Glo-Gloves: Let Me See Your Hands
Working traffic accidents at night has always been a safety problem. For whatever reason—fatigue, driving while impaired, talking on cell phones, rubbernecking, etc.—drivers often fail to see officers standing in the roadway when they’re tending to the injured, investigating the accident, or even directing traffic.
Police uniforms are normally dark—deep blue or black, and rightfully so. They don’t want to stand out like a human bull’s eye at night. However, dark uniforms are counter-productive during the times when officers really need to be highly visible—while directing traffic and working automobile accidents. To increase visibility officers wear reflective gear, such as vests and raincoats.
Most officers keep their equipment, including their safety vests, flares, and traffic cones, inside the trunks of their patrol vehicles. Vests are quite visible when illuminated by oncoming headlights. Flares light up small patches of roadway, and bright orange cones are okay. But these are all fixed objects, which is what etches into a motorist’s mind—all those brightly colored, reflective things are inanimate objects. After all, they’re not moving, right? The same is true for the officer who’s standing in the midst of a sea of orange. That big orange thing isn’t moving, so it must be a safety device.
There are two very simple solutions to the problem. Officers can hop up and down so drivers can tell they’re not part of the safety equipment. Or, they can wear reflective gloves that highlight their hand movements. A simple wave of an illuminated hand alerts the driver that what he’s seeing is a human, and not a tall traffic cone.
Enter…Glo Gloves. Officers can slip on a pair before getting out of the car, an act that also provides a measure of safety while they’re walking to the trunk to grab the other safety equipment.
Glo Gloves are made from stretchable nylon/Spandex to allow for a comfortable fit, and the flexible material affords maximum mobility and dexterity. Great idea, huh? I just hope officers don’t mistake them for their regular gloves and accidentally slip them on during a nighttime stakeout!
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Would you like to win the entire first season of Southland on DVD? How about having the opportunity to ask Michael Cudlitz (John Cooper) that question that’s been bugging you since the show first aired? Well here’s your chance. Check out the details straight from the folks at TNT.
Let SouthLAnd Star Michael Cudlitz Answer Your Question and Win Season 1 on DVD!
Season 2 of the gritty police drama SouthLand is in full swing on Tuesdays 9/10c on TNT, and we have special access to the show’s star, Michael Cudlitz. We’d like to come up with the most creative and original question possible – and that’s where you come in!
Send your question to Michael via this post by Friday 3/26/2010. Ask anything you like, but the winning question must be creative and original and must not have already been covered at: http://www.tnt.tv/series/southland/display/?contentId=56444
The winner will receive Season 1 of SouthLAnd on DVD and will have their question answered online by Michael Cudlitz.
* Prizes are supplied by the SouthLand Team at TNT.
I’d love to win the DVD because I’ve never seen the show, but have always wanted to. Unfortunately, that also means I have no question to ask!
I just wanted to say how cool these gloves are, not only for law enforcement, but now that my youngest son saw them, he wants a pair for his birthday in two weeks! I told him I didn’t think I could become a police officer by then.
Thanks for another great piece of info, Lee.
Hi Gwen. Thanks for stopping by again. We try.
Melanie – This is the place. The winning question will be answered by Michael on Southland’s FaceBook page on April 5th, I believe. We’ll announce the winner and the definite date on Monday.
Is this where we post our questions, Lee? Hope so. Here’s mine:
I love Southland. Michael, do you ever find yourself reacting like a law enforcement officer in real life? I’ve read that other actors, some of the Law & Order folks, to be specific, have had that instinct kick in and have taken control in emergency situations.
Thanks!
Melanie
Great idea. I’m all for anything that will make their jobs safer. And, of course, like Michele said, you never know when you might want to throw it into an MS. Thanks for your great site!
That’s why I point them out. You just never know what someone will find useful. Not every page is about dead bodies and DNA.
Cool equipment, Lee. I love these little bits that can be thrown into an MS…Everyt little detail counts!
Michele
What no enterprising kids around to pay to do the shoveling? We got lucky and most of that stuff passed us by to go dump on you.
To top it off, what snow did fall here, some snow elf came and shoveled our walk before we had a chance to get outside. This is what DH and I used to do for the neighborhood before his MS kicked his ass. Glad to see someone is continuing our tradition.
DO NOT injure yourself my dear–wish I could send you our elf but I don’t know which neighbor it was.
Somebody has to do the shoveling. I did a little at a time.
Ya know, I have more cookies to bake. I don’t have time for any of this writing stuff!
And I don’t think you should be shoveling snow. Knock it off!
Good morning,
Somebody will have a white Christmas ! Happy Holidays all.
New Year resolution number one: No waiting until the last minute to send a story off !