Chattanooga Public Works employee Albert Leon Lloyd wears an iridescent lime green vest as he directs traffic at a road repair job on 38th Street. The fabric is a dry-wick material, which makes workers more comfortable in the heat.Every morning, Laurie Shipley puts on a neon-orange reflective vest before heading out for her 5 a.m. walk. When the weather gets cold, she adds a headlamp.
“[It] helps folks see me,” Shipley said. “I wear a vest because my neighborhood does not have sidewalks; and if there are cars, they sometimes go a little faster that time of the morning. I’m guessing the drivers don’t believe there will be any type of traffic.”
Though Shipley wears a high-visibility vest for personal safety when she’s walking for exercise, others wear vivid clothes while on the job.
High-visibility clothing helps keep people safe, said Lee Norris, deputy administrator with the city of Chattanooga Department of Public Works. “Anything we can do to help say, ‘Here I am,’ we’re going to do for our employees,” he said.
In the last two years, Public Works employees have transitioned from wearing bright orange reflective clothing to an iridescent lime green color, said Tony Boyd, Public Works assistant director of operations.