Student Work Safety Guidelines in Roadside Applications and Work Zones: Safety Guidelines for Transportation Researchers

Universities, colleges, and other learning institutions regularly conduct research on behalf of state departments of transportation (DOTs). Much of the research involves data collection and testing work by student researchers on roadways and other types of field sites. The field research may require students to work on the roadway, in the right-of-way, or close to live traffic environments. As a result, the working conditions expose the students to safety hazards created by the exposure to passing traffic, surrounding work equipment, work operations, and site conditions. Safety precautions are needed to protect the students from the associated increased risk of injury. In many cases, the students performing the work have little prior experience working on active roadways, and often minimal if any safety training. Formal safety training and the availability of training resources are needed to provide these students with adequate knowledge and skills to ensure that they know how to work safely on roadways when conducting research-related activities. This document aims to provide a resource for safety training to student research assistants and any other personnel who conduct research on roadways near or in traffic. The manual is designed to accompany the video titled “Goal One: A Safe Return Each and Every Day.” After reading the manual and watching the video, student researchers will: (1) Understand the likely hazards present in roadway work areas; (2) Know how to prepare for working on roadway work sites; and (3) Know how to conduct their work on roadways safely. DOTs and universities are encouraged to use the manual for training students regarding how to work safely on roadways when performing research.