ENSURING TRAFFIC SAFETY DURING

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

• A safety management plan for construction traffic control can lessen
the chance of acciddents while it helps motorists reach destinations
without undue delay.
• Work zone safety tips that control the movements of vehicles and
cumbersome equipments constitue an essential part of an effective
management plan.
• Road safety during repair includes safety of both vehicle and workers.
The road safety for construction crew and
traffic includes:
1. Use Personal Protective Equipments every Day
• Every road construction worker faces the risk of personal injury on the
job. While there are always dangers in a work zone, one strategy to
avoiding injury rests with wearing the proper safety equipment all the
time within the work zone.
• The specially designed personal protective equipment (PPE) that each
worker must wear includes hard hats, hearing protection when
necessary, highly visible clothing, and steel-toed boots. 
Road construction safety depends on the alertness of everyone on a work site. With
jackets or shirts of visible reflective material for nighttime activities, employees can
comply with regulations.
2. Start Each Day With A Team Safety Meeting
The emphasis on safety at a job site provides a focus on the preparation of each worker
for an accident-free day on the job. Starting each day out with a full training session
provides the instruction on skills that each worker needs as a qualification for road
construction.
These meetings also help your team come together to discuss the day’s activities and
review different events for the day.

 
• As a daily reminder of work zone safety tips and the importance of
precaution, a quick meeting at the start of each day helps reinforce
practices to keep workers safe while ensuring your project will
continue efficiently.
• Changing conditions require an update on scheduled tasks, potential
hazards, and visual inspection to ensure that each worker wears the
proper PPE for the day’s jobs.
• Construction traffic control requires participation from the whole team
to create a safe environment where everyone is watching out for other
team members.
3. Control Traffic Flow
The most significant risk to construction workers is the dangers of
getting hit by oncoming traffic. Motorists deserve to know when to
expect changes in a traffic route in time to safely accomplish maneuvers
that prevent accidents or disruptions during road work construction.
An advanced warning area for a work zone consists of components that
help ensure road construction safety for drivers and workers.
• Create a buffer area to separate workers and equipment from oncoming traffic.
• Use lots of lighting and other equipment like traffic cones and barricades to physically
separate traffic and workers.
• Redirect traffic when needed to bypass areas where workers and equipment can
interfere with traffic.
• Clearly mark where work zones begin and end, so drivers know where they need to be
extra cautious.
• It is essential to maintain a proper work zone to ensure the safety and efficiency of
construction crews.
• You should use appropriate traffic control equipment to signal drivers around
dangerous areas and keep public roads moving normal, even around active construction
projects.
4. Designate A Site-Specific Safety Program
The conditions that define each road construction project vary according
to the unique hazards and challenges that may exist in each work zone.
You need to design a safety program that must meet the characteristics
of each site to help ensure the likelihood of preventing accidents.
The design of an effective program requires each plan to include
contributing factors that affect each road construction worker.
• Identify all hazards in the area like power lines, oncoming traffic, and pedestrian
walkways.
• Plans that help control and mitigate potential dangers.
• Schedules that ensure inspection of equipment and material throughout the duration of
your construction project.
• Preparation for first aid and emergency response plans.
• Availability of emergency medical care in case of accidents.
• Schedule of safety training program classes for all employees.
You should have a safety program in place that addresses the unique needs of your
construction project.
Your team should have a plan based on the surroundings, weather, and other factors.
5. Ensure All Workers Have A Clean Line Of Site
• lind spots can create dangers that remove the safeguards that work zone
safety tips provide. With the numerous pieces of equipment that construction
jobs require, the potential for job site accidents tends to increase.
• Mirrors, visual aids, and backup alarms help operators of compactors, dump
trucks, rollers, and pavers maintain safety on the job.
• Even though safety devices can help prevent accidents, each person on a road
work construction project needs to maintain visual contact with the driver.
• While a designated observer may have responsibility for on-site conditions,
each worker holds a share of road construction safety as well.
6. Make Safety A Personal Responsibility
With the high level of activity that exists in a work zone, each road
construction worker needs to take precautions for personal safety.
Whenever possible, workers must face on-coming traffic to maintain
eye contact with approaching vehicles.
Designated workers can serve as spotters who alert others to moving
vehicles or the potential for danger that a worker may not see. Each
person in a work zone can contribute to safety on the job site by
providing construction traffic control that helps prevent accidents.
• An essential aspect of personal responsibility requires workers to drink an
adequate amount of liquids. Anyone who performs road work construction
faces the elements and the heat of the sun all day, conditions that can cause
dehydration.
• The internal heat of asphalt generates excessively high temperatures that
create sweat that cools the body and helps prevent heat-related illnesses.
Workers can combat the debilitating effects by drinking sports drinks or
coconut water to replenish essential electrolytes and resist heat exhaustion.
• A rest period that allows workers to retreat from sun exposure and seek
relief in the shade can contribute to a productive workday and prevent
illness.
7. Designate A Job Site Safety Officer
• A highly responsible person must perform intensive supervision of all activities
on a job site to ensure worker safety. 
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration requires a designated person
to identify hazards or dangers in working conditions and to eliminate them.
• Regular inspections of worksite conditions allow the responsible person to reduce
the potential for accidents.
• The selection of appropriate PPE constitutes a significant duty of the person who
serves as an on-site safety manager. Workers must report any hazards or
equipment that can pose dangers on a job site so that the person-in-charge can
correct any deficiencies.
•A vital aspect of an on-site safety manager requires full time attention to conditions
on the job. A lapse of focus that prevents observation of moving vehicles or the
development of a potentially hazardous task can allow a severe accident to occur.
8. Traffic Signs
•The traffic signs and markings for promoting highway safety and efficiency have to be effective and should meet the following basis
requirements objectively:
Fulfill-specific needs as per the site situation;
command attention from all categories of road users;
convey a clear, precise meaning in a simple form;
command respect from road users and for this, they should be appropriately sited, visible/ readable and uniform throughout;
placement should give adequate response time for a proper response;
conspicuous to attract attention of the drivers and should be legible from sufficiently far away to be read without diverting the line of
sight through too great an angle; and
placed such that they are not obscured by other objects or vegetation and no clustering has taken place;
road markings should be clear and visible during the hours of darkness (luminous/ reflective) so that drivers can see them clearly in
time to position themselves correctly.
9. Construction Zone
1.
In order to plan and provide appropriate traffic management and safety measures, it is necessary to appreciate the concept
of a construction zone. A construction zone can be defined as an area of the Project Highway which involves the conflict of
the right of use between the road users and authority responsible for the maintenance/ improvement of the Project Highway.
From traffic safety point of view, a construction zone comprises four sub zones as described hereunder:

