What are the Differences Between Class 2 & Class 3 ANSI Safety Vests?

In order to receive a rating of a class 2 or class 3 safety vest, a vest must achieve preset requirements set by the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI. These requirements include the amount of necessary reflect material on the safety vest, the amount of background material, and whether or not the garment has sleeves.

Safety vest classes were designed to help regulate the required vests needed by state workers. ANSI vests are necessary in areas of high speed traffic and if workers are near heavy machinery. If you are purchasing a safety vest for yourself personally, there is no law requiring you to wear a safety vest of a certain class. It is always a good idea, however, to consider purchasing a class 2 or class 3 safety vest, as it will provide more visibility than that of an economy vest.

Now let's break down the different classes of safety vests:

Class 2 Safety Vests - These reflective safety vests are required for workers who are near heavy machinery or near traffic between the speeds of 25 - 50 mph. ANSI designates that all class 2 safety vests must have 201 square inches of retro-reflective material, with 1.375 inch reflective striping. They must also have 775 square inches of background material and are sleeveless.

Class 3 Safety Vests - These safety vests give the user higher visibility than a class 2 vest. They have sleeves, 310 square inches of reflective material with 2 inch striping, and 1240 square inches of background material. Class 3 vests are required for workers near traffic in excess of 50 mph.

ANSI 207-2006 Vests - These special purpose vests are rated for service workers, such as police officers, EMS workers, fire departments, and other types of emergency response teams.

Economy Class Vests - This terminology can be somewhat tricky. Some websites use the term economy to denote a safety vest as cheap or inexpensive, while some others use the term to describe a safety vest that does not meet the ANSI requirements of a class 2 or 3 vest. It is important to check the description for clarification.