Public Safety Vests - ANSI 207 Vests

First Responder Safety:

PUBLIC SAFETY VESTS OK SAYS FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

Public Safety Vests (ANSI 207-2006) meet the requirements of Federal Regulation 23 CFR 634 according to a letter to the CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute from Jeff Paniti Associate Administrator for Operations at the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), US Department of Transportation. The decision clears the confusion highway responders faced in preparing to comply with the Rule that goes into effect on November 24, 2008. ANSI labeled garments Class II and Class III are referenced in the rule. In his letter Mr. Paniti stated " we reviewed the ANSI ISEA 207-2006 public safety vest standard very carefully and found this standard compatible with the ANSI/ISEA Class II requirements for night-time visibility." As reported previously Federal Highway intends to add ANSI 207 Vests to the next revision of the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The comment period is now open for the revision and pubic safety groups are encouraged to submit comments on this and other issues. The CVVFA ERSI advocated for the clarification and rallied support for the change with the Safety Health and Survival Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and with the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition among others. "FHWA deserves praise for making the correct decision to include the Public Safety Vest." said Steve Austin CVVFA ERSI Project Manager. "Now that the confusion is cleared up we can direct all of our efforts to educating highway responders on how to comply with the federal rule so lives can be saved" he added. Click to download related files 1. FHWA PS Vest Compliance -.pdf Full Text of FHA Letter 1. File Your Comments on the MUTCD