Advance Warning Sub-Zone: The advance warning sub-zone is meant to prepare the driver for an alert behavior and is an
essential part of any traffic control system.

2.
Transition Sub-Zone: The transition sub-zone is the area in which the traffic is steered and guided into and out of the
diverted path around the work sub-zone. This is the most crucial sub-zone from safety point of view since most of the
movements are turning movements.

3.
Work Sub-Zone: This is the actual area where construction or maintenance activity is taking place and the main concern,
therefore, is the safety of the workers at the site from the plying traffic. The path of the traffic must, therefore, be very
clearly delineated to avoid intrusion of vehicles moving into the work area. The work sub-zones shall not be close to each
other and the distance between the two work sub-zones shall be such that the flow of traffic can return to normal stream by
permitting fast moving traffic to overtake slow moving vehicles. These distances shall preferably be 2 km on urban sections
and 5 to 10 km on rural sections of the highway. The length of work sub-zones will vary.
Termination Sub-Zone. The sub-zone is intended to inform the road users of the end of the
construction zone. An information signboard shall be erected to inform road users of the end of
construction Zone.
9. Road Signs. Road signs are classified in three major categories. They are:
1. Mandatory / Regulatory Signs These signs impose legal restriction on traffic and violation of
these signs is an offence. These include all signs, which give notice of special obligations,
prohibitions or restrictions with which the road users must comply. Regulatory signs are mostly
circular in shape.

2. Cautionary / Warning Signs These signs are used to warn road users of the existence of certain
hazardous conditions either on or adjacent to the roadway, so that the motorists are cautious and take
the desired action. Cautionary signs are triangular with red border and black symbol or message on
white background.

