FACTS

Traffic Control Safety

1. A risk assessment estimates the level of risk and involves analysing the likelihood and consequence of damage and injury due to impact with moving vehicles. The following factors should be considered in a risk assessment:

• scope and duration of the project
• site layout
• traffic density
• traffic flow and speed
• pedestrian movement
• time required to perform activities.
• time of day when tasks are to be performed.
• specific hazards within the work site, such as excavations.
• environmental factors such as wet conditions or poor visibility.
• risks associated with plant and equipment.
• experience and training of workers.
• alternate routes available for road users and pedestrians, should a road or footpath be partially or fully closed.

2. Utilizing Temporary Traffic Controls (TTC) at a Traffic Incident Management Area (TIMA) helps move road users safely and expeditiously past or around an incident and reduces the likelihood of secondary traffic crashes.

3. TTCs include devices such as traffic cones, arrow panels, and warning signs.

STATS

• Factors that cause traffic collisions include driver error, poor visibility, road surface conditions, and inadequate traffic controls. According to OSHA, 1,000 people are killed in temporary traffic control work zones around the country every year, and 90 percent of those crashes are the direct result of driver error.
• The data demonstrates just how dangerous traffic control work can be. In 2020, 23 roadside workers who were struck by vehicles sustained injuries serious enough they had to miss time from work. From 2011 through 2020, 12 roadside workers were killed and 207 were injured.
• Controlling traffic through work areas one of the most important, and dangerous operations in road maintenance. In 2020, work zone crashes accounted for 857 deaths and nearly 45,000 injuries in people, according to National Safety Council. Having highly trained employees in temporary traffic control safety is vital for minimizing traffic incidents, thus saving lives.