• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Logo

Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse

Library of Resources to Improve Roadway Work Zone Safety for All Roadway Users

  • About
  • Join Listserv
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Work Zone Data
    • At a Glance
    • National & State Traffic Data
    • Work Zone Traffic Crash Trends and Statistics
    • Worker Fatalities and Injuries at Road Construction Sites
  • Topics of Interest
    • Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
    • Smart Work Zones
    • Transportation Management Plans
    • Accommodating Pedestrians
    • Worker Safety and Welfare
    • Project Coordination in Work Zones
  • Training
    • Flagger
    • Online Courses
    • Toolboxes
    • FHWA Safety Grant Products
    • Certification and
      Accreditation
  • Work Zone Devices
  • Laws, Standards & Policies
    • COVID-19 Guidance
  • Public Awareness
  • Events
  • About
  • Listserv
  • Contact
  • Search
Publication

Work Zones and Travel Speeds: The Effects of Uniform Traffic Officers & Other Speed Management Measures

Author/Presenter: Lee, Brian H. Y.; Azaria, Dale; Neely, Sean
Abstract:

Improving safety conditions in work zones, for both the workers as well as the travelers, is a major national concern, especially in light of the country’s aging transportation infrastructure that requires increasing amount of maintenance, repair, and reconstruction work. The focus of this research project is on enhanced enforcement of work zone traffic laws, with a specific emphasis on the effects of Uniform Traffic Officers (UTO) and other speed management measures on driver compliance with reduced work zone speed limits. For the purpose of this study, UTO are police officers contracted for construction projects where the road remains open to travelers. The officers are stationed in marked police vehicles with the blue lights flashing and parked within project work zones while road workers are active. Typically, UTO remain inside the police vehicles but sometimes they may be on the roadway to help direct traffic, especially when temporary lane closures are needed or interactions are expected between road workers or construction equipment and the parts of the road that are open to the public. UTO do not normally perform enforcement duties and are used primarily for their presence. The use of police officers for various forms of enforcement for speeding and other moving violations is different from the use of UTO and considered as one of the other speed management measures in this project. The goal of this work is to assess the effectiveness of UTO and other interventions on maintaining safe travel speeds and to help guide the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VAOT) in the provision of proper resource allocation for improving work zone safety.

Publisher: University of Vermont Transportation Research Center
Publication Date: 2014
Full Text URL: Link to URL
Publication Types: Books, Reports, Papers, and Research Articles
Topics: Law Enforcement; Speed Control; Temporary Traffic Control

Copyright © 2023 American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse is a project of the ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation. It is operated in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Texas A&M Transportation Institute. | Copyright Statement · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer
American Road and Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation, American Road and Transportation Builders Association U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Texas A&M Transportation Institute