In Europe a slip resistance test for flooring is prescribed by German Institute for Normalization (DIN) standard DIN 51130. A person wearing industrial-type treaded shoes walks, facing downslope, on a variable-angle ramp which has the flooring to be tested on it. The flooring is coated with motor oil. The walker (without holding the handrails) adjusts the ramp angle, several times, to the highest value he or she can walk without slipping. The test is repeated with a second walker and the results are averaged.
As in the case of tires, treads are very helpful in slippery (e.g. wet road or track) situations. Because of the heavy treads on the specified standard test shoes, the test tends to favor flooring with a raised-relief profile or otherwise very rough surface, and it is not applicable to shoes without strong treads.