Safety Glasses Regulations

[CDSEngineers]

Hey, I was just wondering if there are any regulations on safety glasses in the pits and the competition, because our team is thinking of using glasses whose color matches our team colors.

Thanks in advance for the replies!

[EricH]

Well, last year, the rule was that 1) you HAD to wear them and 2) they had to be ANSI-approved and 3) rose, blue, and amber were the only allowed tints. Side shields are a must. Individuals with ANSI-approved normal glasses (with side shields) may wear those; otherwise, goggles had to go over them.

(Paraphrased from 2008 FRC Game Manual, Section 3, At the Events, located at http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedFiles...vents-RevC.pdf Rules are for the 2008 competition season and may or may not change for the 2009 season. I would suspect not for this one, though.)

[ttldomination]

Just out of curiosity, so all of the safety glasses on the following page would be legal? http://parts.ftcrobots.com/store/def...&c=0&t=1&l= 0

[Allison]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

Just out of curiosity, so all of the safety glasses on the following page would be legal? http://parts.ftcrobots.com/store/def...&c=0&t=1&l= 0

Per last years rules as Eric stated above (note: this could change this year) the clear and amber ones on that page were legal while the smoke and mirror ones were not.

[Dick Linn]

Use time-tested safety gear

[ttldomination]

Hmm...My team wants the mirror ones, mainly cause they look really cool, but I guess we'll get both, just in case at competition they ask us to remove them.

[EricH]

Remember what the rule says:

Originally Posted by Section 3.3.3, FRC Game Manual

Safety glasses must be non-shaded, except for rose, blue, and amber tints.

I don't see anything in there about mirror tints being allowed at competition, cool or not.

[Allison]

If you have the ability to wait till the start of build season when the new rules are released that would be the best bet. I mentored a team for a few years where the smoke/shaded safety glasses were part of the team image in 2006 however they had to change to amber due to the rules change in 2007. You can't read the guys at GDCs mind so unless you have a real reason to buy them now I would wait till January. For all we know there could be some crazy rule that you must a face shield instead of safety glasses or something, the point is we just don't know.

Once again Eric quoted the rule that states rose, blue, amber, and non-tinted. As much as this rule seems to just be a step to control us it does have a purpose. Have you ever tried to walk down a poorly lit hallway with shades on? Maybe you can wear something else without getting asked to remove them but to me that goes against the spirit of the rule. After all, even if you don't get "caught" breaking the rule you are still break it.

[ebarker]

I'd save the money and bet against mirrored glasses. I strongly suspect they will not be allowed.

[Cynette]

I second or third the comment to wait and see! Mirrored or shaded are usually frowned upon with the logic being that you should to be able to see the eyes of the person you are working with. That way you know if they are seeing the hazard as you do, or if they are looking away and are distracted.

Choose your glasses carefully. We ran into a major problem at championships in April with our glasses. They had a slight gold sheen to them which was to reduce the glare off of the plexiglas field divider, and the safety advisors (after we wore them at two regionals) determined that they were not clear enough. The fun part was the when we went to buy new glasses at the FIRST store on site, they were selling the same ones we were wearing.

[Roger]

After ~5 years of wearing clunky goggles over my regular glasses, I'm finally going to get real safety prescription glasses with the side protectors. The place I'm going to (attached to a major University in Boston ) has safety glasses that go to a different standard than ANSI; I forget the initials they used, but they claim its equal. After searching on-line for the ANSI standards and these standards, I'm wondering if it's worth the bother to match them up and just get them. But why don't they don't have any "cool" glasses?

And while I agree about the use of safety glasses, is ANSI the only standard to go by? Can I go with an equal standard?

And how come there are not more safety glasses in stores that fit over regular glasses? You'd a think with all us people with glasses there would be a bigger market.

Originally Posted by Allison

Per last years rules as Eric stated above (note: this could change this year) the clear and amber ones on that page were legal while the smoke and mirror ones were not.

We only deal in real stuff here -- no smoke and mirror magic! (sorry)

[Bobwhite2337]

Originally Posted by Roger

After ~5 years of wearing clunky goggles over my regular glasses, I'm finally going to get real safety prescription glasses with the side protectors. The place I'm going to (attached to a major University in Boston ) has safety glasses that go to a different standard than ANSI; I forget the initials they used, but they claim its equal. After searching on-line for the ANSI standards and these standards, I'm wondering if it's worth the bother to match them up and just get them. But why don't they don't have any "cool" glasses?

And while I agree about the use of safety glasses, is ANSI the only standard to go by? Can I go with an equal standard?

I am unaware of any other standard that is officially recognized. The OSHA regulations that govern the use and selection of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), explicitly state that protective eyeware must conform to ANSI Z87.1.

1910.133(b)(1)

Protective eye and face devices purchased after July 5, 1994 shall comply with ANSI Z87.1-1989, "American National Standard Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection," which is incorporated by reference as specified in Sec. 1910.6

[DonRotolo]

One further comment on safety glasses: While a nod to fashion is OK, remember the real purpose, which is protection for your eyes. While almost all safety glasses* will do that, you have to wear them to get that protection! Seems kind of obvious, but if your safety glasses are not comfortable, or if they distort your vision (and cause an eye-strain headache), you won't want to wear them.

The point is: Pick glasses that are ANSI Approved, and that are both comfortable and with low-distortion lenses.

How many times have we seen participants wearing their forehead protectors, complaining of poor fit and vision?

Don