Applicable Regulations - State Laws

Two individual states have specific laws to minimize the risk of construction site backovers. Virginia law 16VAC25-97-10-50 states that it is illegal to back up any covered vehicle, unless it has a back-up alarm audible above the surrounding noise level, and it is backed up only when a ground guide signals that it is safe to do so. The vehicle can be backed up if the driver looks to see that no employee is in the path of the vehicle. If the back-up alarm stops working properly and an immediate fix is not possible that day, the vehicle must be backed up using ground guide signals or taken out of service until the alarm is repaired. Operable video or similar technological capability can replace a ground guide for covered vehicles.

According to Washington State law WAC 296-155-610, before backing a dump truck, the driver must determine that no one is currently in the backing zone and that it is reasonable to expect that no employee will enter the backing zone while operating the dump truck in reverse. If employees are in the backing zone or it is reasonable to expect that an employee will enter the backing zone, operators must make sure that the truck is backed up only when the following conditions are met:

• An observer signals that it is safe to back up.
• An operable mechanical device that provides the driver a full view behind the dump truck is used, such as a video camera.

To learn more about Backover Safety visit our Construction Backover Safety Online Training web page.