High-visibility clothing, sometimes shortened to hi vis or hi viz, is any

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

worn that is highly luminescent in its natural matt property or a color that is easily discernible from any background. It is most commonly worn on the torso and arm area of the body. Health and safety regulations often require the use of high visibility clothing as it is a form of

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elect ...

. Many colors of high visibility vests are available, with yellow and orange being the most common examples. Colors other than yellow or orange may not provide adequate luminescence for conformity to standards such as ISO 20471. As a form of personal protective equipment, high-visibility clothing is worn to increase a person's visibility and therefore prevent accidents caused by persons not being seen. As a result, it is often worn in occupations where hazardous situations are created by moving vehicles or low lighting conditions. These occupations include railway and road workers, airport workers and emergency services. Cyclists and motorcyclists may also use high-visibility clothing to increase their visibility when operating amongst motor traffic. Hunters may be required to wear designated high-visibility clothing to prevent accidental shooting.

Effectiveness

Motorcyclists

A police officer in Taiwan wears a white motorcycle helmet in conjunction with a high-visibility vest. According to a 2004 study, the wearing of reflective or fluorescent clothing correlated with a 37 percent lower risk of a rider sustaining a crash-related injury; likewise, white helmets demonstrated a 24 percent reduction. The Hurt Report in the United States found that very few motorcyclists involved in collisions wore high-visibility clothing, and that just over half of the collisions studied, nearly two-thirds of those involving another vehicle, were due to the motorist unintentionally violating the motorcyclist's right of way. "This dominant culpability of the driver of the other vehicle... emphasizes the special need for high contrast conspicuity for the motorcycle and rider." A New Zealand case-control study found that the population attributable risks were 33% for wearing no reflective or fluorescent clothing; one third of motorbike accidents might have been prevented by wearing high-visibility clothing. Conspicuous behaviors, such as the wearing of high-visibility clothing, the use of headlights in the daytime, and the use of a white helmet, reduced the risk of a rider facing a collision.

Cyclists

Traffic risks to the cyclist are similar to those faced by motorcyclists, with the main differences being that cyclist speeds are typically lower, and the cyclist wears less protective gear. In a 2009 study, most UK cyclists and almost all motorists believed that high-visibility clothing would increase cyclists' visibility. Almost all drivers agreed that cyclists need to wear reflective clothing in low lighting environments, whereas less than three-quarters of cyclists (72%) agreed, and less than half claimed that they always did so. A Cochrane Systematic Review of research evidence for the effectiveness of visibility aids (fluorescent and

retroreflective A retroreflector (sometimes called a retroflector or cataphote) is a device or surface that reflects light or other radiation back to its source with minimum scattering. This works at a wide range of angle of incidence, unlike a planar mirror, w ...

clothing and equipment) was carried out by Kwan and Mapstone in 2006. The authors found 42 studies which collectively suggested that fluorescent clothing could increase the distance at which drivers could detect and then recognise cyclists in daylight conditions. The same review found evidence that retro-reflective materials worn by cyclists at night had a similar effect on driver perceptions. At that time there were no studies published that had actually demonstrated a reduction in collision crashes for bicyclists wearing

fluorescent Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with color ...

clothing whilst on public roads. A 2009 Australian study of drivers trying to see stationary cyclists on a closed circuit found that fluorescent vests (without retro-reflective stripes) were not a significant improvement on black clothing at night and that retro-reflective strips were more effective when attached to knees and ankles than on a more or less static jacket. A 2012 British case-control study showed a non-significant increase in the odds of a crash for users of reflective conspicuity aids whilst cycling. In 2014, a further case-control study conducted in Canada reported a decrease in the odds of a collision with a motor vehicle when wearing 'light' coloured (not specifically fluorescent) clothing in daylight but an increase in the odds of a collision for cyclists using fluorescent clothing (and lights) at night. The number of conspicuity aids used was positively associated with an increase in collision crash odds but a non-significant reduction in the likelihood of hospitalisation. A

randomized controlled trial A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical ...

was conducted in Denmark between 2012 and 2013. The study collected data from 6793 regular cyclists for a year. The results suggest that conspicuity enhancing jackets can reduce by 47% the risk of collisions with other road users that cause injury and 55% for those collisions involving a motor vehicle. The effect of the intervention was higher in winter compared to summer (56% vs 39%), in daylight (51% vs the overall effect 47%) and for those participants who reported 'high' use of the jackets vs 'low' use (60% vs 33%). The study was based on participants self-reporting data, and there was evidence of

response bias Response bias is a general term for a wide range of tendencies for participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to questions. These biases are prevalent in research involving participant self-report, such as structured interviews or surveys. R ...