3. Informatory Signs These signs are used to guide road users along routes, inform them about
destination and distance, identify points of geographical and historical interest, and provide other
information that will make the road travel easier, safe and pleasant. They are usually rectangular in
shape.
Some important equipments that can be used are
Delineators. Delineators are devices or treatment which outlines the roadway or portion thereof.
They include Safety Cones, Traffic Cylinders, Tapes, Drums, Painted lines, Raised Pavement
.Markers, Guide Posts, and Post-mounted Reflectors etc. They are used in or adjacent to the roadway
to control the flow of traffic. Delineators are basically driving aids and should not be regarded as a
substitute for warning signs or barriers for out-of-control vehicles.
• Barricades. Barricades are intended to provide containment without significant deflection or
deformation under impact and to redirect errant vehicles along the barrier. Barricades can be used
to:
Prevent traffic from entering work areas, such as excavation, material storage area.
Provide protection to workers.
Separate two-way traffic.
Protect construction such as false work for culverts and other exposed objects.
• Barricades can be permanent or portable. Portable barricades should be stable under adverse
weather conditions and appear substantial but not so much as to cause excessive damage if a
vehicle strikes.
Three types of typical barricades generally used in road construction zones.
Flagmen
A qualified personnel at least average intelligence, be mentally alert and good in physical condition be selected,
since flagmen are responsible for public and workmen safety.

•Flagmen should be equipped with yellow helmet with green reflective sticker fixed around and reflective jacket
along with hand signaling devices such as flags and sign paddles. The typical specification are given below.

Red Flag – Minimum size 600 X 600 mm (Polyester cloth advisable) securely fastened to a staff of length
approx. 1 m

STOP Sign Paddle – Shape - Octagonal (Light in weight) Width - 600 mm with rigid handle Background Color –
Red, Letter Color – White

SLOW Sign Paddle – Shape - Octagonal (Light in weight) Width - 600 mm with rigid handle
SAFETY OF PEDESTRIANS
• Each year, more than 270 000 pedestrians lose their lives on the world’s roads. Many leave
their homes as they would on any given day never to return. Globally, pedestrians constitute
22% of all road traffic fatalities, and in some countries this proportion is as high as two thirds
of all road traffic deaths. Millions of pedestrians are non-fatally injured – some of whom are
left with permanent disabilities. These incidents cause much suffering and grief as well as
economic hardship.
• The capacity to respond to pedestrian safety is an important component of efforts to prevent
road traffic injuries. Pedestrian collisions, like other road traffic crashes, should not be
accepted as inevitable because they are both predictable and preventable. The key risks to
pedestrians are well documented, and they include issues related to a broad range of
factors: driver behaviour particularly in terms of speeding and drinking and driving;
infrastructure in terms of a lack of dedicated facilities for pedestrians such as sidewalks,
raised crosswalks and medians; and vehicle design in terms of solid vehicle fronts which are
not forgiving to pedestrians should they be struck. Poor trauma care services in many
countries also thwart efforts to provide the urgent treatment needed to save pedestrian lives.
• A manual should be available which equips the reader with
necessary information on: the magnitude of pedestrian death and
injury; key risk factors; how to assess the pedestrian safety situation
in a country or area and prepare an action plan; and how to select,
design, implement and evaluate effective interventions. The manual
stresses the importance of a comprehensive, holistic approach that
includes enforcement, engineering and education. It also draws
attention to the benefits of walking, which should be promoted as an
important mode of transport given its potential to improve health and
preserve the environment.
• The manual, which is designed for a multidisciplinary audience
including engineers, planners, police, public health professionals
and educators, will contribute towards strengthening national and
local capacity to implement pedestrian safety measures in settings
worldwide. 
• Safety Tips for Drivers
1.Look out for pedestrians everywhere, at all times.
2.Use extra caution when driving in hard-to-see conditions, such as nighttime or bad
weather.
3.Slow down and be prepared to stop when turning or otherwise entering a
crosswalk.
4.Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and stop well back from the crosswalk to give
other vehicles an opportunity to see the crossing pedestrians so they can stop too.
5.Never pass vehicles stopped at a crosswalk. There may be people crossing where
you can’t see.
6.Never drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
7.Follow the speed limit, especially around people on the street, in school zones and
in neighborhoods where children are present.
8.Be extra cautious when backing up and look for pedestrians.
• Walking Safety Tips
1.Follow the rules of the road and obey signs and signals.
2.Walk on sidewalks whenever they are available.
3.If there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic and as far from traffic as possible.
4.Cross streets at crosswalks or intersections. Look for cars in all directions,
including those turning left or right.
5.If a crosswalk or intersection is not available, locate a well-lit area where
you have the best view of traffic. Wait for a gap in traffic that allows enough
time to cross safely; continue watching for traffic as you cross.
6.Watch for cars entering or exiting driveways, or backing up in parking lots.
7.Avoid alcohol and drugs when walking; they impair your abilities and your
judgment.
8.Embrace walking as a healthy form of transportation - get up, get out and
get moving.