ISEA: High-Vis Public Safety Vests Meet FHWA Requirements for Work Zones

High-visibility protective garments are required for right-of-way workers, flaggers, and adult crossing guards in a document called the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which is the basis for federal and state highway regulations. These garments must be compliant with ANSI/ISEA 107, the American National Standard for High Visibility Safety Apparel and Headwear.

Public safety workers such as law enforcement, firefighters, and other emergency responders have the option of wearing high-visibility vests specifically designed for their use and compliant with the ANSI/ISEA 207, American National Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vests.

A revision to the MUTCD published in December 2009 mandates that public safety vests be labeled as compliant with the 2006 version of the standard, or a subsequent revision. ANSI approved the revision to the standard in 2011, and the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) requested an interpretation from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that garments meeting the new standard would be acceptable, pointing out that the requirements of the two standards for daytime and nighttime visibility are essentially the same.

FHWA has agreed, and issued an official interpretation stating that the ANSI/ISEA 207-2011 standard is equivalent to the 2006 version, and that garments labeled as meeting the 2011 standard would be in compliance with the MUTCD requirements.

This article is a re-print from Feb 07, 2012 - Occupational Health and Safety.

PSV Pro 300 Series Police Vest with Blue Trim

The PSV Pro 300 Series Police vest features a durable mesh material with color coded fabric trim for proper public service department identification; along with a high visibility 2" silver reflective material with contrasting background color. Five point breakaway design; as well as snap up flaps to allow greater accessibility to toolbelts and gear. Each vest includes two chest mic tabs. The vest folds into a convenient pouch for storage. The vest also offers 4-season adjustability to accomodate bulky coats.
Be sure to visit HiVis Supply for all of your hi vis safety vest needs including hi visibility vest for flaggers, hi-vis for incident command and emergency responders.

School Crossing Guards

Safety is an important issue for everyone, but an often overlooked occupation where workers put their lives on the line every day - well, one every school day - is the often un-noticed, and under-appreciated, school crossing guard.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines a crossing guard as someone who directs traffic (both pedestrian and vehicular) on streets, at schools, and at railroad crossings and construction sites. In 2007, there were an estimated 70,000 school crossing guards employed nationally, and in the years between 1993 to 2006, there were 97 school crossing guard fatalities, or almost 7 a year. This may not seem like a lot of deaths, but these men and women put their lives on the line each day to keep our children safe.

Additionally, the state of Florida reports that in 2006, 39% of all 16 and under pedestrian fatalities occurred between 3 and 7 pm. Of the 516 fatalities, 104, or (20%) were pedestrians - usually children. In an effort to lower these numbers, the state trains crossing guards to:
• Use proper crossing techniques consistently
• Encourage patterns of proper crossing behavior by students
• Deter students from committing unsafe/unlawful acts
• Recognize and report hazardous conditions
• Take proper actions in an emergency
• Know their responsibilities and limitations of authority
• Exhibit professionalism and instill confidence
• Earn students’ respect

In a New Jersey report, other factors attributing to motor-vehicle related injuries include among school crossing guards include:
• Unsafe driving
• Parents rushing to and through the school zone
• Distracted driving including cell phones, eating, drinking and smoking

As parents, let's respect school crossing guards, the men and women who serve our children every day and make sure they get to cross the street safely. As drivers, let's start paying attention to school zones, and wait to send that text message, or wait to eat the fast food when we get home.

For more information checkout this pdf from the state of New Jersey
Or this pdf from the state of Florida

At HiVis Supply, we are proud to resell high visibility apparel including incident command vests, safety vests, and traffic vests, as well as traffic safety accessories and ANSI compliant vests for crossing guards, pedestrian crossing and speed limit signs.

Incident Command

The Incident Command System was originally established in California in response to natural disasters, and the complications of several agencies trying to cooperate to effectively cope with these disasters and save lives. A unified Incident Command eliminated structural and communication problems associated with agency cooperation during a national crisis.
Concepts of Incident Command include:
- Unity of Command
- Universal Terminology
- Management by Objective
- Flexible and Modular Organization
- Span-of-Control
Concepts were then integrated into the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in 2003.

NIMS is a comprehensive, national approach to incident management that is applicable at all jurisdictional levels and across functional disciplines. It is intended to:
- Be applicable across a full spectrum of potential incidents, hazards, and impacts, regardless of size, location or complexity
- Improve coordination and cooperation between public and private entities in a variety of incident management activities
- Provide a common standard for overall incident management
FEMA's NIMS Resource center details a:
- Five-Year NIMS Training Plan
- NRF Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC)
- NIMS Courses