HiVis In the News

Ronald Gary Taunton, a 20-year employee of East Alabama Paving in Opelika, died instantly after he was run over by a dump truck. Authorities believe Taunton was directing heavy equipment on a work site with the highway department when he apparently failed to move out from behind a Lee County truck as it was backing up. Authorities reported that Taunton was wearing his safety vest and the backup alarm on the truck was working properly.
The coroner said in a press release that the incident is being investigating “as an accident” by Auburn police, the coroner’s office and the Alabama Medical Examiner’s Office.

Comprehensive Safety Analysis
Starting in the summer of 2010, FMCSA will implement comprehensive safety analysis 2010 CSA 2010, which is designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of FMCSA’s enforcement and compliance program.

How Will This Change Affect Drivers?
* Unsafe carrier and driver behaviors that lead to crashes will be identified and addressed
* All safety-based roadside inspection violations will count, not just Out-of-Service (OOS) violations
* Drivers will be more accountable for safe on-road performance — good news for drivers with strong safety performance records





What can drivers do to prepare for the change?
1) Know and follow safety rules and regulations - CMV safe driving tips
2) Become knowledgeable about the new Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) and how FMCSA will assess safety under CSA 2010
3) Keep copies of inspection reports
4) Learn about employers’ safety records
5) Visit the CSA 2010 website

Road Work Safety and Transportation - In the News

In the single worst economic time since the depression, job-loss reportings that are lower than expected become overall good news. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has estimated December 2009 job losses at 84,000, a little higher for the month than expected, but the Portland Cement Association (PCA) final quarter job loss predictions of 861,000 are far higher than actual 501,000 for the final quarter of 2009 as reported on Jan. 14th by Site Prep magazine.

The DOT’s Secretary LaHood said that the Obama administration’s approved $79 billion dollar budget promotes safety in a number of areas, starting with a new $50 million grant incentive program to the states to combat distracted driving. Since Secretary LaHood convened a national Distracted Driving Summit last fall, he has undertaken a nationwide campaign to put an end to the deadly epidemic.

More than half of U.S. highway fatalities are related to deficient roadway conditions – a substantially more lethal factor than drunk driving, speeding or non-use of safety belts – according to the Transportation and Construction Coalition (TCC) and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE). Ten roadway-related crashes occur every minute (5.3 million a year) and also contribute to 38 percent of non-fatal injuries. The report also found that deficiencies in the roadway environment contributed to more than 22,000 fatalities and cost $217 billion annually.

Analysis of crash costs on a state-by-state basis.

The 10 states with the:

Highest total cost from crashes involving deficient road conditions are (alphabetically): Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.

Highest road-related crash costs per million vehicle miles of travel are: Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Highest road-related crash costs per mile of road are: California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina.

FHWA Ruling on ANSI/ISEA Garments for Public Safety Personnel

FHWA Mandates High-visibility Safety Apparel Meeting ISEA Standards for All Workers in Highway Rights-of-Way, Workzones

The 2009 revision to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), published by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) yesterday, requires workers, including emergency responders, along highway rights-of-way or in workzones to wear high-visibility apparel whenever they are exposed to moving traffic, work vehicles or construction equipment. The apparel must meet Performance Class 2 or 3 requirements of ANSI/ISEA 107-2004, the American National Standard for High Visibility Safety Apparel and Headwear. This requirement also applies to firefighters, emergency responders and law enforcement personnel working within the right-of-way. As an option, emergency responders and law enforcement personnel may wear garments that meet the standard for high-visibility public safety vests, ANSI/ISEA 207-2006. A separate section of the MUTCD, which covers specific requirements for flaggers, also requires the use of ANSI/ISEA 107-compliant apparel, and specifies that background material must be fluorescent orange-red, fluorescent yellow-green “or a combination of the two as specified in the ANSI standard.” Previously, the FHWA only required workers in federal-aid highway workzones to use these garments.
The revised MUTCD states: “All workers, including emergency responders, within the right-of-way who are exposed to traffic (vehicles using the highway for purposes of travel) or to work vehicles and construction equipment within the [Temporary Traffic Control] zone shall wear high-visibility safety apparel that meets the Performance Class 2 or 3 requirements of the ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 publication entitled ‘American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel and Headwear’ (see Section 1A.11) or equivalent revisions, and labeled as meeting the ANSI 107-20004 standard performance for Class 2 or 3 risk exposure, except as provided in paragraph 5… Emergency and incident responders and law enforcement personnel within the [Temporary Traffic Control] zone may wear high-visibility safety apparel that meets the performance requirements of the ANSI/ISEA 207-2006 publication entitled ‘American National Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vests’ (see Section 1A.11) or equivalent revisions, and labeled as ANSI 207-2006, in lieu of ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 apparel…”
The revised MUTCD takes effect January 15, 2010. Workers on non-federal highways will have to be in compliance with the high-visibility safety apparel requirements by December 31, 2011. Read more and find links to the relevant federal documents under “ISEA News” at www.safetyequipment.org

