Reg Requires Media to Wear Safety Vests

A Federal Highway Administration regulation that takes effect later this year appears to require members of the news media to wear high-visibility safety apparel when covering events on federally supported highways. The regulation, published at 71 Federal Register 67792, requires, "All workers within the right-of-way of a Federal-aid highway who are exposed either to traffic (vehicles using the highway for purposes of travel) or to construction equipment within the work area shall wear high-visibility safety apparel." The term "workers" is defined to include "responders to incidents," and the explanatory notes that preface the regulation (on page four, far right column) say that includes "media representatives when covering news events or similar actions within highway rights-of-way." The regulation takes effect on Nov. 24, 2008, and will be published as 23 CFR Part 634.