Non-Warning Warnings

Although accident prevention signs were standardized as early as 1941, and the guidelines have remained relatively unchanged, signs written today often do not conform to these standards. Accident prevention signs, if they are to be effective, must alert the observer to the level of the hazard and should always be presented in the prescribed format. This paper presents a historical survey of accident prevention signs as presented in standards published by the United States of American Standards Institute (later to become the American National Standards Institute, ANSI), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and other standards publishing agencies. Emphasis is on the prescribed format and color for the designated signs. Examples of conforming and non-conforming signs are presented. The paper does not deal with the psychology of warnings, other than the aspects associated with color and format.