Highway Fatality Statistics

In 2008, there were at total of 36,541 fatalities on US road system. Highest by state:

• California 3,364


• Texas 3,248


• Florida 2,897


• Pennsylvania 1,445


• Georgia 1,457

There were also a total of 720 fatalities in Construction/Maintenance zones along those same road systems. Highest by state:

• Texas 134


• Florida 81


• California 70


• Georgia 36


• Illinois 31

In 2008, 101 of those fatalities were related to vehicles passing through roadside construction.

While studies are still being conducted on different types of reflective material s and colors for hi-visibility garments, the dangers are still present. Uniform traffic devices are used to allow for a safer road-side working environment, but construction sites along highways will always have the unavoidable hazard of passing vehicles, with distracted driving through use of cell phones and drinking and drugging on the road.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a great reference page on Highway work zone safety.

The Department of Labor (DOL) through the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) regularly publishes worker fatality and occupational injuries information.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has traffic safety laws and regulations.

The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) encyclopedia has national statistics, reports, publications, documents and manuals.

HiVisSupply wishes all workers and drivers a safe and happy holiday season.

Public Safety Workers and Their Use of High Visibility Clothing

In January 2006, The Federal Highway Administration published the most recent Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (The MUTCD). This MUTCD revision accepted and coded into law for the first time the ANSI 107-1999 High Visibility Apparel Standard “or subsequent revisions”. The acceptance of the ANSI 107-2004 Standard (the current revision) in the MUTCD was a distinct advancement for highway workers. However for “Public Safety Workers” such as Police, Fire, State Patrol, Emergency Personnel, and other “First Responders” the circumstances and use of High Visibility Apparel on the job was unclear. Many Public Safety workers were exempted from using high visibility apparel, and/or were only partially covered by the ANSI 107 standard and the MUTCD.

In 2006 the Federal Highway Administration announced in a written statement that effective November 2008; ALL workers working on any highway that received federal funds must wear high visibility ANSI apparel. This new rule now included all Public Safety personnel such as law enforcement, emergency workers, Fire, EMS, public maintenance, utility crews, and “First Responders”. This new requirement applied when performing duties of directing traffic, investigating crashes, handling lane closures, clearing obstructed roadways, and all other disasters within the right of way of federal highways. For practical purposes, any Public Safety Workers on any highway that received federal funds are required to use either ANSI 107 OR ANSI 207 High Visibility Apparel.

The ANSI 207 vs 107 Standard
Public Safety Workers acknowledged the risks of on-the-job traffic accidents related to visibility. However, there was also an understanding that competing hazards such as heat/flame exposure for Fire Departments, use of stealth and/or weapons by law enforcement, and fire/chemical/electrical exposure in emergencies required judgment in the use of High Visibility Apparel. In addition, nontraditional colors were needed such as Police Blue, EMS White, Fire Red, to differentiate Public Safety Personnel from Highway workers. The ISEA, working in conjunction with select “Public Safety” organizations, began work on a new consensus standard. The result was the publication of the ANSI 207 Public Safety High Visibility Standard, a consensus approved by the canvas method and published in late 2006.

The ANSI 207-2006 accepted as “Best Practices” much of the High Visibility Apparel criteria as defined by the already published ANSI 107-2004 standard for workers exposed to traffic. ANSI 107-2004 definitions of fluorescent fabrics, retro-reflective tapes, 3rd party independent tests of both fabrics and reflectives for color fastness, cleaning, tear, abrasion, flexing, temperature variation, care labels, marking, labels, bursting strength, reflective photometric and Physical Performance Requirements apply to the ANSI 207-2006 standard as well. In all the Technical Requirements, the ANSI 107-2004 American National Standard for High Visibility Safety Apparel; and ANSI 207-2006, American National Standard for High Visibility Public Safety are nearly identical.

