If you have been around automobiles as long as we have, you have clearly seen the trend over the past few decades toward greater vehicle safety. Some of us at CARiD are old enough to remember when cars did not have air bags, much less 3-point seat belts. If you’re under 30 years old, you (thankfully) don't remember an automotive world without child safety seats, self-tensioning seat belts, side impact beams, and more air bags than we can count.
So if we insist on being as safe as possible when riding in our vehicles, why do so many of us ignore the obvious and simple safety steps we can take when working on said vehicles? Or for that matter, why do we fail to practice good safety habits any time we're using power tools and equipment at home, including but not limited to lawn mowers, weed whackers, and power saws?
Ask any experienced automotive technician if safety protection is important, and you will hear an unqualified "yes". Ask further what parts of the body suffer the most from years of exposure to debris, contaminants, and noise, and you'll be told that it's the eyes, lungs, ears, and knees that bear the brunt of the onslaught. Any safety equipment that provides protection in those areas today means better health tomorrow. We know this is true ourselves, so in this article we'll look at the range of safety equipment we offer. Our Safety Equipment category has four types of products, and we'll take a look at each of the four.
Safety Glasses And Eye Protection
In our safety glasses section, we offer stylish protection with a wide choice of designs. For those looking for basic safety glasses that can be worn as comfortably as a favorite pair of reading glasses, you'll find a number of shapes, colors, and sizes to protect you when you're doing work that requires some minimal eye protection.
For a higher level of eye safety, we've got safety goggles that form a seal against cheeks and face for maximum protection. The Uvex Strategy Safety Goggles, Uvex V-Max, Uvex Fury Wraparound Goggle, FJC Splash Goggles, and Firepower Clear Safety Goggles are just some of the choices we offer. For those that do serious grinding work, the Firepower Clear Face Shield With Ratcheting Head Gear is a helmet that fits over your head with a curved 8" x 12" visor curved plexiglass shield in front.
How about the convenience of safety goggles equipped with built-in compact LED lights? The Mayhew Tools Lighted 2.0 Magnifier Safety Glasses provides 2 LEDs along with 2.0x bifocal magnifiers for reading small print. The SAS Safety LED Inspector Readers also offers bi-focals in your choice of 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, or 3.0x magnification strength. These are just some of the safety goggles we offer with built-in LED lights and bifocals.
Sas Safety Replacement Eye Wash Water Preservative
And if you're looking for an eyewash safety system to meet OSHA compliance or as a personal fail-safe, the SAS Safety Eyewash Safety Station comes with water preservative that's pressure-fed by gravity. No plumbing hookups are required, and the system comes with its own fitted mounting bracket. We also offer separate water refills for the system when you need them.
Hearing Protection
We offer a range of products within our Hearing Protection category designed to protect your ears from loud outside noise. Some focus on basic, no-frills noise reduction. Others offer features such as microphones that suppress loud sounds, but filter in low-frequency voice conversations which can be heard thanks to speakers inside the headphones. We've even got noise-suppression headphones with a built-in radio and audio input jack. And if you prefer earplugs, we've got polymer-based earplugs and foam-based ear plugs that effectively block out sound.
Noise Reduction Rating
Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) is a rating assigned by the American National Standards Institute and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and it is something which should be considered when purchasing safety headphones. A higher NRR rating means a greater amount of decibel noise (dB) is reduced by the headphones. However, it is important to note that headphones do not reduce the surrounding dB level by the exact number of decibels associated with their NRR rating.
To calculate the exact amount of noise reduction, take the NRR number and subtract 7, then divide that number by 2. For example, if you're working next to a woodchipper putting out 100 decibels and your headphones have an NRR of 27, they would actually be reducing the noise level entering your ears by 10 decibels - because the formula specifies (27-7)/2=10. Most headphones offer a noise reduction rating of 21 to 25, but we've noted several that go above and beyond that in the paragraphs below.
When you're at the shooting range or anyplace where loud, short blasts of sound are encountered, we offer electronic headphones with the built-in ability to filter OUT noise over 85dB. Thanks to built-in microphones and stereo earphones, low-frequency noises such as someone speaking to you are filtered IN. Volume control knobs allow adjustment of loudness. We offer headphones created for the shooting range such as the Motorola Electronic Hearing Protection Headset that features a 2-way radio for communicating, loud noise reduction with low frequency microphone enhancement, and stereo speakers inside the headphones for music. Astro-Pneumatic Tool's Auto Sound Deadening Earmuffs and Walker's Alpha Power Muffs also eliminate noise over 85dB and feature microphones that filter in those speaking aloud near you.
If you're looking for simple noise-reducing headphones without extra features, the S&G Tool Aid Improved Hearing Protector offers best value with an NRR of 24. For children or smaller-sized adults, the Walker's Youth & Women Folding Muff offers NRR protection of 27. And for maximum noise screening, Walker's EXT Folding Range Muff offers a high NRR of 34. Should you prefer to listen to music with your noise-reduction headphones, the SAS Safety Digital AM/FM Earmuffs provide noise reduction of 25 and offer a digitally-tuned radio with built-in antenna and MP3/iPod jack.
Masks & Respirators
In our Masks & Respirators section, we offer heavy duty respirators that are created for the professional who regularly works around heavy levels of dust from brake linings, clutches, and undercoating, as well as painting fumes. For best value, the DeVilbiss Disposable Cartridge Respirator offers two replaceable filters, and 3M's Half Face Grinding and Minor Fume Respirator contains replaceable filters with activated charcoal for maximum protection that minimizes the nuisance of moisture buildup.
If you'll be doing paint work in an enclosed area, 3M's Dual Cartridge Paint Respirator Assembly contains organic vapor cartridges especially designed to trap spray paint particulates. Its maintenance-free design means the respirator is discarded after both vapor cartridges are used up.
Knee Pads & Kneeling Mats
You may not give much thought to how knee pads protect you, but they do take the pressure off the small fluid sacs that cushion and lubricate the knee. If you're on your knees without pads on a regular basis, tendinitis can occur over time as tendons develop inflammation and tears. Additionally, pica syndrome can develop when ligaments become unnaturally folded, and the rubbery meniscus cushion that protects knee joints can tear and break down. When any of these conditions develop, chronic pain is the result. That's why we offer a variety of knee pads and knee mats to protect this sensitive area of your body.
For example, the S&G Tool Aid Knee Pads and CLC Work Gear's Gel-Tek Swivel Cap Kneepads don't actually swivel, but the outer shape of their caps makes it easy for you to do so with a greater range of forward or lateral movement. If you're a roofer or just need kneepads with grippy tread that maximizes grip on rough surfaces, check out the Hanson iGel Kneepads.
If you're working on a hard surface that's smooth and flat, it's easy to slide around - especially if the surface is wet. CLC Work Gear offers the Ultraflex Non-Skid Kneepads designed just for this type of hazardous environment. They're extremely comfortable to wear and grip even the slickest surfaces because their rubber construction is pliable, and built-in grooves expel water buildup.
We've also got cushioned kneeling pads and mats from Snap-On, S&G, CLC Work Gear, and King Tony. These are super-easy to throw down on any surface, and function equally well in the garden as they do in the driveway.
When you've made your decision on purchasing any of the above products, check to see if a "Product Options" field exists for a specific item. If so, investigate further to see any product variations that may be available - such as sizes or colors.
Don't take your personal safety for granted! Given the incredibly wide variety of eye, ear, lung, and knee protection we offer, you owe it to yourself to browse our complete line of safety equipment. We want to keep you safe and sound!