Posts tagged vests
ANSI VESTS
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Basic Traffic Safety Vest: Circa late 1990s
When I started in the safety business more than a decade ago, there weren’t nearly as many options for high visibility clothing as there are today.
Not that long ago, low cost safety vests were the norm… standard traffic vests that all looked pretty much the same. Sure, you could choose DOT reflective tape on occasion, or between a zipper or hook-and-loop front closure, but if you wanted to look good and feel comfortable in your traffic vest, you were out of luck.
Fast forward to 2012. That stiff polyester mesh piece of safety gear that was the norm years ago has been replaced by a whole lot of options when it comes to reflective clothing, and the options abound in both ANSI Class 2 and ANSI Class 3 safety wear.
We’ve seen the production of surveyors vests with more pockets than a pool hall. Safety vests with storage backpacks built right in. Breathable micromesh can be used instead of that stiff old polyester, which means that the safety vest no longer has to be the hi vis clothing equivalent of a medieval torture device.
Outdoor workers have also benefited greatly from the increase of the safety shirt. Why would you wear a hi vis vest, if a a reflective T shirt is an option? You wouldn’t. Myriad styles of ANSI shirts have been developed with the sole purpose of keeping workers visible and comfortable. Micromesh or bird’s eye polyester material is extremely breathable, and when combined with 3M Scotchlite segmented Comfort Tape, it’s one comfortable hi vis work shirt.
We’ve seen amazing progress in the reflective clothing market. What’ll happen in the next 10 years? Maybe they’ll find a way for cotton to hold its fluorescent color. Or maybe robots will be doing all of the road work.
X on back Safety Vests
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An X on the back shows that a worker's back is turned.
We’ve seen a fair share of workers opt for X on the back safety vests latetly. The X back safety vest isn’t just for Canadians or for railroad worker visibility.
It’s being used by everyone, and with good reason. The X pattern lets co-workers and oncoming traffic know when a worker’s back is turned. It’s a quick way to recognize when a road worker or railroad worker is turned the other way.
The level of visibility on an X back safety vest is even greater when it’s made with contrasting reflective tape like on the vest shown below. It’s hard to be missed when wearing a traffic safety vest like this one.
We’re all about safety at eSafetyStore (hence the name), and wearing an a vest with an X on the back just seems to make sense. Anything that the worker can do to make themselves more visible is a plus in our book. So, the next time you’re buying safety vests, consider one with X pattern on the back. It’s worth it.