Is OSHA sleeping?

[720 lyle]

While driving through a construction zone with many workers with tractors and other vechicles with flashing yellow lights and workers all in their safety vests except a trooper giving a ticket. Why are law enforcement people not required to wear vests by OSHA when they are probably more at risk than most standing on the highway. I checked with MN OSHA and they are only required to wear them if directing traffic in the dark and he said in most states that is not even a requirement. Do all the same reasons for the seatbelt non compliance fit for the safety vests?

 

[Billy NY]

I think it would make them more visible and potentially safer, but there would have to be some consideration to modifying the standard type of vest so that a weapon could be drawn with no interference and or no chance of same + any other similar problems/conflicts. It's another part of the the uniform that would have to be put on and or removed, so I suppose, cause I know nothing about it, there are a lot of considerations besides these when it comes to an officers safety. I thought a lot them already have reflective striping or similar incorporated into their uniforms/apparel already. One thing is for sure, I move to the next lane over when I see em on the highway dealing with someone.

 

[NCWayne]

I haven't read all of the OSHA rules in alot of years but safety compliance, for the most part, is a company thing. In other words OSHA gives a list of things that ought to be done in a given situation but if the situation differs then it is up to the company itself to be compliant as best it can. In other words the trooper doesn't work for the construction company, which falls under certain OSHA rules. Since he works for someone totally different, doing a totally different job, the percieved hazards and risks are different therefore the rules are different.

To bring the seat belt situation back into the deal think about this. Seatbelts are supposed to be a good thing, and are mandatory for drivers in many states. Personally I agree with the fact they are a good thing as my life was saved by wearing one in a serious accident, then again I was in another serious one where I wasn't wearing one and walked away with nothing more than a skint elbow too. That said, as important as they are made out to be when your riding on a bus, be it a school bus, grayhound, etc you aren't required to wear one, and in fact most buses aren't equipped with them to start with. Now explain to me how something that is designed to save lives is required for everyone in a car or truck but not required for our kids on their way to and from school. Like I said before it's not that the kids aren't considered important, it's that some pencil pusher/analyst/whatever figured out what the risks are and decided that in that case the risk wasn't sufficient to require the same safety devices present in other vehicles. Still though even though most buses aren't equipped with seat belts for the passangers they are equipped with belts for the driver. In this case they are designed not so much for the prevention of injury as they are to keep the driver in the seat, and in control, in the event of an accident.

Personally I don't understand it all but hey, these same government and insurance people making the seatbelt rules by determining what is and isn't good for you are the same ones that will eventually want to decide what you can eat at home or when you go to McDonalds for breakfast.....because they know what is good for you better than you know what is good for yourself........

 

[Nebraska Cowman]

I wonder if it's more to do with recognition. When I had my last surgery of course I was medicated pretty good. The doc would come in in scrubs and the nurses whether a head nurse or a candy striper girl all wore some colorful smock. How was I supposed to tell who was who? Law enforcement officers need to look like law enforcement officers, not highway workers.

 

[Keith Molden]

Construction workers are covered under 29CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) part 1926 and the Highway Patrol, Firefighters and other entities for whatever reason, are not. Therefore the trooper is not required to. Some states are governed by their own version of the OSHA guidelines and some follow the Federal ones. That being said, the ones that follow their own have to be at least as stringent as the Federal. OSHA sets the guidelines but ANSI makes the rules that we as workers must follow. Construction and General industry do differ some as the General Industry (plants) must comply with 29CFR part 1910. And even tho OSHA doesn't make the rules, they set the fines for nonomplience. I've delt with them for several years as a Safety Coordinator in Power Plants.

 

[ericlb]

out here the cops wear some sort of vest, bright florecent green almost like a ems type vest, construction workers wear orange here , they dont always wear them but if working a wreck or some kind of time consuming activity they seem to keep them on

 

[NCWayne]

Almost forgot....OSHA is also designed not so much to protect workers from the hazards around them as it is to protect STUPID workers from hurting themselves by not paying attention. In other words the vests are designed so that the construction guys driving the equipment can see the idiot who walks out in front of them without looking and have time to hit the brakes before running over him.......Personally I respect anything bigger than me that can kill me and not care and always keep my head on a swivel when working around equipment. The way I see it it's up to me and me alone to look out for my own safety and the machine always has the right of way.....

In the case of the cop I guess they figure that he will have sense enough not to step out in front of a speeding car and if he does the vest will do no good anyway since the car would never be able to stop in time anyway................or maybe they figure it would just make a better target out of him for the drivers since it's already been shown that something like a flashing light, etc that catches a drivers eye is just a likely to draw the driver to that object as it is to shy them away from it. That's the reason so many cop cars on the side of the road get hit and one of the reasons that the law was passed here in NC that if a safety vehicle is stopped on the road you change to the opposite lane when passing it or if that isn't possible you slow way down.

 

[Anonymous-0]

kind of a double edged knife.....Make him more visible so someone texting may catch a glimpse and swerve in time to miss or make him a better target for the idiot that is hunting cops to make 'em road kill.....

