# Is it legal to openly weld on the side of a road?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-to-openly-weld-on-the-side-of-a-road/741098>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 22, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-to-openly-weld-on-the-side-of-a-road/741098 "2015-12-22T14:39:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![iceiso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@iceiso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iceiso)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-to-openly-weld-on-the-side-of-a-road/741098/1 "2015-12-22T14:39:34Z")

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Throughout my career, I’ve been involved in industrial construction; chemical, mining, power, etc. The sites are always away from the public access. Each site has their own rules, but the safety principles surrounding welding are pretty consistent. Set up a weld barrier whenever possible. If you’re walking around an active welder, shield your eyes. Lastly, unless you’re wearing a weld mask, never ever look directly at the arc.

I take a busy major highway to work, which has been undergoing work for about 1 year now. On my way in today, I saw a worker welding right on the shoulder, about 5-7 feet from traffic, in a wide, open area. He was wearing a mask, but there was no barrier. Just an open arc.

Hundreds of 4000 lbs cars @ 60 mph, mostly driven by people who may be distracted or disoriented by the arc.

Was an rule or law broken?