In our modern world, there are a lot of things we need to look out for in our everyday lives. Anytime we leave our homes, we can find ourselves in a situation where we need to pay close attention to our surroundings because our surroundings might not be paying attention to us.
Many of us find ourselves walking in public spaces for work or recreation every day. The average person walks somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 steps per day. If you are a construction worker or some kind of laborer, you could average roughly 30,000 steps per day. That is a lot of walking. Many times, those steps are being taken in places where you need a type pf clothing that will signal other people that you are there.
A hi vis hoodie or a high visibility jacket might be something you should consider if you haven’t already got something like that. High visibility clothing like reflective pants for work or a reflective vest if you walk or run great distances can really go a long way toward saving your life out there.
There were 4836 workers killed on the job in 2015. That comes out to 13 deaths every single day. Many of these deaths can be attributed to someone not seeing the worker for one reason or another. There is no guarantee that a hi vis hoodie or any other type of high visibility clothing will keep you completely safe, but they have ben proven to catch the eye of drivers who might not have seen people alongside the road had it not been for that hi vis hoodie.
Many situations in which a worker suffers an injury are the result of a new employee not having enough experience to be able to recognize dangerous situations at the time. In 2013, roughly one-third of non-fatal workplace injuries that required time away from worker involved a new employee with less than a year of experience in the position.
High vis clothing is not just for work, though. If more people used safety clothing when they did any kind of walking or running there would be fewer injuries all across the country. Runners, especially, make it very hard on themselves when they go for their runs in the early morning or early evening. It is during these times of day that many runners suffer serious injuries or even are killed by oncoming cars or other vehicles. Where a safety vest could literally save your life if you are a runner.
Bicyclists and motorcycle riders could also benefit from a high visibility outfit of one kind or another. There are a great number of choices when it comes to high visibility clothing. Everything from a hi vis hoodie to a pair of pants with a safety strip down the side can really help other people see you, especially if you are in low light or bad weather.
In our modern, high traffic world, people are often distracted while driving. Even though they shouldn’t, many people look at their mobile devices while driving and only look up a split second or two before having to make snap decisions about turning and weaving. If people paid more attention to the roads, that would be great. But even if they did, they still might not be able to see you walking, running, or standing on the side of the road.
Don’t let your safety be something that is out of your hands. You can’t control if someone is just not going to see you, but you can give them their best chance at it.
