's Personal Safety Products Division. "Too many accidents occur on the job because of low visibility."
This is especially true for construction crews working along roads and highways.
The standard defines three classes of garments. It also provides guidelines as to when a garment may be worn according to traffic speeds.
- Class 3 garments
provide the highest level of visibility for workers with high task loads
in a wide range of weather conditions where traffic exceeds 50 mph.
The standard recommends Class 3 garments for all roadway construction
personnel.
- Class 2 garments
are intended for users who need greater visibility in inclement weather
conditions and whose activities occur near roadways where traffic speeds
exceed 25 mph.
- Class 1 garments are for users who have ample separation from vehicular traffic that does not exceed 25 mph and where the background is not complex.
- uses certified
materials
- meets the design
guidelines for a particular garment class
- labels garment according to ANSI Standard 107-1999.
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