Many people think student truck drivers are always safe in their cabs; therefore, comfort is the only important aspect of their clothing. The reality is that student truck drivers and instructors often work in low light conditions and in poorly lit yards, putting their safety at risk.
Wearing fluorescent or reflective clothing ensures student truck drivers and their instructors are visible regardless of the task they’re completing. Knowing the benefits and types of high-visibility clothing keeps everyone safe on the training range.
Why do truck drivers need high-visibility clothing? Learning to drive a truck is a dangerous job, but wearing high-visibility clothing can make a significant difference in workplace injuries and deaths. Ensuring the driver and instructor are visible increases their safety. Just as a truck has safety elements, like reflectors, spotlights, and lengthy mirror arms, the driver should have similar precautions. When other drivers and workers can easily spot people coming into their area, they can stop and react in a way that prevents a harmful or fatal accident.
Benefits of high-visibility clothing. High visibility clothing ensures student drivers are always visible, regardless of the weather or lighting conditions. Anyone driving past the truck drivers can see them, as can other students in the area.
Issuing high-visibility garments to each student and instructor costs much less than paying out worker’s compensation or insurance settlements due to an accident. Since drivers and instructors are more visible due to the fluorescent fabric and reflective strips, the likelihood of an accident decreases. When all a school’s students and instructors wear high-visibility clothing, the school promotes a safety.
I also suggest having two different colours of vests: one colour for the students and a different colour for the instructors The students will immediately know who they can turn to for instruction, advice and assistance.
So, student truck drivers and instructors, working during the day can sport a fluorescent vest to stand out from their surroundings. In addition, safety yellow and safety orange are the signature colors for high-visibility clothing, as bright colors grab people’s attention. Furthermore, people associate yellow and orange with warnings in other traffic lights and signs, so they’re ideal choices for high-visibility clothing for truck drivers working on and around.
Wearing high visibility vests are just one step to having a safety culture within your school.
This Weeks Guest Author!
The weeks training tip is brought to you from the Safety Dawg himself, Chris Harris!
Calling all Instructors and TTSAO Acreddited Schools
We invite you to submit your training tips to share in next week’s Training Tip of the Week. Your participation and offerings will truly benefit all our students, and we greatly appreciate your support. Thank you!