The ANSI 207 - 2006 Standard
The major difference between the ANSI 107 Highway Workers Standard and the ANSI 207 Public Safety Standard is garment design; ANSI 207 Class 2 has less (450 sq inches) of background fabric and recommends a 5 point break-away design. Law enforcement could now combine Police Blue fabrics with fluorescent orange or yellow fabrics. Fire Service could use traditional orange, red or yellow fabrics; but may also need “Fire Resistant” fabrics per the (NFPA 701) and or (ASTM F-1506) standards as the primary danger may be fire. EMS personnel traditionally used white. Finally the National Incident Management System (NIMS) encouraged the use of color coding response personnel and/or the use of ID panels. The result is new vest designs that combine non-traditional color fabrics with traditional fluorescent fabrics to create entirely new designs for “Public Safety” and “First Responders” Some of these designs are “One Size Fits Most” to allow for variation in personnel likely to wear these vests in an emergency. Clear and Velcro removable ID panels allow for fast changes in assignments during Incident Management. Velcro 5-Point “Break-away” sides and shoulder designs on select products provide an extra level of safety. Taken together, the new ANSI 207-2006 standard allows “Public Safety” personnel to maintain their identity as First Responders while using High Visibility Apparel.

HiVis Supply offers a variety of Public Safety vests; as well as Incident Command vests. Visit us online to view our selection of ANSI/ISEA 207-2006 approved vests; as well as other high visibility clothing.

The above article is courtesy of Vinatronic’s Technical Brief: ANSI/ISEA 207-2006. HiVis Supply is an authorized distributor of Vinatronics high visibility apparel. All Vinatronics apparel is made in the USA.

ANSI Labels For High Visibility Clothing

All safety vests, and other high visibility garments, come with a seemingly simple label which is oftentimes overlooked; but in actuality, is very important. The non-descript ANSI label provides the information needed to properly identify the key certifications of your safety vest. Outside of ensuring the vest you are wearing is certified for the ANSI high visibility requirements of your work environment, it also details care instructions for proper vest maintenance.

Once all materials have been tested against performance requirements and certificates of compliance from a third party testing laboratory have been issued, apparel manufacturers then assemble garments according to the design guidelines in Section 6 of the standard for the appropriate class of garment. Only after all the materials’ performance and design requirements have been met, can a garment be labeled ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 compliant. Garment labeling, general marking and instructions for use are described in Sections 10 to 12 of the ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 standard.

Markings on the garment label should include the following information:

• Name, trademark, or other means of identifying the manufacturer or authorized representative.


• Designation of the product type, commercial name or code.


• Size designation.


• Number of this specific ANSI/ISEA standard (ANSI/ISEA 107-2004, ANSI/ISEA 207-2006, etc).


• Pictogram showing the garment Class and Level of performance for the retroreflective material.


• Care labeling with FTC symbols and maximum cycles for the cleaning process.


• Instructions for use (if applicable).

A good understanding of your vest’s certifications and intended use can all be obtained by a quick evaluation the ANSI garment label. HiVis Supply is a reseller of high visibility apparel; including: ANSI approved clothing, safety vests, traffic vests, hi-vis vests, ANSI Class 2, ANSI Class 3, ANSI 107-2004, ANSI 207-2006, ANSI Class E, public safety vests, incident command vests, specialty vests, survey vests, safety pants, high visibility t-shirts, high visibility jackets, sweatshirts, coats, windbreakers and rainwear. Visit us online at http://www.hivissupply.com/ to view our product selection.

How To Select A High Visibility Vest

Searching for the appropriate safety vest is not always as simple as selecting the first option you come across or choosing the cheapest vest available. There is certain criteria to be considered which will determine whether the vest you select will provide the level of functionality, comfort and compliance you need to ensure safety on the job site:

• Review ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 standard and relevant state/local regulations.
• Conduct a survey of worksite low visibility hazards to determine the appropriate class of garments; remember to consider traffic speed, weather conditions, worker proximity to traffic, task loads and the traffic control plan.
• Select a design and/or style of garment that meet your needs. Final garment selection should take into consideration functionality, comfort and durability.
• Review your design choice with a visibility demonstration.
• Document the selection based on specific performance criteria; and require use of certified components only to maintain compliance.
• When the safety apparel is issued to your workers, provide them with training that explains the purpose and use of their new high-visibility garments.

At HiVis Supply, we offer a broad range of ANSI approved high visibility safety vests and apparel to enhance your visibility on the job site. Visit us online at www.HiVisSupply.com to preview our selection of vests and other hi-vis clothing; or click here to go directly to our safety vest category.