CALTRANS TRIES GARB OF GREEN; LIME COLOR TESTED FOR BEST VISIBILITY.Byline: Gary Richards Rich·ards , Dickinson Woodruff 1895-1973. American physician. He shared a 1956 Nobel Prize for developing cardiac catheterization. Knight-Ridder News Service Caltrans and orange work vests, the two go together like commuting and brake lights. But get ready for a change. Not in traffic jams, but in the color vests some road crews will soon be wearing. Lime green. Yep, breaking with nearly a 40-year tradition, Caltrans will begin testing 400 lime green vests with a reflective Refers to light hitting an opaque surface such as a printed page or mirror and bouncing back. See reflective media and reflective LCD. strip running down the side. Maintenance and construction crews may wear the new colors, as well as the thousands of contractors who toil on state projects. ``For some time we've been looking at this idea of making our workers more visible,'' said Caltrans spokesman Jim Drago from Sacramento. ``There are questions that when they all are wearing orange, it tends to all blend together.'' Minnesota has toyed with different-colored vests for nearly four years. At the last Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It has been marketed for generations as "The Great Minnesota Get-Together. , they asked visitors what color stood out best. The reply: lime green. ``It seems to make people stand out more,'' said Drago. ``If drivers notice the new color and they slow down, then it's worked.'' Since 1924, 145 California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a government agency in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems in California. employees have been killed on the job. The most common hazard: Motorists who do not slow down when they see the orange trucks - eight of the last 10 fatalities since 1992 have occurred due to driver errors. There have been no fatalities of Caltrans employees since 1995, but 78 have been injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. in the last two years. Earlier this year, a contractor working on Interstate in·ter·state adj. Involving, existing between, or connecting two or more states. n. One of a system of highways extending between the major cities of the 48 contiguous United States. Noun 1. 80 in the Bay Area was killed when hit by a car. ``We have to be ever vigilant,'' Drago said, explaining the willingness to try the lighter color. ``Safety is something you cannot relax on.'' No workers will be forced to wear lime green vests, but volunteers will be sought. Trucks and other road equipment will remain orange. A few new vests were shown to maintenance workers in San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. on Thursday, and the reaction seemed mixed. ``It looks like the color of fire trucks,'' said Alan Chase. ``I imagine it does contrast more than the orange.'' Would he volunteer for lime green? ``Ah, I think I'm an orange kind of guy,'' Chase replied. |
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