American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for High Visibility Safety apparel has been updated effective January 2010.  This standard provides consistent, authoritative guidelines for the selection and use of high-visibility apparel in the United States and is intended as a guide to aid manufacturers, consumers and the general public.

ANSI/ISEA 107-2010 offers performance specifications and outlines minimum amounts of background material and retro reflective material (hi-visibility tape), tape placement on garment, test methods, garment labeling, luminance factor among other factors.

Excerpt from Table 1, ANSI 107-2010: "For many flame resistant fabric manufacturers, meeting the luminance requirements after Xenon test is the most challenging aspect of ANSI 107-2010. "

This test simulates exposure to sunlight and ensures the product will maintain brightness through repeated wearing.

 Class I

These garments are intended for workers who have ample separation from vehicular traffic that does not exceed 25 mph.

• Class I garments are often safety vests; they are recommended for parking service attendants, workers in warehouses with equipment traffic, shopping cart retrievers, sidewalk maintenance workers and delivery vehicle drivers. 

Class II

Class II garments are for users who need greater visibility in poor weather conditions and whose activities occur near roadways where traffic speeds exceed 25 mph.

• This class of garment is suitable for railway workers, school crossing guards, parking and toll gate personnel, airport ground crews and law enforcement personnel directing traffic.

Class III

Class III garments provide the highest level of visibility to workers in high-risk environments that involve high task loads, a wide range of weather conditions and traffic exceeding 50 mph. Class III garments,  provide coverage to the arms and/or legs as well as the torso, and can include pants, jackets, coveralls or rain wear.

• The standard recommends these garments for all roadway construction personnel and vehicle operators, utility workers, survey crews, emergency responders, railway workers and accident site investigators.

A Final Rule enacted by the Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration took effect on November 24, 2008.  Final Rule 23 CFR Part 634 requires that workers on a Federal-aid highway exposed to vehicular traffic or construction equipment within the work area shall wear high-visibility safety apparel.  This rule specifies classes of workers commonly impacted.  They include:

• Highway construction and maintenance crews
• Survey crews
• Utility workers
• Road crews and volunteer clean-up groups
• Responders to incidents  and law enforcement personnel

The ANSI 107-2010 standard is available to purchase online. http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=ANSI%2fISEA+107-2010.