Utility Work Zone Safety Guidelines and Training: State-of-the-Art Synthesis and State-of-the-Practice Synthesis

Prepared for:
United States Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Acquisition Management
400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 4410
Washington, D.C. 20590

Prepared by:
Wayne State University
Transportation Research Group
Detroit, MI
and
Bradley University
Peoria, IL

Date: April 2007

The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this document are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. This report was prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION

2.0 STATE-OF-THE-ART SYNTHESIS

     2.1 Definitions

     2.2 Crashes, Injuries and Fatalities in Work Zones

     2.3 Urban Issues

     2.4 Utility Work Zone Locations

     2.5 Human Factors

     2.6 Implementation/Removal of Traffic Control Devices

     2.7 Traffic Control Devices

     2.8 Worker Safety

     2.9 Training Programs/Best Practices

3.0 STATE-OF-THE-PRACTICE SYNTHESIS

     3.1 Results of the Survey

     3.2 Summary of Current Practices Survey

4.0 CONCLUSIONS

5.0 REFERENCES

APPENDIX I — BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX II — TABLE OF ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

APPENDIX III — SAMPLE SURVEYS AND DATA

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Trend of Motor Vehicle Fatalities by Work Zone Type in the USA (1994-2005)

Figure 2. Information Handling Zones Applied to a Typical Highway Work Zone

Figure 3. New Jersey's Shadow Vehicle Used in Mobile Operation [Source: Paaswell, et. al. (24)]

Figure 4. Spot Map of States Responding to Survey

Figure 5. Spot Map of States that Responding Utility Companies Cover

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Fatalities in Motor Vehicle Crashes by Work Zone Type in the USA (1994-2005)

Table 2. Driving Difficulties in Work Zones and Positive Guidance Principles

Table 3. Functionality Criteria Satisfied by Selected Work Zone Devices/Equipment [Adapted from Paaswell, et. al. (27)]

Table 4. Guidance for Use of Protection Vehicles on Mobile and Short Duration Operations [Adapted from Finley and Trout (29)]

Table 5. Summary of Training Programs and Materials

Last modified 9/26/2007

Categories: |