High visibility safety apparel and nighttime conspicuity of pedestrians in work zones

PROBLEM: Every year numerous occupational fatalities result from pedestrians being struck by motor vehicles intruding into work zones. METHOD: Attributes of retroreflective personal safety garments on pedestrian conspicuity at night were assessed in a field study. Using instrumented vehicles on a closed track, participants drove through simulated work zones attempting to detect pedestrians located in the work zones. RESULTS: Configuration of the retroreflective trim, trim color, placement in the work zone, and driver age significantly affected pedestrian conspicuity. Intensity and the amount of retroreflective trim did not. DISCUSSION: Personal safety garments incorporating retroreflective trim significantly improve pedestrian conspicuity in work zones. SUMMARY: The results emphasize the importance of retroreflective trim on personal safety garments, particularly if the trim is located on garment sleeves. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: We examine the design attributes that contribute to making a personal safety garment conspicuous. The results have implications regarding preferred garment designs, industry standards, and service life of personal safety garments.