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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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    <item>
      <title>Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices. Topic 56-18. Policies, Programs, and Practices for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2384688</link>
      <description><![CDATA[State departments of transportation (DOTs) value the safety of their employees as they face a wide range of unique hazards in various operations depending on job function and work location. They need to proactively provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to their employees to address the employee safety when hazards cannot be eliminated. PPE policies, programs, and practices at state DOTs vary widely in meeting their specific PPE needs and must encompass various job responsibilities, for example in laboratory settings, shop facilities, and field operations. The selection, use, training, care, replacement, disposal, and monitoring are important factors in the effective adoption of PPE.


OBJECTIVE: The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT policies, programs and practices for the identification, training, assignment, distribution, care, maintenance, and replacement of PPE, including piloting, evaluating, and implementation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 May 2024 12:23:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2384688</guid>
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      <title>Transit Vehicle Enhancements to Mitigate Exposure and Strengthen Confidence in Transit for Riders, Drivers and Staff</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2067955</link>
      <description><![CDATA[MMTs proposed fixed-route vehicle enhancements, APCs on all vehicles, greater availability of PPE and an improved on board air filtration system, is critical to mitigating the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and strengthening the confidence of transit within the community.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2022 16:26:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2067955</guid>
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      <title>Pilot Test of a Methodology Observation Survey of
Motorcycle Personnel Protective Equipment</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1749108</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The project will develop guidelines for designing and conducting an
observation survey of motorcyclist use of Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) at the State or local level; and apply the
guidelines in a pilot test. The guidelines will address how to design a sampling plan
including identifying locations to observe traffic, a data collection protocol, field staff
training, data recording, statistical analysis, and interpretation. The pilot test will record
motorcyclist use of helmets (DOT-certified), gloves, jackets, pants, and shoes. The results
of the pilot test will provide a probability-based estimate of PPE and reveal areas of
improvement in the guidelines. Expected reports include the guidelines as well as the results of the pilot study. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2020 14:17:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1749108</guid>
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      <title>Evaluating the Effects of Safety Vest Color on Visual Attention in Simulated Construction Work Zones</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1672463</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Vehicular traffic in construction work zones presents many threats to worker safety on North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) projects. One method to ensure workers are seen by passing vehicles is for workers to don high-visibility apparel. Although research suggests that safety vests may increase the conspicuity of construction workers, no research specifically examines the effects of workers’ safety vest color on driver’s visual attention. The proposed work will address this current knowledge gap. The research activities for this proposed study will occur in two distinct phases. Phase 1 will serve as a preliminary study to test the effects of safety vest color on driver’s visual attention to worker vests in a preexisting computerized simulated construction work zone environment. For Phase 1 of this study, 81 participants will use a Trans-Sit driving simulator by Advanced Therapy Products while fitted with a Tobii  2 Pro Glasses head mounted eye tracking system and will be asked to navigate a simulated construction work zone. Each participant will be randomly assigned a set of operational parameters including safety vest color and environmental condition via a Latin square design. Specifically, safety vest color parameters will be ANSI lime-yellow, ANSI fluorescent orange-red, and no vest. Environmental parameters will include day time, night time, and inclement weather. ANOVA analysis from eye tracking metrics will be used to determine if safety vest color and/or environmental conditions affect driver’s visual attention to workers. In Phase 1, the research team will also coordinate with NCDOT to obtain physical layout dimensions of an as-built construction work zone and will collect traffic density data of current NCDOT work zones using the iCone® radar-based vehicle monitoring system developed by iCone® Products, LLC. This data will be used to generate a reconstruction of an as-built construction work zone including realistic traffic density models in the simulator environment. During Phase 2, the research team will employ the reconstructed asbuilt work zone simulation for experimental testing in a realistic setting. In Phase 2 of this study, 81 different participants will be solicited. The experimental protocol for Phase 1 and Phase 2 is identical. However, Phase 2 will use the reconstructed as-built simulation environment to increase the ecological and external validity of the study.  The primary contribution of this study lies in the exploration of how the presence of safety vests and their colors affect the ability of a driver to identify onsite workers. The results from this work will contribute to NCDOT’s goal of improving safety in work zones by providing standardized markings and colors that facilitate the visual identification of NCDOT employees. In doing so, the public will have more opportunity to avoid collisions with NCDOT employees operating in work zones.   ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 11 Dec 2019 15:54:29 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1672463</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Assess the Effectiveness of Type 2 and Type 3 Safety Vest for Day and Night Use</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1642186</link>
      <description><![CDATA[At the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the safety of highway workers is priority one. For this reason, ODOT has invested in type 2 and 3 safety vests, halo lights and reflectors on the back of our dump trucks. While these items separately are known to improve safety, there is concern that together they may not be as effective. Included among the concerns is blending between these safety features making it difficult for motorists to distinguish between people and equipment. Research is needed to ensure that ODOT is deploying the most effective safety measures for our personnel during both day and night operations.   
The overall goal of this project is to determine the effectiveness of each piece of safety equipment, collectively and individually, and determine if there are better methods for ensuring the safety of highway workers safe during both night and daytime operations. Objectives of this project include:
(1) Determine how to improve the visibility of highway workers when wearing safety vests behind dump trucks with reflectors
(2) Consider alternatives for vests or reflectors when using both in close proximity to each other
(3) Provide a safer environment for motoring public when driving in work zones
(4) Provide a matrix of alternative solutions
(5) Develop a draft standard operations (SOP) that will document improvement to ODOT's current process This will include both day and night operations.
                       ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2019 07:25:35 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1642186</guid>
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