Highway Work Zone Safety

The safety issues discussed in this study are: 1) the usefulness of work zone accident data; 2) the hazards of two-lane, two-way operations without positive separation of traffic on a normally divided highway; 3) the use of truck-mounted attenuators in moving maintenance operations and at long-term construction sites; 4) the placement of flaggers; 5) the need to identify design changes in work zones that will aid drivers with degraded sensory perceptions resulting from aging, inattentiveness, or impairment; 6) the lack of compliance with existing guidelines for work zone traffic control devices and procedures; and 7) the need for a national work zone safety program. As a result of this study, safety recommendations were issued to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.