It’s common for wet floors to be present in all types of public spaces, from public bathrooms to shopping malls to offices. When there is a wet floor because of a spillage or from cleaning activities, it is required for wet floor signs to be present to alert people. This is intended to prevent a slip-and-fall accident from taking place.
However, sometimes wet floors were not displayed in an appropriate way, and because of the confusion caused by this, a person slips and injures him or herself regardless. So, when is a wet floor sign used improperly?
They should be a bright color
Wet floor signs need to be noticed, because if they are not easily visible, then they are not doing their job. The American National Standards Institute has determined that they should be yellow with black writing. A white sign with pale writing, for example, would be inappropriate.
They should cater for foreign language speakers
If your first language is not English, then you may not understand the sign, and injure yourself as a result. Therefore, icons should be used to demonstrate the caution. Ideally, the sign would also have information in other languages.
The sign should be positioned correctly
Wet floor signs should only be placed where appropriate. For example, placing a sign on a dry floor can create mistrust and confusion. It should also be placed to attempt to divert pedestrian traffic.
If you suffered a slip-and-fall injury where wet floor signs were inappropriately placed, it is important to think about the faults that were made by the company that led to the accident before taking action.
Source: Society Insurance, “5 Considerations for Effective Wet Floor Signs,” accessed Nov. 14, 2017
