Swimming Pool Safety Signs are not just a nice to have decoration around your pool area. Pool signs are informative to increase safety, help prevent accidents and provide a level of protection for your legal responsibility.
Many city councils and local government authorities require pool safety signs be displayed around all swimming pools, spas and hot tubs. A CPR sign with emergency contact information is mandatory for pool safety certification in many local government areas.
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Why are Pool Safety Signs Important?
Pool Signs make people aware of the dangers of swimming pools. And it’s not just the water that is dangerous. People frequently injure themselves getting in and out of pools. Pool surrounds can be slippery and abrasive causing accidents.
- Drowning is the fourth leading cause of accidental death in the USA for persons of all ages. Many of these drownings occur in private, backyard swimming pools.
- Each year hundreds of children in the USA (thousands of children around the world), under the age of five, drown. Studies show that most of these deaths occurred when an adult was close by, but distracted or not watching.
- There are too many diving accidents caused by people diving into shallow water and hitting the hard bottom or diving onto other swimmers.
- Pool safety fences left open give a small child the opportunity to fall in the water and drown.
Pool Safety Signs Protect Your Legal Responsibility
You may have installed a pool fence, lockable gate, pool lighting and pool alarm but pool safety signs clearly display that you have taken your legal responsibility seriously and offer a level of legal protection.
If you don’t want persons using your pool while you are not at home install a sign indicating the pool is private. When you don’t want diving, jumping, loud noise, young children, glassware, or whatever install a sign.
Nobody can ignore or pretend they didn’t see the sign on the entry gate.
Pool Signs with Symbols and Easy to Understand Language
Good pool safety signs must have internationally recognized symbols and simple, easy to understand language so that everyone will know what the sign means.
This makes it difficult for people to ignore the sign because it’s not in their native language.
Swimming Pool Etiquette
Pool etiquette signs help to ensure the pool area is a respectful environment for everyone.
Many signs are designed for common areas of community property and simply ask people to respect the rights of others. But some of these signs can still be useful in your backyard to keep the area safe.
Common signs are:
- Shower before entering the pool
- Do not use the pool as a toilet
- No Diving
- Keep glass out of the pool area
- No Running
- Residents only
- No loud noise or music
Please read our article on Swimming Pool Etiquette
CPR Pool Safety Sign
Many local government areas require pool owners to display a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) sign inside the pool area. This is a mandatory requirement with a pool safety inspection and certificate of safety.
- The sign must be placed inside the pool area in a prominent position that is easy to see from anywhere in the pool area.
- Made from weatherproof material.
- Larger than 300mm x 300mm so it can be easily read by all. Remember many adults require reading glasses so a larger sign is easier to read.
- Explains how to perform CPR on a person.
- How to issue first aid to an injured person.
- Displays the emergency phone number (eg 911).
Pool Safety Certificate
Many authorities around the world require pool owners obtain a pool safety certificate when buying, selling or leasing a property with a swimming pool. The burden to obtain the pool safety certificate falls on the property owner. Usually the land titles office will not complete a title transfer for the sale of a property without a pool safety certificate.
The process to obtaining a safety certificate is to contact the local authority for a pool safety compliance inspector to visit your home and check your pool and backyard is in compliance with the regulations. When you have met the compliance regulations a pool safety certificate is issued.
Please read our article How to Pass a Pool Safety Inspection
Conclusion
Swimming pool safety is mostly common sense. However, for some people common sense is not common practice and they are not always mindful or respectful of other people.
The world would not need pool etiquette signs if everyone respected everyone else. However, pool signs help to ensure the pool area is a respectful environment for everyone.
Pool owners have a legal obligation to ensure the pool area is a safe environment. Installing pool signs help show that owners take safety seriously and have met their legal obligations.