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, 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 high visibility vest can literally save your life.

In an effort to reduce the number of accidents, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has established standards, ANSI/ISEA 107-2004, for high visibility vests and other high visibility clothing. Such high visibility clothing is available in many forms, the most common being the safety vest, also sometimes known as a traffic vest or construction vest, but also includes reflective jackets, reflective sweatshirts and reflective T-shirts. However, many types of hi viz clothing meeting the ANSI reflectivity requirements are available, depending on the working conditions and the climate. For cold or rainy conditions, an ANSI jacket or reflective sweatshirt might be needed. For warmer conditions, reflective T-shirts may be more appropriate. To assure that ANSI clothing is visible both in the bright sun as well as at night, the standard sets the amount of reflective material the garment must have. Hi viz clothing is intended to make the wearer more visible, whether worn during the day or at night. High visibility clothing complying with the ANSI standards has 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 ANSI approved reflective clothing such as an ANSI jacket or traffic vest, and possibly additional high visibility safety apparel. Workers who would be required to wear hi viz clothing include but are not limited to: surveyors, equipment and truck drivers, construction and maintenance crews, inspectors, flaggers.

The ANSI standard has established three classes for high visibility clothing:

CLASS 1 A traffic vest in this category is for use where occupational activities: permit full and undivided attention to approaching traffic; provide ample separation between the pedestrian worker and vehicle traffic; permit optimum visibility in backgrounds that are not complex, and where; vehicle and moving equipment speeds do not exceed 25 mph.

Examples of workers who could use a Class 1 traffic vest may include: workers retrieving shopping carts from parking areas; workers directing vehicle operators to parking or service locations; workers exposed to warehouse equipment traffic.

CLASS 2 ANSI vests in this category are for use where: greater visibility is desired during bad weather; there are complicated backgrounds; workers are performing tasks that draw their attention away from approaching vehicle traffic; vehicle or moving equipment speeds exceed 25 mph; work activities take place closer to vehicle traffic. Construction vests and reflective jackets are often Class 2.

Examples of workers who could use Class 2 traffic vest or construction vest may include: roadway construction workers; utility workers; survey crews; school crossing guards; railway workers; forestry workers; parking or toll gate workers; airport baggage & ground crew.

CLASS 3 Class 3 traffic vests are for use where: workers are exposed to high vehicle speeds and/or reduced sight distances; the worker and vehicle operator have high task loads, clearly placing the worker in danger; the worker must be visible through the full range of body motions at a minimum of 390 meters (1,280 feet) and must be identifiable as a person. Construction vests and reflective jackets are often also Class 3 vests.

Examples of workers who could use Class 3 traffic vest or reflective jacket include: roadway construction workers; utility workers; survey crews; flagging crews.