4.__Forestry worker.__"Forestry worker" or "worker" means a person employed on a temporary or seasonal basis to perform reforestation activities, including, but not limited to, precommercial thinning, tree planting and brush clearing.

§643.__Transportation of workers

1.__Requirement.__An employer shall provide safe transportation for forestry workers between the workers' lodgings and work sites each day at no cost to the workers.

A.__A vehicle used to transport workers must meet the standards set forth in 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 500.105, regardless of the number of miles traveled or the type of vehicle used, and must include a working seat belt for each worker being transported.__Any vehicle used to transport forestry workers may not have any apparatus attached to the rear of the vehicle that interferes with the operation of the rear door.__Equipment or any other materials that interfere with the operation of any doors or windows may not be attached to or stored in the vehicle.__ The number of occupants in any vehicle, other than a bus, may not exceed 11 at any time.__In the case of a 15- passenger van, compliance with this standard must be achieved by removal of the seating immediately behind the rear axle.__Attachments are not allowed on the roofs of vans for the purpose of carrying gear.

B.__Any person driving a vehicle used to transport workers must meet the driver qualifications and must follow the standards for driving set forth in 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 500.105.

C.__Each vehicle used to transport workers must be equipped with a first aid kit consistent with 29 Code of Federal Regulations, section 1910.266, Appendix A and communications equipment capable of providing the most immediate access to emergency medical services.__A vehicle equipped with such equipment and a driver must be available at or near the work site at all times during the work day.__Emergency action plans, written in easily understandable English and in the language of the forestry worker crews, must be developed and maintained for each job site. Plans must include information on how to transport injured workers to the nearest emergency facility and how to direct emergency workers to the location of an injured worker who can not be moved.