Road Safety & Hi-Visibility Workwear
Road safety and high-visibility workwear sound like common sense when put together, but such a belief that wasn’t always the case. Only recently has wearing hi-viz apparel become an OSHA/FHWA regulation.
On average, 5,891,000 auto accidents occur every year in the United States. Of that number, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration has indicated that 21% of those accidents were caused by hazardous weather and poor visibility—that’s roughly more than one-million accidents. Poor weather conditions, such as rain and fog, can reduce the line of visibility by up to a mile. According to that same study, fog alone is known to be the cause of at least 3% of U.S. deaths—that’s roughly 30,000 deaths per year. When you pair these threats with phones and other common distractions, the need for road safety and high-visibility workwear becomes apparent.
Hi-viz apparel gives first responders and motorists a cost-effective way to contribute in the avoidance of unnecessary road accidents. But it’s not just these parties that could benefit or face a high fatality rate. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), “From 2008-2017, pedestrian fatalities increased by 35%.” Moreover, according to the same study, a large number of those deaths took place on local roads. By affording motorists advanced notice of pedestrian presence with bright, reflective, and hard-to-miss surface areas, we can effectively help protect and decrease the number of workplace and pedestrian accidents. In addition to wearing hi-viz apparel, adhering to the following basic road safety rules can help us further protect ourselves, our friends, and hardworking individuals.
- Put your mobile phone away
- Move over for first responders
- Adhere to the speed limit
- Check your blind spots
- Reduce your speed during inclement weather
- Stay alert
- Wear your seatbelt
- Do not drink and drive
- Keep your eyes on the road