 

[keh]

School bus seats are heavily padded. As a practical matter, it would be impossible to get a bunch of antisocial kids on a bus to comply with seat belt rules. For one thing, the belts would be out of sight of the driver and the driver needs to focus his attention on driving the bus safely instead of checking for seat belt compliance.

KEH

 

[Phil in Pa]

Why? Maybe because more regulation is not the direction many of us want this country to be heading right now.

 

[Mattlt]

As a firefighter, we've been told we MUST wear a vest when working along a highway. Turnout gear is not enough. I don't really know whether or not the "rules" have been extended to FF and/or law enforcement or not. What I do know is that our local fire chiefs have decided they don't want to find out... if someone gets struck a) want to prevent it in the first place, and b) if it ever did happen to have to deal with OSHA, etc.

We had a close call a few years ago. It really had nothing to do with anyone wearing vests or not, but it did wake everyone up to the fact that things could have been much worse.

We at times needle our local law enforcement officers for not wearing them. They usually stick their noses up in the air, kind of giving you the "I'm invincible" sort of look.

Whenever possible, we park our biggest, heaviest trucks on both ends of the accident scene. Law is usually pretty understanding about shutting down the highway. We help them out in a lot of ways, so they usually work with us when we need it too.

 

[Errin OH]

"In the case of the cop I guess they figure that he will have sense enough not to step out in front of a speeding car"

My commute takes into a major city. Comming in I pass through several smaller ajoining cities. They tend to use the interstate as the primary funder of city operations. I have seen many, many of the officers step right out in front of a car doing 65-70mph. Have seen one get hit and one that caused a 4 car accident as the offender swerved to miss him. Normally I would say the offener was the issue but usally you don"t even see the officer until you are passing him. They tend to park behind large objects and come out of no where. Personally I chalk it up to training. State Troopers do not seem to have this problem.

As for OSHA and the vest issue. While OSHA has done some good things, just like any empowered gov agency they have the ability to push some really stupid crap. I seriously doubt any officer would want to be forced to wear a bright orange/green vest as drug runners start shooting at them after a simple traffic stop.......

 

[olgentdc]

AGREED .. No more regulations

 

[rrlund]

When does not kicking us while we're down fit into government policy?

 

[440roadrunner]

Well I can top that story. Going from Coeur d Alene to Spokane, I-90W, you come to the Sullivan RD area where the limit suddenly drops for no really good reason from 70 to 60. This of course is an invitation for most to speed. My understanding is that it's one of the highest money/ ticket areas in this part of the country

So I'm roaring along at the speed limit, when suddenly there are BRAKE LIGHTS and LANE SWITCHING and I'm thinkin' 'whut' did an elephan suddenly fall out of the sky, what???

NO It's a motorcycle cop, bike up against the concrete center divider, he's leaning against the divider with a RADAR.

SO THINK ABOUT THIS. People are suddenly slowing down, trying to get out of the way PLUS there is now a law in both WA and ID that you MUST get over one lane and slow down for vehicles on the side of the road.

DOES THIS INCLUDE pickles in the center divider? I'd hate to get a ticket just to find out.

WHAT the ef is a cop doing in that sort of EXTREMELY hazardous situation, both for him AND the rest of us, just to write a few tickets?????


A friend of mine who commutes says "ya they do it all the time"

 

[Anonymous-0]

Whether covered by OSHA law or not, it has been my experience that a majority of those who pin on a law enforcement badge believe that once they have that credential, they are above the law, and no restrictions that would normally apply to anyone else applies to them...on-duty or off-duty.

 

[Red Dave]

The real answer is that the original OSHA act stipulated that it does not have jurisdiction over Federal, state and municipal workers unless that particular state says they do.

29CFR 1975.5 (a) {5}

Some states do it, some don't. Some states have their own version of OSHA which enforces state OSHA Regulations

There have been some modifications to it over the years to include such things as the Post Office. But enforcement is spotty. It really is another case of the Government telling us to "Do as We Say, Not as We do". It is one of the things that the "Contract with America" tried to rectify, with some, but not complete, success.
Link to the Regulations

 

[Gene Stevens]

Going from Wichita Falls to Tyler one night. On 635 in the show off lane when the car in the next lane moves to me. As I start for the shoulder there is a motor cop shooting radar. How I missed him only the good Lord knows.

 

[Billy NY]

For all practical purposes they are a good thing, I carry one in my old F-600 in case I break down, at least I can be visible.

When I supervised Ironworkers on high rise building construction, anytime and I mean anytime I had to move the crane, especially in the street, NYC all wore reflective, safety orange vests and carried a red/safety orange flag, regardless of the OSHA rules or what have you, my way or the highway on that, always made sure my guys were seen and safe, of course I was right there with them, most construction outfits in NYC, you absolutely must wear the safety apparel or be warned terminated etc, especially heavy & highway work. I've noticed that safety bright green is very popular around here now, always wondered why, I though the orange was most visible.