29 CFR § 1918.25 - Bridge plates and ramps (See also § 1918.86).

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t29/s1918.25"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "29 CFR § 1918.25 - Bridge plates and ramps (See also § 1918.86)."
title_number: 29
title_name: "Labor"
section_number: "1918.25"
section_name: "Bridge plates and ramps (See also § 1918.86)."
chapter_name: "OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR"
part_number: "1918"
part_name: "SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR LONGSHORING"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "33 U.S.C. 941; 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657; Secretary of Labor's Order No. 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 111), 3-2000 (65 FR 50017), 5-2002 (67 FR 65008), 5-2007 (72 FR 31160), 4-2010 (75 FR 55355), 1-2012 (77 FR 3912), or 8-2020 (85 FR 58393), as applicable; and 29 CFR 1911."
regulatory_source: "62 FR 40202, July 25, 1997, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "1918"
---


# 1918.25 Bridge plates and ramps (See also § 1918.86).

(a) *Bridge and car plates (dockboards).* Bridge and car plates used afloat shall be well maintained and shall:

(1) Be strong enough to support the loads imposed on them;

(2) Be secured or equipped with devices to prevent their dislodgement;

(3) Be equipped with hand holds or other effective means to permit safe handling; and

(4) Be designed, constructed, and maintained to prevent vehicles from running off the edge. 
<sup>3</sup>
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<sup>3</sup> When the gap to be bridged is greater than 36 inches (.91m), an acceptalbe means of preventing vehicles from running off the edge is a minimum side board height of two and three-quarter inches.

(b) *Portable ramps.* Portable ramps used afloat shall be well maintained and shall:

(1) Be strong enough to support the loads imposed on them;

(2) Be equipped with a railing meeting the requirements of § 1918.21(b), if the slope is more than 20 degrees to the horizontal or if employees could fall more than four feet (1.22 m);

(3) Be equipped with a slip resistant surface;

(4) Be properly secured; and

(5) Be designed, constructed, and maintained to prevent vehicles from running off the edge. 
<sup>4</sup>
[^]

<sup>4</sup> When the gap to be bridged is greater than 36 inches (.91m), an acceptable means of preventing vehicles from running off the edge is a minimum side board height of two and three-quarter inches.

[62 FR 40202, July 25, 1997, as amended at 65 FR 40944, June 30, 2000]