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High Visibility Clothing

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Questions and Answers

Q: Does the choice of colour matter?
To be effective HV clothing should be of a colour that will allow the wearer to stand out against the ambient background found in the working environment. In practice the best colours for this purpose are likely to be day-glo, or fluorescent yellow.

Q: Apart from colour what else promotes visibility?
Where necessary the clothing should also incorporate retroreflective material to make the wearer visible when seen in headlights in poor lighting conditions or during darkness. This may require reflective strips at or below waist level on waistcoats or jackets, or strips on trousers.

Q: How much HV clothing is needed?
As a rule: the darker the conditions or worksite, the greater the amount of HV clothing required.

Q: What if I work near machinery?
People working in warehouses may find that some types of loose fitting tabard may snag on moving machinery parts. The workplace environment should always be considered when choosing style and type of clothing?

Q: What if conditions are too hot?
HV clothing should be comfortable and fit the wearer properly. It should cause the minimum of restriction in the wearers movement. HV coats may be too warm in summer months, in which case, waistcoats or overalls with the appropriate HV qualities are cooler alternatives.

Q: What if I have to wear other types of protective clothing as well?
A: If two or more types of PPE are worn, they should not interfere with each other. Therefore, in the case of aircraft servicing staff for example, protective clothing for chemical spills should also provide the necessary level of conspicuity. Similarly, wet or cold weather clothing should have suitable HV qualities or be capable of being worn under HV garments.

Q: Are there any recognised standards for HV garments?
A: Yes all HV clothes should be manufactured to a recognised standard. The new British Standard for high visibility warning clothing is BS EN 471. This is a harmonised European standard produced with the legal requirements for PPE in mind. Clothing which conforms to the standard is marked with a pictogram like this:

The first number (X) indicates the class of conspicuity, this depends on the minimum area of conspicuous materials that are incorporated into the clothing, with Class 3 being the best and Class 1 the lowest; the second number (Y) indicates the retroreflection performance with Class 2 being more visible than Class 1 when seen in headlights during darkness. The standard gives specifications for coveralls, jackets, waistcoats, tabards, trousers and harnesses. New clothing must be 'CE' marked to show it meets the new European rules on the manufacture of PPE. Remember: the CE mark only means that the clothing meets the standard. It does not mean it can be used in all situations. HV clothing must be suitable for the actual conditions of use.

Q: Do employers have a responsibility to provide HV clothing?
A: Employers must:

provide any HV clothing needed for the job free of charge to any employees who may be exposed to significant risks to their safety;

maintain HV clothing in a clean state and in good working order.

check the clothing before being given to employees;

provide storage facilities for clothing when not in use;

provide adequate information, instruction and training to enable employees to use HV clothing correctly. This should include an explanation of the risks, why the clothing is needed, how and when it should be worn;

supervise employees to ensure that they wear the clothing correctly and whenever it is needed.

Q: Do employees have any responsibility with HV clothing?
Employees should :

wear the HV clothing provided as instructed by your employer

look after clothing issued to you

check for and report any damage or defects to your employer

use the storage facilities provided when the clothing is not in use

Remember: damaged or ill-fitting clothing will not protect you properly

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