The four primary factors affecting the likelihood of slipping and falling include walking surface materialand finish, footwear sole design and condition, contaminants present at the interface between the floor andshoe sole, and human factors issues such as gait dynamics and expectancy. Perhaps the least studied ofthese factors is footwear. Footwear sole materials vary widely in their composition, tread pattern, and hardness.The purpose of this study was to assess the slip resistance of a variety of common shoe sole materialson selected floor surfaces under wet and dry conditions. Five shoe sole materials were tested on six floorsurfaces. The results showed a wide variance in slip resistance among popular shoe sole materials. Moreover,some shoe sole materials were substantially more susceptible to reductions in slip resistance when thefloor surface was contaminated with water.
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