Safety Tidbit 3.04 - Being Seen Can Save Your Life

Safety Tidbit 3.04 – Being Seen Can Save Your Life

Reference(s): OSHA Letter of Interpretation dated August 5, 2009

                        23 CFR 634, Worker Visibility, Federal Highway Administration

The WGAL News headline read: “2 struck, killed along Route 222 in Lancaster County” The police report said that at 2AM a tow truck operator and the driver he was helping were struck by a car and killed. This is tragic, however, as a safety professional, I believe it may have been avoided. You see, I do not believe the tow truck driver was wearing a reflective vest.

In a 2009 revision of an OSHA Letter of Interpretation:

Road and construction traffic poses an obvious and well-recognized hazard to highway/road construction work zone employees. OSHA standards require such employees to wear high visibility garments in two specific circumstances: when they work as flaggers and when they are exposed to public vehicular traffic in the vicinity of excavations. However, other construction workers in highway/road construction work zones are also exposed to the danger of being struck by the vehicles operating near them. for such workers, section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, 29 U.S.C. §654(a)(1), also known as the General Duty Clause, requires similar protection.

In the preamble to the Worker Visibility rule (23 CFR Part 634), the FHWA stated:

High visibility is one of the most prominent needs for workers who must perform tasks near moving vehicles or equipment. The need to be seen by those who drive or operate vehicles or equipment is recognized as a critical issue for worker safety. The sooner a worker in or near the path of travel is seen, the more time the operator has to avoid an accident. The FHWA recognized this fact and included language in the 2000 Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to address this issue.

The FHWA's rationale underlying the rule well illustrates that the industry recognizes that construction workers in highway/road construction work zones need protection against the hazard posed by moving traffic. The FHWA's recent mandatory standard for workers on federal-aid highways shows that struck-by hazards in highway/road construction work zones are well recognized by the construction industry. Furthermore, the standard indicates that a feasible means of addressing that hazard is the wearing of high-visibility apparel. Accordingly, high-visibility apparel is required under the General Duty Clause to protect employees exposed to the danger of being struck by public and construction traffic while working in highway/road construction work zones. Typically, workers in a highway/road work zone are exposed to that hazard most of the time.

I believe all of you agree that there are many other occupations (e.g., tow truck operators, police, ambulance, etc.) that have the same struck-by hazard and should also be covered under OSHA’s General Duty Clause. Please keep an eye out and recommend to your clients or workers that they carrier a hi-visibility vest in the company (and personal) vehicle just in case they need to stop along the road for a mechanical issue or to be a good Samaritan and help someone else stranded on the road.

Hope this was helpful and thanks for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have an interesting safety or health question please let me know.