When I first got into this business, I tried to figure out ways to get the attention of oncoming traffic when I was escorting an unusually wide load along a two lane road.  I came upon the idea of wearing orange gloves.  That was effective, up to a point.  At least people could see my hand (I usually direct traffic from my truck with my left hand).

I am always looking for new tools to use, and one day I came upon a product called GLO GLOVES.  It is a black nylon/spandex stretchable glove with highly reflective vinyl shapes sewn to the palm, back and back fingers.  There are three different versions of this product:  original, traffic control, and sports gloves.  I use the traffic control version for my work.

The vinyl shapes include the stop sign shape in red on the palms, and a yellow triangular shape on the backs.  The backs of the half fingers have reflective yellow rectangles.  The effect of the triangular shape is that of an arrow pointing in a certain direction.  Believe it or not, motorists see those shapes and seem to know immediately what you are trying to communicate to them:  stop, go in this direction, and etc.

I also use these gloves effectively when I am behind a load on a two lane road, in particular on a winding narrow two lane road.  I communicate with the lead escort, and if traffic is coming, I hold my palm (with the red stop sign shape) toward the vehicles behind me.  When traffic is clear, I turn the back of my hand toward them, thus indicating it is clear for them to pass.  When the weather is cold, I leave the window up and use the back of my right hand to signal oncoming traffic that they need to move to the shoulder.

These half finger gloves are stretchable and come in one-size-fits-all.  They comfortably fit from medium to XXL handes.  They even stretch over conventional gloves, so you don’t have to give up comfort for safety.  The down side is that they do not come in small or childrens and women’s sizes.

You can buy these GLO GLOVES at a variety of places.  If you go the the GLO GLOVES website (http://www.gloglov.com/index.html), they have a list of places where you can buy them.  The prices range from about $15.50 to $24 per pair.  These make excellent gifts for pilot car operators, bicycling enthusiasts, and runners.

 I am leaving a day early so I can meet those folks and maybe do a little sightseeing on the way.