When you work in highway construction safety and visibility are absolute musts. Highway construction workers work in extremely close proximity to all sizes of vehicles, some of which don't obey the construction zone speed limits. And at night the danger is even greater. So highway construction workers, or any construction worker that needs to be easily seen, wear light-reflecting safety vest.
One county in Wisconsin is taking a cue from these construction workers and rolling out a campaign to increase pedestrian safety, especially at night.
Vorpahl Fire and Safety, Ergodyne and the Brown County Sheriff John Gossage have partnered to launch a hi-visibility safety awareness campaign to protect pedestrians and motorists from possible vehicle collisions.
Chris Vorpahl, Business Development Specialist for Vorpahl Fire and Safety, says, "I got my inspiration from highway construction workers during the night who need increased visibility after dark. If they (construction workers) were doing their job on the highways without this clothing it would be nearly impossible to see them under normal conditions. Factor in, rain sleet or snow and it makes motorists job impossible to see them before striking them."
Over the next few months the Sheriff's Deputies will be stopping pedestrians on the streets, to hand out hi-visibility safety clothing when they see individuals in need. After dark, at sunset or on dimly lit streets it is nearly impossible to see pedestrians without the use of hi visibility clothing.
Vorpahl says that pedestrians are no different than construction workers. "Every day I provide hi-visibility clothing to keep those workers coming home safely to their loved ones, and this is my opportunity to make sure that those loved ones are provided with the same level of protection to keep them coming home every night as well," he says.
