One industry that has grown in leaps and bounds in the last few years is floor treatment industry that makes floors anti slip. Interestingly, one reason behind this tremendous growth is the increasing number of fraudulent insurance claims made by victims of slip and fall. There are also attorneys ready to fight the cases of victims, assuring them of no fee until they win compensation. This growth of anti slip ratings in floor industry is also fuelled by manufacturers who believe in creating visually stunning floors, overlooking the aspect of safety of the people. Their only motivation seems to be to impress potential clients even if this beauty comes at a high risk of slip and fall accidents..
It is not correct to put the blame entirely upon builders and architects as they are often pressed by clients to utilize flooring material that looks visually stunning even if the floor is slippery with a coefficient of friction that is dangerously low. These people often take decisions made by their hearts rather than by their heads. Is the reason why one sees very glossy tiles on floors in areas that are exposed to the elements? Such decisions in other walks of life are not dangerous as you are not at a high risk with glossy paint of your car or the wall of the living room. But it is certainly a decision that is fraught with dangers when it is made for floorings as it can lead to a drastic increase in slip and fall accidents.
Thankfully, there are many ways in which you can make the floor less slippery and thus safer for the people made to walk upon it. Do not forget to ask for the slip rating of the tile before buying to be sure of slip resistant floor. If such a rating is not available, put the tile on the floor, pour a glass of water over it and place your feet over it. It has passed the slippery floor test if you do not slip over it. You can also send the shortlisted tile to slip coefficient testing in London and across UK to know its suitability for your purposes.
Remember, it is a very costly exercise to get the entire flooring changed if it is found to be slippery later on. It is far better to exercise caution and perform slippery floor test to know whether the tile is just pretty or it is also practical.