Workwear Waistcoats

The two most common colours of hi-vis vests are yellow and orange. Yellow is the best choice for low-light environments or areas with dark backgrounds. Orange is brilliant for environments where you need to be seen quickly to be safe, like construction sites or highway maintenance, where there are many moving vehicles. Orange, yellow and red are the only colours of hi-vis vests that are recognised by the ISO 20471 standard, that classifies hi-visibility clothing. So other colours, like pink, green and black hi-vis vests are brilliant for places where identification is needed, but are maybe not imperative to the safety of the person wearing them, like at a festival or working as security personnel.

There are only three hi-vis safety vest colours that are approved by the ISO 20471 - Yellow, Orange and Red. These are approved by the ISO 20471 safety standards due to their bright look that will allow the materials to stand out against most environments. You can still wear other colours of hi-vis vests, like pink or black, but they are unapproved as ISO 204714 garments. So if you would like a different colour hi-vis, that is not red, orange or yellow, you will need to make sure that you do not require ISO 20471 approved hi-vis clothing.

A class 3 high vis is the highest level of visibility required from a safety garment, like when working on a motorway. In comparison, a class 2 hi-vis is more suited to work environments with a moderate risk, like working near vehicles going slower than 40mph. You can find the classification of your hi-vis vest in the label of your garment, next to the ISO 20471 logo. In some circumstances you can create a class 3 hi-vis using class 2 garments. For example, if you pair class 2 hi-vis trousers with a class 2 jacket, you will then have a class 3 hi-vis ensemble.

People wear hi-vis vests to ensure that they can be seen in a low-light or potentially dangerous environment. For example, on a busy building site it is important for the workers who are using the heavy and dangerous machinery to be able to see if anyone is in danger of being injured by the machinery. Hi-vis vests are also worn as a type of identification in busy crowds. For example, if you need a steward at a music festival, you would not be able to identify them from the busy crowd if they weren’t wearing a hi-vis vest.

Yes, the colour of your hi-vis vest does matter. There are only three colours of hi-vis vests that are approved by the ISO 20471, which tests the safety levels and performance of hi-visibility clothing to ensure they can help to keep their wearers safe. The three colours include: red, yellow and orange. These are bright colours that have been tested in many working environments and have proven that they are the best colours to wear to stay visible. You can wear other hi-vis vest colours, like black or pink, but they are not the best at ensuring you are seen in low-light conditions.