Utility Pole Safety Guidance
There are no (anticipated to be developed in the near future) national or USDOT regulations regarding the location of utility poles. There has however been technical guidance that has been developed for agencies to use in establishing their own policies, standards and practices.
There are a couple of technical guides that have been developed to address issues associated with the location of utility polices within highway rights-of-way. The primary source for general guidance on utilities is the AASHTO Guide for Accommodating Utilities Within Highway Rights-of-Way which suggests several criteria and approaches for agencies to consider and use in working with private companies to locate utilities.
The best source of information addressing the entire process that a practitioner should follow when making decisions related to the location of utility poles appears in the Highway/Utility Guide that FHWA published in 1993. This document can be accessed electronically at: http://isddc.dot.gov/OLPFiles/FHWA/010604.pdf 
. Chapter four (Design) contains information and provides guidance on locations for utilities, including utility poles, within highway rights-of-way.
Referenced in the process identified in chapter four is the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide (2002). This Guide has been developed for highway agencies to use in developing their own standards and policies for determining the widths of clear zones along roadways. Clear zones are used by agencies to assess objects that may appear in the roadside that represent potential hazards to motorists and are result in crashes when vehicles leave the roadway. Utility poles would be an example of one of the objects that agencies address in the design of improvements to roadways. The latest version of the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide (2002) can be purchased directly from AASHTO at: http://bookstore.transportation.org/item_details.aspx?ID=148
Another sources of information that has been developed for highway agencies is NCHRP 500 Volume 8: A Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Utility Poles. This reference provides recommendations on strategies that agencies may consider in the design of highway improvement projects or as they identify locations that may require improvements based on the severity and frequency of crashes. This document can be accessed electronically at: http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_500v8.pdf
Utilities and Roadside Safety http://trb.org/publications/sar/sar_9.pdf
You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDFs on this page.
