In many work environments, safety is a simple matter of awareness. If you can see where hazards are in relation to the people who might be injured by them, then it’s difficult to cause harm without deliberately willing it.
It’s for this reason that visibility is so important in roadworks, construction sites, and other environments where traffic and machinery is coming close to people. This is where hi-vis clothing comes in. But what is hi-vis clothing, and why does it matter so much?
How does hi-vis clothing work?
Hi-vis clothing tends to take advantage of two distinct mechanisms. First, there’s the part of the clothing which fluoresces; then, there’s the part that reflects incoming light.
Fluorescent fabrics absorb incoming ultraviolet light, and glow. This makes them perfect for low-light conditions in the daylight. Even if the day is overcast, the ultraviolet light will find its way into the fabric, and the material will glow as a result. This makes it perfect for cloudy daytime work, and for evenings. Contrary to popular misconception, however, fluorescent materials don’t ‘glow in the dark’, which is why we need an additional element for night-time.
Reflective strips perform a simple function. When light lands on them, they bounce the light back. This light source might be the headlights of a car, or it might be floodlights at a construction site. Reflective materials like this work so effectively because they bounce light straight back to the source, rather than scattering it into the night as any other bright-white material might do.
Sign of Authority
As well as being an effective piece of safety equipment, reflective clothing is also a sign that someone has a right to be somewhere. We tend to associate reflective equipment with official police and ambulance uniforms, and with authorised workers. In fact, many photographers, free-runners and graffiti artists often take advantage of this assumption to find their way into abandoned places without being challenged.
Members of the public, when they’re in search of assistance, will often look for someone wearing reflective clothing. If you’re an employer who wants staff to be recognised and approached, equipping them with reflective PPE is often very sensible.
Road Users
Hi-vis clothing isn’t just useful in work environments. If you’re travelling the roads at night, even if it’s just for fun, then making sure that motorists can see you can often spell the difference between an accident and a near-miss. This is because of the extra reaction time it provides. You’ll even find this advice echoed in the Highway Code.
Consequently, cyclists should wear reflective jackets and helmets. If you’re wearing a backpack while in the saddle, then you might resort to reflective tape; this can be applied to objects and items of clothing to make them visible at night.