Performance of Different Vibrotactile Warning Strategies for Struck-By Hazards in Highway Construction Work Zones

Struck-by accidents are the foremost cause of fatalities at highway construction sites. Traditional visual and auditory alerts often fall short in addressing this issue due to the noisy and dynamic conditions prevalent in these work environments. This study assesses the performance of different vibrotactile warning strategies designed to alert workers on foot about imminent threats. Lab-based experiments were conducted to compare the performance of three distinct warning strategies, and their impact on participants’ reaction time, mental workload, and physical workload was evaluated. The findings reveal that two of the strategies (Strategy 1: indicating the direction of the safe path; Strategy 2: indicating the direction of the detected hazard) resulted in significantly quicker reaction times than Strategy 3 (indicating both hazard and safe path directions). However, the preferences regarding the warning strategies were evenly distributed across the three strategies among participants. This distribution highlights the necessity for developing customizable warning strategies in safety-critical environments, which enable tailoring solutions to diverse user groups and preferences. Future research should investigate the key factors affecting the preference of participants.