Safety in Night Work Operations: What Does the Data Say?
SLIDE 1
Gerald Ullman
Texas Transportation Institute
October 9, 2007
SLIDE 2
Why is Safety a Concern at Night?
- Reduced visibility
- Drunk/drugged drivers
- Drowsy drivers
- Higher operating speeds past the work area
Implies that crash risks, and maybe crash severity, is higher when working at night.
SLIDE 3
Drunk Driving in Work Zones
SLIDE 4
Drowsy Driving in Work Zones
SLIDE 5
Drowsy Workers in Work Zones
- 20% report sleep-related disorders
- Dynamic schedules disrupt adjustments
- Supervisory personnel have daytime duties as well
- Older workers more likely affected
- Data very limited on performance
- No evidence that night work increases worker injuries or deaths
SLIDE 6
Effect of Night Work on Crash Risk
- Sullivan (1989)– crashes during night work increase 87 percent
- Ullman et al. (2004)– crashes at night increased 102 percent
Major unanswered question: How would crashes have been affected if the work had been done during the day?
SLIDE 7
SEVERE TRAFFIC CRASHES
SLIDE 8
PDO TRAFFIC CRASHES
SLIDE 9
ADDITIONAL CRASH COSTS:
WORK ACTIVITY w/ LC
SLIDE 10
ADDITIONAL CRASH COSTS:
WORK ACTIVITY w/o LC
SLIDE 11
WORK ZONE INACTIVE: NO LC
SLIDE 12
Questions?
Gerald Ullman
Texas Transportation Institute
g-ullman@tamu.edu
979-845-9908
Categories: News & Events | Work Zone Conferences
