Topic: Work-Zone Safety

National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse
American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation, the Federal Highway Administration and the Texas Transportation Institute.
Contains a wide range of information on work zone safety, including: agency contacts, standards and practices, laws and legislations, crash data, research, training, and Spanish language materials.

Traffic Safety Evaluation of Nighttime and Daytime Work Zones
Transportation Research Board, 2009
NCHRP Report 627
Explores the crash rates for nighttime and daytime work zones and examines management practices that promote safety and mobility in work zones. The report also highlights work-zone crash reporting suggestions designed to help improve the data collected on work zone crashes.

Reducing Work Zone Crashes by Using Vehicle's Flashers as a Warning Sign (PDF)
Kansas Department of Transportation, 2009
K-TRAN: KU-07-3
Aimed at reducing the work zone crashes attributable to inattentive driving, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) initiated a research project to evaluate the effectiveness of a traffic warning sign that is assembled by using the emergency warning flashers of the vehicles in one-lane, two-way work zones. This warning sign was named as the Emergency Flasher Traffic Control Device (EFTCD). Analyses results showed that the EFTCD effectively reduced the mean speeds in work zones as well as the proportions of notably high speeds. In addition, survey results indicated that the EFTCD successfully captured the attention of most drivers when they approached the work zones.

Improving the Safety of Mobile Lane Closures (PDF)
Transportation Research Board, 2009
NCHRP Research Results Digest 339
The objective of this report is to synthesize practices employed by transportation agencies during mobile lane closures and to summarize research carried out on different components of mobile lane closure.

FHWA Guidance Available on Implementing Updated Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 2007
FHWA-HRT-07-013
The FHWA has issued a collection of four work zone safety and mobility guides. They are: Implementing the Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility (FHWA-HOP-05-065); Work Zone Impacts Assessment: An Approach to Assess and Manage Work Zone Safety and Mobility Impacts of Road Projects (FHWA-HOP-05-068); Work Zone Public Information and Outreach Strategies (FHWA-HOP-05-067); and Developing and Implementing Transportation Management Plans for Work Zones (FHWA-HOP-05-066).

Design of Construction Work Zones on High-Speed Highways
Transportation Research Board, 2007
NCHRP Report 581
This report presents the findings of a research project to develop guidance for designing geometric features of construction work zones on high-speed highways.

Relating Vehicle-Wildlife Crashes to Road Reconstruction (PDF)
University of Wyoming, 2007
The focus of this thesis is to determine the effect of road reconstruction on the number of wild animal crashes using changes in the reported animal-vehicle crash rates.

A Guide for Reducing Work Zone Collisions
Transportation Research Board, 2006
NCHRP Report 500, Vol. 17
Provides strategies to reduce work zone crashes.

Good Practices: Incorporating Safety into Resurfacing and Restoration Projects (PDF)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 2006
FHWA-SA-07-001
The report identifies a set of common issues host agencies confronted in developing integrated resurfacing-safety improvement programs, and also observed a set of common success factors.

Construction Work-Zone Safety (PDF)
Purdue University/Indiana Department of Transportation, 2003
Presents the results of a study conducted by INDOT to determine 1) if active warning devices or improved signing have an impact in work-zone safety and 2) determine if it is appropriate to consider temporary roads and bridges during construction activity on interstates in an effort to maintain two lanes open at all times.

Effectiveness of Extra Enforcement in Construction and Maintenance Work Zones (PDF)
Iowa State University, 2003
MwSWZDI Year 4 Technology
Includes information such as beneficial results of enforcement by law officers, criteria for selection of target work zones and methods of enforcement operations.

Building Safer Highway Work Zones: Measures to Prevent Worker Injuries from Vehicles and Equipment
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2001
DHHS/NIOSH Pub. No. 2001-128
Presents the results of a study of current practices in enhancing visibility and protection of highway maintenance vehicles involved in moving operations. Additionally includes the results of two surveys to determine current practices to improve visibility and safety in moving work zones across the country and in the state of Iowa.

Safety Models for Rural Freeway Work Zones
Transportation Research Board, 2000
This research is a part of a project aimed at studying the performance and efficacy of the Indiana Lane Merge System (ILMS) in work zone locations. The crash prediction models presented here are important components of the project. In this study, mathematical models were developed to predict the number of crashes in freeway work zones, both inside and on approaches to the work zone.