Strategy #37
Work Zone Safety
Use technology to improve highway/roadway work zones for construction and maintenance employees as well as the motoring public that shares the roadway.
Background
Each year in the United States, maintenance and construction employees are injured or killed by collisions in and around highway/roadway work zones. Technology is available to alert and warn employees of imminent danger from possible collisions.
Actions
- Use technology to alert and warn roadway and highway workers of imminent danger from errant vehicles (for example, pneumatic and laser devices that sense a vehicle and sound a warning beeper worn by the worker or a centrally located horn).
- Use enforcement activity in work zone.
- Use outreach technology such as the Internet to alert the public about work areas.
- Use traffic routing to keep oversized loads from entering construction areas.
Benefits
- Reduced worker injuries and fatalities.
- Reduced highway work zone congestion.
- Crash avoidance and reduction.
- Improved employee relations.
- Reduced insurance claims.
Other Considerations
- Cost of the technology.
- Increased skills, expertise and training for personnel to support and operate.
- Accuracy and reliability of technology.
- Potential increase in support staff requirements, which may cause a reduction in existing personnel levels.
- Inter-connectivity with other systems and privacy issues of shared systems.
- All use of technology in work zones should conform to appropriate industry standards.