Safety Direct America is proud to share a new national feature published by USA Weekly: “John Sotter’s Mission to Make America’s Floors Safer Through Science and Engineering.”
Published on July 23, 2026, the article examines John Sotter’s decades-long effort to improve pedestrian safety through scientific floor testing, engineering, public education, and the development of more reliable slip-resistance standards.
Most people rarely think about the safety of the floor beneath them. That usually changes only after someone slips, falls, and suffers a serious injury.
For John Sotter, president of Safety Direct America and Sotter Engineering Corporation, and co-Founder of the American Floor Safety Alliance (AFSA), waiting until after an accident has never been good enough.
A Career Focused on Preventing Falls
The USA Weekly feature explores how Sotter built his career around a deceptively simple question:
How can we determine whether a floor will be safe for its intended use before someone gets hurt?
Answering that question requires more than looking at a floor or relying on a manufacturer’s claims. It certainly doesn’t require asking a full-time expert witness who mainly works for insurance companies using debunked and imprecise junk science like the English XL and Brungraber Mark IIB. It requires scientifically reliable testing that reflects how flooring performs under real-world conditions—particularly when it becomes wet or contaminated – internationally-recognized science.
For more than 25 years, Sotter has performed laboratory and field slip-resistance testing for more than 1,100 non-attorney clients across the United States and internationally. His experience includes commercial buildings, hotels, hospitals, transportation facilities, public infrastructure, industrial properties, residential developments, government facilities, and legal investigations involving serious slip-and-fall accidents.
The USA Weekly article also discusses Sotter’s background in urban planning, chemistry, engineering, and municipal public safety, including 17 years of safety work for the City of San Clemente.
That combination of technical knowledge and practical field experience has shaped Safety Direct America’s approach: measure first, identify the actual hazard, and then recommend the appropriate solution, if required.
Better Science Leads to Better Safety
One of the central themes of the USA Weekly article is the need for more reliable and scientifically defensible floor testing.
As the article states:
“Better science leads to better safety.”
A floor can look perfectly safe while becoming dangerously slippery when wet. Conversely, a floor may appear smooth or glossy while still providing adequate traction. Appearance alone cannot reliably determine whether a walking surface is safe.
That is why Safety Direct America relies on objective measurements and internationally recognized testing principles rather than assumptions, visual inspections, or unverified marketing claims.
The feature highlights Sotter’s involvement in improving ASTM E303-22, a pendulum-based test method used to measure slip resistance. The pendulum floor slip resistance tester can evaluate how a surface performs under conditions intended to better represent the interaction between footwear and a floor during walking.
Sotter has also worked to promote stronger standards through the American Floor Safety Alliance, which supports evidence-based testing methods and greater accountability throughout the floor-safety industry.
Why Slip-and-Fall Prevention Matters
Falls remain one of the most serious and widespread causes of injury in the United States, particularly among older adults. Many people profit from slip injuries (doctors, hospitals, lawyers, “expert” witnesses, surgeons, pharmaceutical companies, physical therapists, etc.), so America’s test-publishing organizations just let people keep getting hurt. The ASTM F13 slip resistance committee (and other ASTM committees) have had a large part in making sure no good test methods were available until 2022, when John Sotter updated ASTM E303-22.
As America’s population continues to age, preventing falls will become even more important for hospitals, senior communities, hotels, restaurants, businesses, public agencies, architects, property managers, and homeowners.
A serious fall can result in hospitalization, surgery, permanent disability, loss of independence, or death. Yet many floor-related incidents can be prevented when hazards are identified and corrected before an injury occurs. There are no slip “accidents”, just people who have chosen beauty over function and safety.
Safety Direct America provides:
- Laboratory and on-site slip-resistance testing
- ASTM E303 and AFSA FS101 pendulum floor slip testing
- Floor-safety evaluations
- Expert witness and litigation-support services
- Engineering consultation
- Anti-slip floor treatments and coatings
- Independent testing of flooring products and materials
- Recommendations for correcting hazardous walking surfaces
Importantly, Safety Direct America does not begin by simply trying to sell a treatment. We begin by testing the floor, understanding the conditions, and determining what—if anything—needs to be corrected.
National Recognition for an Overlooked Safety Issue
The USA Weekly feature follows national coverage of John Sotter and Safety Direct America by publications including USA Today, LA Weekly, International Business Times, Benzinga, and CEO Monthly.
This growing recognition reflects increased awareness that floor safety is not merely a maintenance issue or a litigation issue. It is an injury-prevention and public-health issue. Falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits in the USA, according to the CDC, year after year after year.
For decades, Sotter has argued that preventing a fall is far more effective—and far less costly—than responding after someone has already been injured. For American insurance companies, however, they’ve learned to hire expert “liars for hire” (see the English XL and Brungraber Mark IIIB users) to help not pay out on legitimate claims – something Sotter has been exposing for the past several years. The rich get richer (insurance company owners), while the poor and declining middle class (innocent pedestrians without amazing lawyers) suffer. Ever wonder why ever other billboard in America is a personal injury attorney? Now you know. They’re all looking for dead people and people in wheelchairs, though, not people with a broken wrist and a month of lost wages, unfortunately.
The safest buildings are not necessarily the buildings with the most warning signs. They are the buildings where hazards have been properly measured, flooring materials have been responsibly selected, and foreseeable risks have been corrected before an incident occurs.
USA Weekly concludes the feature with a statement that captures the purpose behind John Sotter’s career:
“The safest floor is the one no one ever has to think about.”
We appreciate USA Weekly for bringing greater attention to this important issue and for recognizing John Sotter’s continuing mission to make America’s walking surfaces safer through science, engineering, education, and prevention.
Read the complete USA Weekly feature:
John Sotter’s Mission to Make America’s Floors Safer Through Science and Engineering
To learn more about slip-resistance testing, floor-safety evaluations, expert witness services, or anti-slip solutions, contact Safety Direct America.