Work Zone Safety

In 1976 the Federal Highway Administration initiated a program to improve safety in construction and maintenance zones. The program pressed for improvements in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices relating to traffic control at work sites, initiated a number of training programs on work site safety, allocated $2.5 million for research in innovative safety practices in work areas, and measured progress through an extensive national review of safety practices at work sites. As a result, safety at work sites has improved, but there are still major problem areas. As an example, accident data are still not used to identify safety problems at work sites, and construction materials and equipment are often stored hazardously close to the roadway. If considerably more progress is not made in improvement of work site safety, the Federal Highway Administration will be forced to consider more stringent requirements for work site activities, including traffic-control plans developed as a prerequisite for project approval. In addition, we must provide additional guidance on driver needs in work sites based on human factors research.