What is the color of hi vis clothing means what color makes you the most visibility to the impending hazards.
Let me explain you distance from which colors are visible to the roadway approaching vehicle, you can see the difference:
- Dark colored clothing: Visible from a distance of over 100 feet
- Light colored clothing: Visible from a distance of over 300 feet
- Reflective clothing bright colors: Visible from a distance of over 700 feet
What is Best colors for High visibility safety uniforms
Orange is the most commonly used colour for hi vis clothing (followed by yellow) When it comes to external work job site environments. In reflective clothing industry, orange, fluorescent yellow, lime, blue, green, orange red and red are the most frequently used colors and are widely accepted by various countries.
When you’re buying or customizing reflective workwear, it’s important to consider the workplace environment and potential hazard, including transportation and heavy machinery. Choosing the noticeable color helps to keep your worker be seen and be safe at work.
It’s important to know the right color reflective work uniforms, based on different working conditions, to clearly distinguish worker from surrounding background objects; combined with the understanding of colors in human consciousness. For example, red represents danger and warning, and orange red means watch out and be careful .
As part of the ANSI 107/ISEA 107 standard, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) have developed some important guidelines for high visibility clothing. The three recognized high visibility clothing colors are fluorescent yellow green, orange and red. Here’s more information on how, when and where to use.
A guide to High visibility colors and their uses
Red: High visibility, newly added color.
In human cognition, red represents danger, warning, and prohibition. Red has the longest wavelength, the most brilliant bright color, and the ability to penetrate the surrounding is also very strong. Under the same light conditions, red shows the farthest.
Workers wearing red reflective clothing is easier to spot and avoid accidents. In twilight or low light conditions, orange or red high visibility clothing is preferred, as the eye may be able to see the color better when ambient light levels are low.
Red is also effective, But why red is not in common use? because the prevalence of colour-blindness (particularly in males who make up the majority of most outside workforces) makes red impractical as it is indistinguishable from green to those people affected by this common condition.
Orange is identified as an identifier of hazards
Orange stands for caution, and is widely used in road construction signs and warnings, cones and barrels and is the color that drivers respond as “slow down” colors while driving on the roads, Orange also appears in the automatic warning triangle.
It is also used since decades by the hunting community because orange is the most contrasted color as compared to the greeneries in the forest and the road areas.
Due to our eye sensitivity to this color, uses both the cones and the rods to visualize an object during the night time. This is because as dawn sets in eyes respond to red and orange color more than yellow ones.
- The fluorescent orange color is used during the night time.
- Widely wear by construction workers
- It is used by hunters
Fluorescent yellow-green the brightest color in daytime
The fluorescent yellow-green color is brighter than fluorescent orange color, the reason that fluorescent yellow color is the brightest in the chromaticity scale.
This is the most widely used between the two colors mostly, because it is the brightest in the day light. It is the most sensitive to the particular wavelength of the fluorescent yellow/green color: 550 nanometers (during the day time).
The wavelength of yellow light wave is second only to red, and the ability of yellow light to penetrate the fog is the strongest. According to the requirements of ANSI, the total brightness coefficient of fluorescent yellow is not less than 70%.
When fluorescent yellow and green are together, fluorescent yellow is more likely to be confused with green visually, and it is not even found within 50 meters, so fluorescent yellow is generally not recommended for road maintenance related position job.
- The fluorescent yellow is used during the day time.
- wearing by the cyclists
- worn by runners
- It is used by traffic control guards
Now i think you have better understanding and idea about how to choose the best colors for high visibility apparel.
Reflective material plays the key role in safety clothing industries, to create the utility safety clothing, need contrast reflective tape overlay on safety vests. I have write about article about hi vis uniform reflective material, if you are interested, you can view more here.
HEYDAY is a company that designs and manufactures all kinds of custom reflective workwear, located in Baiyun, Guangzhou, China. Founded in 2012, with 10 years of production design experience, more than 50 skilled production workers, can produce high-quality work clothes in a very short time, we can complete the sample production within 7 days. If you need to source and customize workwear, please contact us and we can provide you with reliable advice based on years of experience.
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