Tagged with 'high-visibility vest'

It's that time of year again where the temperatures have dropped and it's time to bundle up for work. The colder weather means you'll need extra gear to keep warm but there's a fine line - our bodies heat up easily after a few minutes of vigorous physical activity. So how are you supposed to keep a comfortable temperature in the winter and remain visible enough to meet OSHA regulations? With the Work King 5-in-1 Safety Jacket.

What is It?

The 5-in-1 Safety Jacket by Work King is a highly innovative, high visibility safety jacket. Unlike a traditional safety vest or hi-vis bomber jacket, it has the ability to transform into 5 different garments. From a complete hi-vis jacket with a hood to a sleeveless ANSI Class 3 vest, the 5-in-1 jacket is highly versatile and allows to to maintain the perfect balance of warmth depending on your level of activity and the changing temperatures.

How Does it Work?

It's easy to use. The removable hood and sleeves make it a cinch to change from a full-blown winter safety jacket to a vest within seconds. It's also reversible - simply turn the jacket inside out for those times when you want to utilize it as a solid black jacket if there's no need for high visibility. It can be used as a hooded jacket, non-hooded jacket, sleeveless vest, non-ansi jacket or a non-ansi vest - if that's not flexibility, we're not sure what is!

What's it Made Of?

Work King delivers high quality garments that are built for winter weather and the 5-in-1 jacket is no exception to the rule. The jacket, lining and insulator are made from 100% polyester with a polyurethane coated inner & outer shell.

What Does it Feature?

Aside from the awesome ability to be worn in a variety of ways, this jacket has a few other features worth talking about. It's ANSI 107 Class 3, Level 2 Compliant and CSA Z96 Class 2, Level 2 Compliant. The reflective striping utilizes an X-Back design to provide the best visibility possible and keep you safe during dark or low-light conditions. Dual microphone clips make hands-free communication a breeze. Sizeable dual outer pockets (on both sides) and an ID pocket with hook & loop fasteners provide convenience and adequate storage space for gloves, phones and more. The jacket is available in orange/black or lime/black in sizes S - 5XL.

Where Can I get One?

The 5-in-1 Safety jacket is available at HiVis Supply for just $144.00 right now. For your shot at a FREE one, visit our HiVis Giveaway on Facebook where we'll be giving one away (with a couple bonus items) at the end of November.

Australia - New Honda road bike customers receive high visibility vest

Honda have long been advocates for motorcycle safety and are now giving away branded, high visibility vests with every new Honda motorcycle in an effort to address visibility issues all motorcyclists have to contend with.

The high quality design also offers a front zip closure as opposed to a standard velcro closure, with Honda logos on both front and back.

The vest is packaged in a Honda printed pouch with a recommended retail value of around $25.

“We have been considering for some time the most practical way that we can help riders to be safer on the road,” said Honda Australia’s General Manager, Motorcyles, Tony Hinton.

“Visibility is often noted as a factor in crashes involving cars and motorcyclists, and this is an area where we can encourage riders to do as much as possible to be seen, day or night.”

“We are seeing more and more riders wearing high vis clothing and vests, and felt that it would be an excellent value add item for anyone purchasing one of our motorcycles.”

Any customer who purchases a road registerable motorcycle across the Honda range from any dealer nationally will receive a vest.

Spanish prostitutes wear yellow bibs to avoid police fines

Roadside prostitutes working on a roundabout outside the Spanish city of Lleida have begun wearing yellow reflective bibs to avoid fines from police.

The prostitutes have donned the high visibility vests, similar to those worn by road workers or drivers whose cars have broken down, to save themselves the €40 (£36) fines.

Police said they were not trying to get rid of the prostitutes, but were simply including them in a push to enforce use of the fluorescent bibs, which must be worn by anyone walking down a rural highway.

A police spokesman said: "In the past couple of months the prostitutes have been fined for two reasons: for not wearing the reflective jacket and for creating danger on the public highway."

Police say they have no other reason for fining the prostitutes, whose chosen spot on a roundabout of the LL-11 road falls just outside the municipal boundaries of Lleida – which recently banned street prostitution.

The move comes amid a wider debate over prostitution in Spain, where it thrives in a context that is part legal and part illegal. Scantily-clad sex workers can be seen on roads outside many cities, although only those in Lleida are believed to wear reflective jackets.

Construction workers and emergency services personnel, along with cyclists and joggers most commonly wear high-visibility clothing. You can find high-visibility clothing in most stores and catalogs that sell work wear or bicycle equipment. Such hi-vis apparel enables people to see the wearer in poor lighting conditions or while on the job, to prevent accidents. One of the most traditional forms of this product, a fluorescent orange or yellow vest with reflective stripes, makes the wearer stand out at night.

ANSI Class 3 Lightweight Waterproof Rain Jackets

In the 1930's, 3M realized that spherical beads that made the silver screen silver could create a reflective strip of paint, and then tape. In 1968, brothers Hugh and Bill Rowland at the Reflexite company began processing reflective sheeting using small cube-cornered prisms, instead of spheres. Both shapes remain in use to this day.

The fluorescent color makes the wearer visible during the day, while the reflective strips make it more likely the motorists will see him at night, increasing his safety. A 2004 paper in the British Medical Journal showed that motorcyclists were 37% less likely to be in an accident when wearing fluorescent and reflective clothing. And, according to high-visibility vest seller ICU-UCMe, nighttime motorists see a vest wearer approximately three seconds earlier than they see someone not wearing a vest. Emergency services personnel wear high-visibility clothes to be clearly seen in dark or smoky conditions.

High-visibility clothing comes in three classes, determined by the American National Standards Institute and International Safety Equipment Association (ANSI/ISEA). Class I garments, typically worn by parking lot attendants, attract motorists' attention, while Class II garments meet higher visibility needs, with employers typically providing them for people such as airport baggage handlers. Class III, the most effective type, ranks as the highest visibility clothing, often used by emergency services.

This article came from Effectiveness of High Visibility Clothing by Ishbel Macleod, eHow Contributor updated: July 06, 2010