Non-Skid Shoes – Are They Worth It?
I am a car salesman and I spend 70% of my time on my feet. Oftentimes, I would be standing while entertaining clients and doing product demonstrations, either in the car dealership showroom or in mall displays. In some other instances, I would be doing my regular fieldwork following-up my clients. Needless to say, a pair of shoes which will provide me with comfort, stability, durability, skid-resistance, and fashion is in my wish-list. The comfort, stability, durability and fashion criteria are understandable. But why would I need non-skid shoes?
If you live in a country like mine wherein the “wet season” comprises half of the year, it will be easy for you to understand the importance of non-skid shoes. Try walking on smooth pavement, which has been exposed to even the mildest of drizzles. Ordinary non-slip-resistant footwear will cause you to lose your footing. I have hyper-extended my knees, twisted my ankle, and even fell flat on my butt a couple of times because of this condition. Luckily I have not broken anything except my fingernails and my ego. I am sure that people working in other industries like food service, manufacturing, health care, and construction suffer my plight in varying degrees.
How are slip and fall accidents prevented? Are non-skid shoes the remedy? Will the best non-skid shoes guarantee the prevention of these occurrences?
Slip and fall is the result of little or no traction between your feet and the surface. This is often caused by the presence of contaminants on the walking surface. These can be water, oil, soap, dust or just about any material which will reduce the traction of the surface. So will those oil and water resistant no-skid shoes solve our problem? Well, not necessarily so.
The effectiveness of non-skid shoes is determined by the special rubber compound as well as the tread design used in the soles. The rubber compound should be soft enough to provide slip resistance. This gripping ability has a direct bearing on the coefficient of friction (COF) between the different surfaces and the soles of the non-skid shoes. Hard rubber compounds have less gripping ability. Also, the design of the tread should be in such a way that there is at least a 2mm gap between the individual tread shapes, and the depth of the tread should be 3mm. The effectiveness of non-skid shoes wanes when the tread wears thin. This means that manufacturers have to strike a delicate balance in formulating the type of rubber compound to be utilized. Too hard will mean lower COF, while too soft will have an effect on wear, which has a direct repercussion on the non-skid effectiveness of the footwear. In practical terms, this means that your non-skid shoes are likely to be less durable than those pairs which are less slip resistant. And since the non-skid effectiveness is reduced with wear, you should be ready to replace those non-skid shoes more often especially if skid resistance is important in your daily chores.
Granted that you are wearing good condition slip-resistant footwear, is this already a guarantee that you will not be prone to slip and fall accidents? Definitely, the likelihood of slipping and falling will be less. But a non-occurrence is not guaranteed. This is so because other factors also come into play like the environment, the floor surface material and your specific behavior.
When we refer to the environment, we are speaking here of lighting, slope of the walking surface, and exposure to the elements. Naturally a well-lit area will make slicks more visible, hence avoidance can be done. A less sloping walking surface is less slippery, thereby making it less hazardous. Areas not exposed to the elements, like rain and excessive dust, will have less occurrences of slips.
The floor surface material has a significant bearing also. There are non-slip materials and designs which provide a high COF, as opposed to very smooth and slippery surfaces which are accident prone. There are treatments available, which make the surface tacky thereby less slippage.
Of course your behavior is a very important determinant. Even the safest, skid-free environment and surface material will not deter slip and fall accidents if the individuals involved lack care and concern for safety.
After all the considerations, we have reached a realization that non skid shoes are necessary in our daily regimen. A purchase is now in order.
Since non-slip shoes are not ordinary shoes, they do not come at an ordinary price. There is R & D necessary to determine the optimum rubber compound. The tread design entailed hours of computer aided design (CAD). Testing with different surfaces and in different environments had to be done. In short, the costs involved in the manufacturing (from design to final production) are more than what it takes to produce ordinary footwear. So rest assured that this specialized footwear is not cheap. This plus the fact that they wear out faster means that you will have to reach deeper in your pocket. And this is not a good thing. To reduce the wear, it may be wise to use your non skid shoes only when necessary. In my case, that’s 6 months in a year.
Different styles abound in the market from clogs made by Crocs to dress shoes made by Rockport and the different shapes and styles in between. This is a matter of preference as well as the fashion statement you wish to introduce. If you want to wear those Crocs Bistro clogs in the boardroom regardless if the color is orange, it is your personal choice. And if you are the chairman of the board, no one will stop you.
The bottom line is that non skid shoes are available for those who need them and for those who can afford them. This specialty footwear may not prevent your accidental slipping and falling on your butt, but it will surely lessen the likelihood of such embarrassing and sometimes bone-breaking scenarios.
Will I buy non skid shoes? Let’s put it this way, if I manage to sell a BMW 7 Series, I’ll buy several pairs of the non-slip Rockport dress shoes.
