Personal Flotation Device - Design(s)

Design(s)

Lifejackets or life vests are mandatory on airplanes travelling over water (in which case they consist of a pair of air cells (bladders) that can be inflated by triggering the release of carbon dioxide gas from a canister—one canister for each separate cell. Or the cells can be inflated "orally" that is by blowing into a flexible tube with a one-way valve to seal the air in the cell). Lifejackets must also be supplied on commercial seafaring vessels, accessible to all crew and passengers and to be donned in an emergency. Not only people wear personal flotation devices; some are available for dogs to wear.

Flotation devices are also found in near water-edges and at swimming pools. They may take the form of a simple vest, a jacket, a full-body suit (one piece coverall), or their variations suited for particular purposes. They are most commonly made of a tough synthetic fiber material encapsulating a source of buoyancy, such as foam or a chamber of air, and are often brightly colored as yellow or orange to maximize visibility for rescues. Some devices consist of a combination of both buoyancy foam and an air chamber. Retroreflective "SOLAS" tape is often sewn to the fabric used to construct lifejackets and PFDs to facilitate a person being spotted in darkness when a search light is shone towards the wearer. Per federal regulations all persons under the age of 13 are required to a life jacket (PFD) when in a watercraft under 12 meters.State regulations may raise or lower this number and must be followed when in that states jurisdiction.