What Are the Differences in ANSI Class 1, 2, and 3 Safety Clothing?

In 2020, there were 2.1 million workplace injuries.

Safety clothing rated with an ANSI class can help protect workers from injury. If you work around heavy machinery or high-speed traffic, safety apparel can sometimes be what helps to save your life.

There are different types of ANSI classes. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) classifies each type based on how much reflective material and high contrast fabric there is. 

So, what do these different classes mean? Let’s take an in-depth look at each.

Class 1 Clothing

Clothing with a Class 1 rating is suitable for workers at the lowest risk level. According to OSHA, these would be areas where traffic doesn’t go over 25 mph. Workers should also be at a safe distance away from the road.

Workers who often wear Class 1 safety vests would include:

• Parking attendants
• Warehouse workers
• Delivery drivers
• Roadside assistance personnel
• Sidewalk construction workers

By ANSI standards, for safety workwear to have a Class 1 rating, the clothing must be either safety yellow or safety orange. It must also have reflective tape that’s at least 155 square inches in total. The reflective strips have to go around the middle of the vest and also over the shoulders.

Class 2 Clothing

Clothing rated at Class 2 is suitable for protecting workers who are around more risk-intensive areas. Those who work around traffic that moves over 50 mph would wear Class 2 clothing. Class 2 outfits help workers stay safe because the clothing has high visibility and more reflective areas present.

Workers that most often wear Class 2 safety wear include:

• Airport workers
• Road construction workers
• Utility workers
• Tollbooth operators
• Surveyors
• Crossing guards
• Forest workers
• Police officers
• High-volume parking attendants

For safety wear to receive a Class 2 rating, it must have safety yellow or safety orange as the background material that amounts to about 775 square inches. In addition to that, there must be 201 square inches of reflective striping. The reflective striping should go over the shoulders and around the middle as one or two horizontal stripes.

Class 3 Clothing

Class 3 safety clothing is for those workers who are in the most dangerous areas. This is where visibility is an absolute necessity. Areas where traffic exceeds 50 mph require Class 3 clothing. Also, personnel working in hazardous conditions like a blizzard or hurricane would need to wear this ANSI rating.

Class 3 safety vests require more background fabric and reflective striping on them, making them the biggest of the safety apparel. Class 3 safety clothing must have at least 1,240 square inches of safety yellow or safety orange as a background. On top of that, there must be 310 square inches of reflective striping. 

Wear the Right ANSI Class for Your Job

It is important to the safety of workers for them to wear the appropriate ANSI class to their situation. This can often make the difference between a life and death situation. If you’re a project manager or business owner, be sure to do your research and provide the proper safety wear to your employees to protect them.

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