ISEA: High-Vis Public Safety Vests Meet FHWA Requirements for Work Zones

High-visibility protective garments are required for right-of-way workers, flaggers, and adult crossing guards in a document called the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which is the basis for federal and state highway regulations. These garments must be compliant with ANSI/ISEA 107, the American National Standard for High Visibility Safety Apparel and Headwear.

Public safety workers such as law enforcement, firefighters, and other emergency responders have the option of wearing high-visibility vests specifically designed for their use and compliant with the ANSI/ISEA 207, American National Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vests.

A revision to the MUTCD published in December 2009 mandates that public safety vests be labeled as compliant with the 2006 version of the standard, or a subsequent revision. ANSI approved the revision to the standard in 2011, and the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) requested an interpretation from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that garments meeting the new standard would be acceptable, pointing out that the requirements of the two standards for daytime and nighttime visibility are essentially the same.

FHWA has agreed, and issued an official interpretation stating that the ANSI/ISEA 207-2011 standard is equivalent to the 2006 version, and that garments labeled as meeting the 2011 standard would be in compliance with the MUTCD requirements.

This article is a re-print from Feb 07, 2012 - Occupational Health and Safety.

PSV Pro 300 Series Police Vest with Blue Trim

The PSV Pro 300 Series Police vest features a durable mesh material with color coded fabric trim for proper public service department identification; along with a high visibility 2" silver reflective material with contrasting background color. Five point breakaway design; as well as snap up flaps to allow greater accessibility to toolbelts and gear. Each vest includes two chest mic tabs. The vest folds into a convenient pouch for storage. The vest also offers 4-season adjustability to accomodate bulky coats.
Be sure to visit HiVis Supply for all of your hi vis safety vest needs including hi visibility vest for flaggers, hi-vis for incident command and emergency responders.

The Brilliant Series from ML Kishigo

The Brilliant Series line of high-viz workwear is the premium line for ML Kishigo, and the safety enhancements they provide far outweigh the premium you’ll pay over standard hi-viz. For example, the Brilliant Series Economy Vest is up to 60% brighter than its standard counterpart when viewed at a distance. When comparing their suggested retail prices, that equates to only 3 pennies for every percent of increased visibility. They calculated the remarkable affect by analyzing a 1080i HD video frame at the distance of approximately 30 to 60 feet. By zooming in and mapping out the identical area/proportions for both vests (Brilliant Class 2 vs Standard) they measured the individual visual footprint of each. This is based exclusively upon luminosity of the cars headlights hitting the reflective material.

Thoroughly measuring the gray levels pixel by pixel, then taking the average across the entire area of each image, you can see that the Brilliant series has up to 60% more of a visible footprint at night.
When comparing the histogram graphs (left side shows level of black, right shows level of white, with every level of gray in between), across the charts there are much higher numbers of pixels for each level of gray all the way up to white, and a significantly lower levels of black pixels with the Brilliant Series than with the standard.
Go to HiVis Supply for the very best from ML Kishigo, and the very best for your workers. They can’t afford not to wear the best and the brightest.