Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Safety Vests Styles And Variations

By Marla Mills


There are many situations in which individuals may be in danger because of not being very visible. There are also circumstances under which people in certain positions need to be quickly distinguished from the crowd. For these times, and others like them, safety vests may offer an additional level of protection by bringing attention to those who wear them.

Garments of this type are done in fluorescent colors in order to draw attention to an individual who may otherwise be difficult to notice. While orange is the most common hue, some of the others are used to denote certain job positions and make them easier to recognize. Though there are many styles, they will usually fall under one of four basic categories.

The Class 2 is perhaps the most widely used and is available in fluorescent lime, yellow and orange. Worn over the shirt or uniform, they are usually marked with the name of which department or company using them for easier recognition. Their primary purpose is for situations that low visibility and high traffic traveling under 50mph, often in inclement weather.

They are the standard issue under many circumstances that involve the police, utility workers, emergency response teams and construction units. There are varied styles of the Class 2 including mesh, adjustable, flame retardant and illuminated. Having variation allows them more flexibility to fit the different situations for which they are used.

Class 3 designs are made to bring a higher level of visibility to individuals through style and reflective qualities. Made to wear like front closure shirts, these are full models with lengths of full, short or half armed sleeves. These serve best when weather and other circumstances bring visibility to near zero and times involving heavy traffic at speeds that exceed 50mph.

Another type is that which is used for public safety, usually being worn by the police, firefighters, paramedics and DOT personnel during emergency response situations. To make it quicker and easier to identify which department each person is working for, they are assigned specific colors. Law enforcement takes blue, Medical wears green, fire has red and transportation gets orange.

Economy class models are the simplest in design and the easiest to get hold of, often used for special events. They can be purchased in multiple fluorescent colors, left plain or marked with generic terms like "security" and "staff", then passed out to individuals who are directing traffic, maintaining control, taking tickets or even providing assistance. This is also a popular night time and bad weather choice for motorcyclist to increase their visibility.

Almost all styles of safety vests are available in different bright colors and designs that can help give definition during some situations. They may be of a solid material to provide more reflective surface, or of a mesh so that there is better ventilation and lightweight comfort. Some of them have pockets which allow the stowing of tools, pencils or other necessary job accessories and others are made to easily break away at multiple points should they become hung up on a snag.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment