Skip to main content

Hi-viz hijinks make a flockery of saftey clothing

Fashionable they aren’t, but the wearing of high-visibility clothing is increasingly either recommended by businesses or made mandatory by law, especially for construction workers on every kind of site. But has the use of “hi-vis” clothing, especially the vest, gone too far? In Britain, the wearing of the hi-viz clothing has taken off - literally, according to a BBC television news report that shows a flock of chickens wearing the fluorescent coloured vest.
September 16, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Fashionable they aren’t, but the wearing of high-visibility clothing is increasingly either recommended by businesses or made mandatory by law, especially for construction workers on every kind of site.

But has the use of “hi-vis” clothing, especially the vest, gone too far?

In Britain, the wearing of the hi-viz clothing has taken off - literally, according to a %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal BBC television news report Visit BBC video page false http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/25637631 false false%> that shows a flock of chickens wearing the fluorescent coloured vest.

A more recent example of hi-viz-wearing animals is that of cows, as reported by the UK’s %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal Daily Telegraph newspaper Visit www.telegraph.co.uk website false http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11758512/Cows-should-wear-fluorescent-jackets-and-strings-of-lights-at-night-council-says.html false false%>. One local authority in England has suggested that cows should not only wear the fluorescent jackets but also wear a string of lights at night so the bovines are safer when crossing country roads and lanes.

Admittedly, some cows have been fatally injured in road accidents.

Farmers, though, said that they had spent years trying to persuade the local authority to introduce traffic calming measures to stop motorists driving with excessive speed through the local lanes.

But to outfit one particular herd, the owner estimated it would cost more than US$4,600 to outfit his herd of 175 cows.

Related Content

  • London’s congestion charge is saving lives, a study suggests
    March 9, 2015
    Traffic accidents in the UK capital London have declined 40% since the introduction of a congestion charge in 2003, according to a new study. The number of accidents per million miles driven in the congestion zone fell to 2.6 accidents per million miles from an average of 12.4 before the introduction of the charge. Researchers at Lancaster University also found a similar fall in the number of people seriously injured or killed. As well, accident rates fell in adjacent areas as a result of fewer motorists dr
  • Percussive diamond inserts from Element Six lead to longer mining drill life
    January 6, 2017
    Synthetic diamond division of DeBeers, Element Six, has developed the 3D Percussive Diamond Insert (PDI) that it claims will radically cut costs in the mining drill industry. The 3D PDI uses the firm’s polycrystalline diamond technology to optimise wear and impact resistance properties, while improving penetration rates for the drill bit. The firm claims that tests of the drill insert show up to 10 times the drill life of a conventional tungsten carbide insert., greatly reducing costly rig downtime for serv
  • Percussive diamond inserts from Element Six lead to longer mining drill life
    February 7, 2013
    Synthetic diamond division of DeBeers, Element Six, has developed the 3D Percussive Diamond Insert (PDI) that it claims will radically cut costs in the mining drill industry. The 3D PDI uses the firm’s polycrystalline diamond technology to optimise wear and impact resistance properties, while improving penetration rates for the drill bit. The firm claims that tests of the drill insert show up to 10 times the drill life of a conventional tungsten carbide insert., greatly reducing costly rig downtime for serv
  • Intermat launch for Michelin crane tyre
    January 6, 2017
    Michelin’s X-Crane tyre for mobile cranes has evolved into the X-Crane+, offering lower rolling resistance, improved tyre life of up to 15% and greater durability before irregular wear characteristics can be detected, it is claimed. Available in the most popular 445/95 R25 size, the X-Crane+ offers an F speed rating and a 6,700 kg payload, and has been engineered to be easier to mount and dismount from its wheel rim.