EN 17353 Protective Clothing - Enhanced Visibility Equipment for Medium Risk Situations - Test Methods and Requirements

A European standard, “EN 17353 Protective clothing - Enhanced visibility equipment for medium risk situations - Test methods and requirements”, describes the requirements for enhanced visibility equipment in the form of clothing or devices that can visually signal the presence of the wearer.

Enhanced visibility equipment is designed to ensure the wearer's visibility in medium risk situations in any daylight conditions or in the dark under illumination by vehicle headlights or floodlights.

This standard applies to performance requirements for colour and retroreflectance, as well as minimum areas and placement of materials in protective equipment. However, the following are outside the scope of this standard:

• High visibility equipment in high risk situations covered in the standard “ISO 20471 High visibility clothing - Test methods and requirements” (more information on risk situations is included in the standard annex (Annex A))
• Visibility equipment specifically designed for the head, hands and feet (e.g. helmets, gloves and shoes)
• Equipment integrating active lighting (e.g. LEDs)
• Visibility for low-risk situations.

For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply:

• A combined performance material is a material designed to exhibit both fluorescent and retroreflective properties. Fluorescent material is defined as a background material in EN ISO 20471.
• Enhanced visibility equipment is clothing or equipment designed to provide visibility in daylight and in dark conditions or at dusk.
• A device family is a group of devices made with the same raw materials and the same production process as the basis of the model.
• A flexible device is a device that can be bent.
• A fluorescent material is a material that emits electromagnetic radiation at longer visible wavelengths than those absorbed. This term applies to daylight conditions. Fluorescent material is defined as a background material in EN ISO 20471.
• Non-fluorescent material is material that is not intended to be very conspicuous.
• The optical active area is the part of the retroreflective material that has not lost any of its original photometric properties when converted into a device. This includes, but is not limited to, losses due to weld lines, holes, or printing.
• An orientation-sensitive material is one that has retroreflection coefficients that differ by more than 0 percent when measured at two rotation angles, 90 degrees and 15 degrees.
• A retro-reflective element is a portion of retro-reflective material (strip, tape, or any other shape that meets the design criteria of this document).
• Retroreflective material is material that is retroreflective but is not intended to comply with the requirements of this document for fluorescent material.
• A rigid device is a device that is not capable of bending.
• A discrete performance material is one that is intended to exhibit either fluorescent or retroreflective properties, but not both.

Enhanced visibility equipment is divided into three types based on foreseeable conditions of use:

• Type A is equipment worn by users where the risk of invisibility is only in daylight conditions. This equipment uses only fluorescent material as an enhanced visibility component.
• Type B is equipment worn by users where the risk of being invisible is only in dark conditions. This equipment uses only retroreflective material as the enhanced visibility component. Type B is divided into three levels (classification depends on the total area worn or the placement of the device on the user's torso and limbs):
  • Type B1 includes only free-hanging retroreflective devices. These devices are designed for gesture recognition.
  • Type B2 includes retroreflective devices or retroreflective material temporarily or permanently placed on limbs only. These products are designed for gesture recognition. At a minimum, the retroreflective material must be placed on limbs as a separate removable device or be permanently incorporated into the garment design as a retroreflective element.
  • Type B3 includes retroreflective material placed on the torso or torso and limbs. These products are designed for form recognition or form and movement recognition. Type B3 should not be a combination of permanently attached reflective material and removable reflective devices. Additional retroreflective or combined performance materials may be incorporated into garments.
• Type AB is equipment worn by users where there is a risk of not being seen in daylight, twilight and darkness conditions. This equipment uses fluorescent and retro-reflective or combined performance materials as enhanced visibility components.

Our organization has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. Among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies provided for businesses in various sectors, there are also test services in accordance with the standard “EN 17353 Protective clothing - Advanced visibility equipment for medium risk situations - Test methods and requirements”.