High Visibility Clothing & Accessories Requirements for Europe

High visibility products are worn in many different settings to provide conspicuity to people working in areas where the wearer needs to be seen easily. Examples of this are motorways, roads, railways, airports, docks, construction sites and also by emergency workers and security staff. Visibility products are also worn by school children, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders for non-professional or leisure activities.

High visibility products fall within the jurisdiction of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive (89/686/EEC) and are intended to signal the wearers’ presence visually in different light conditions and make the wearer stand out from the surrounding environment.

This document will give a brief overview of the standards, what is needed for certification and how requirements have or haven’t changed.