, which the authors attempt to correct for, reducing the 47% figure to 38%. Since April 2013,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

regulations require commercial cyclists, such as restaurant delivery persons or bike messengers, to wear high visibility clothing while riding.

Rail workers in the United Kingdom

Experimental use of high-visibility clothing began in 1964 on the

Scottish Region of British Railways The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex-London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creation ...

. Fluorescent orange jackets, known as "fire-flies", were issued to track workers on the

Pollokshields Pollokshields (, Scots language, Scots: ''Powkshiels'') is an area in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Its modern boundaries are largely man-made, being formed by the M77 motorway to the west and northwest with the open land of Pollok Count ...

to electrified section in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

; they were later tried in other areas, such as

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. Train drivers operating in these areas were asked their opinion as to the effectiveness of the jackets. Following trials, high-visibility clothing was issued to engineering and other staff working on the electrified lines of the

London Midland Region of British Railways The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irela ...

in 1965. It was thought to be more important due to the higher speeds of the newly electrified

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

route from

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; or London Euston) is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station managed by Network Rail in the London Borough of Camden. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. The first version was worn as a jerkin and was "visible at ... half a mile in normal weather conditions". Since then, features of high-visibility clothing such as the EN510 quick release standard and the EN471 and its successor EN ISO 20471:2013 high visibility standards, have improved the effectiveness and contributed to improved safety for rail workers and other staff. The specifications for Rail Industry Standard RIS-3279-TOM (fluorescent orange) high-visibility clothing suitable for use on railways in the United Kingdom are published by the Rail Safety and Standards Board.

Standards

India

The latest Indian standards for High Visibility Warning Clothes - Specification is IS 15809 : 2017.

ANSI/ISEA

The

American National Standards Institute The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private nonprofit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organiz ...

published standard 107 for high-visibility clothing in 1999. The standard defines three classes of successively more-visible garments, to protect workers exposed to successively higher levels of risk from

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

s and

heavy equipment Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large con ...

. The

International Safety Equipment Association The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) is a trade association of manufacturers of personal protective equipment and other safety equipment, with its offices in Arlington, Virginia. More than 100 companies are members. The ISEA is t ...

developed the standard, with revisions in 2004, 2010, 2015, and 2020. The 207 standard has different requirements for fluorescent background material, specifically allowing for a shorter design that allows equipment belt access. It also includes many optional features, such as a 5-point breakaway design for easy removal, panels readily identifying the wearer as an emergency responder, and radio and badge holders.

Regulation (EU) 2016/425

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

directive which covers high-visibility clothing.

North American hunting regulations

Hunting laws in each state or province may require hunters to wear designated garments in

blaze orange Safety orange (also known as blaze orange, vivid orange, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA orange, hunter orange, or Caltrans orange) is a hue used to set objects apart from their surroundings, particularly in color theory, c ...

to prevent misidentification of humans as game animals, and resulting shooting accidents. The required total visible area and times of use vary by jurisdiction and by the type of hunting in the area. Hunting clothes are available in blaze orange

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

, where the bright orange color is plainly visible to human eyes, but the shape of the hunter is broken up by irregular patterns to prevent identification as a threat by game animals such as deer, who cannot see the color. Some jurisdictions also allow the use of a "blaze

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

," a color that proponents argue is both more visible to humans and less visible to game animals.

ISO 20471

The

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. M ...

published standard ISO 20471 for high-visibility clothing in 2013.

Australia

Australian/New Zealand Standard - AS/NZS 4602.1:2024 High visibility safety garments Garments for high risk applications from Standards Australia.

Safe Work Australia Safe Work Australia is an Australian Government statutory agency established in 2009 under the Safe Work Australia Act 2008. Their primary responsibility is to improve work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements across Austr ...

- general Personal Protective Equipment guide including references to high visibility clothing. Class D workwear is suited to daytime use in Australia.

Canada

Canadian Standards: Z96-15 - High-visibility safety apparel Canadian Center for Occupational Health and safety (CCOHS): Guide High-Visibility Safety Apparel: "Requirements for high-visibility safety clothing for Canadian workers are found in the CSA Standard Z96-15 High-Visibility Safety Apparel".

Gallery

References

External links

Understanding the updated ANSI/ISEA 107-2015 standard

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013083822/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/2-track/02track5.htm , date=2012-10-13
Working on creating a safer standard for high-visibility clothing.
Cycling safety Pedestrian safety Safety clothing Yellow vests protests