What are the requirements for safety vests in the right-of-way?

New regulations are changing what is required for workers in the highway right-of-way (ROW). As of January 2009, if you are working in the right-of-way of a state highway or a federal-aid road, you need to wear clothing meeting performance class 2 or 3 requirements of American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) 107-2004. Many county highways and major city streets are federal-aid roads. You can meet the requirement with vests, jackets, or even T-shirts, as seen in the photo below.

The most important point is that the clothing needs to have two conspicuous colors and a minimum amount of retroreflective material in the vest area. The background color can be EITHER orange or lime-green. Other color patterns are allowed if they are conspicuous enough. The regulations will apply to all highways with the next release of the MUTCD in New York State. Upgrading to the new standards now is a good idea, and will help protect everyone when we are working in the right-of-way.

For more information on the new retroreflectivity standards, read the full article on page 4 of our Winter 2008 newsletter.

The full text of the new regulation, along with supporting information, can be found at www.regulations.gov
Search for ‘Title 23 Part 634 Worker Visibility.’

For more information on highway and work zone safety, visit the following websites:

National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse: www.workzonesafety.org

FHWA Safety: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov

The ATTSA (American Traffic Safety Services Association) website has a brochure with information on when to replace your high visibility clothing.

Above: ANSI/ISEA Class 2 T-shirt and hard hat. The total cost for both is around $25