Smallwood, J and Norris, S (2024) Traffic safety in road construction work zones. In: Thomson, C (ed.) Proceedings of 40th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2024, London South Bank University, UK.
Abstract
Road workers' safety is at risk in road construction areas, as their work occurs alongside moving vehicles. Furthermore, there is a paucity of literature relative to this aspect of safety, which constitutes the research gap. Respondents to three descriptive surveys included engineering consultants, contractors, traffic safety officers, road construction workers, and random motorists. Findings include road users are not cognizant of the risk to workers in the work zone; signage and advance warning signs alone are not sufficient to slow motorists' speed, and plant operator visibility in terms of being able to see the areas around the plant, is an issue. Recommendations include: the public should be educated regarding the risks associated with a work zone; contractors should monitor road users' speed prior to the work zone; contractors should install sensors or cameras on the rear and side panels of plant, so that plant operators have all round vision, and workers should be educated regarding the dangers related to using their mobile phones inside work zones.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction; road; safety; traffic; work zone |
| Index terms: | road worker, road construction, survey, engineering consultant |
| Subjects: | practitioner, data collection methods, civil engineering, professional |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here