Visual contrast:
Stair safety for the visually impaired

Being able to distinguish the edge of stair treads easily is an obvious safety aspect and is particularly important for the partially sighted.

For people with adequate vision, differences in colour intensity usually provide sufficient visual contrast under normal lighting conditions. However, many people who are visually impaired find it difficult to distinguish between different hues, and the best measure of their ability to identify colour differences is a figure called the Light Reflectance Value (LRV).

The LRV is a 100 point scale that expresses the percentage of visible light reflected by a surface at all wavelengths and in all directions, where 0 is complete black and 100 is complete white. In practice, black normally has a value of around 6 and white around 85.

Current regulatory guidance based on the final stage of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)* says that a difference of 30 points or more in LRV is sufficient to provide reasonable visual contrast for the visually impaired, for example between a stair tread and its nosing.

The LRVs for Safe Tread Stair Treads and Stair Nosings are shown in the following table. As can be seen, the differences for Safe Tread yellow or white nosings, for example, when used with darker treads comfortably exceed these guidelines.

 The test procedure complies with the requirements of the British Standard for the measurement of LRVs: BS 8493:2008+A1:2010.

*The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 was incorporated into the Equality Act 2010 in England, Scotland and Wales. 

The Equality Act 2010 requires that all new and refurbished public buildings and workplaces comply with regulations ensuring safe entry, exit and passage throughout the building. The regulations mean that people, regardless of disability, age or gender, must be able to gain equal access to public buildings.

More information on products: Anti-slip Stair Nosing | Anti-slip Stair Treads.