Nighttime work restrictions and conditions

Some states have found an increase in the amount of work that must be done at night. Minnesota DOT made a commitment to improve the safety of construction work zones by implementing a team to make highway workers sufficiently visible during low-visibility conditions. MnDOT worked with two Minnesota-based companies specializing in reflectivity: 3M, the manufacturer of 3M Scotchlite Reflective Material; and Head Lites Corporation, a company specializing in creating high-visibility products. Together they created a set of proposed high-visibility garment specifications. While the specifications are still being improved, feedback from highway workers will lead to garments that offer a much higher level of 24-hour visibility and performance in and around the construction work zones.

MnDOT has set several high goals for its current specification program including increasing 24-hour, four-season visibility in and around a construction work zone; changing drivers’ attitudes and behaviors when driving through a work zone; requiring all of MnDOT’s 2,000 highway workers to wear the high-visibility retroreflective garments that meet the final specifications; and, ultimately, incorporating MnDOT’s specifications into the MUTCD so that highway workers will be more visible to motorists.