Assess the Effectiveness of Type 2 and Type 3 Safety Vest for Day and Night Use

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.

• Record URL:
  http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Planning/SPR/Research/reportsandplans/Pages/Project_Details.aspx?View={D7C72556-2ABC-4830-BDFF-6C02603A792B}&FilterField1=State%5Fx0020%5FJob%5Fx0020%5F%5Fx0023%5F&FilterValue1=135973

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $403326
• Contract Numbers:

  33810

  135973

  109464

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Ohio Department of Transportation

  Research Program
  1980 West Broad Street
  Columbus, OH  United States  43223
• Project Managers:

  Martindale, Jill

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Cincinnati

  Civil Engineering Department, P.O. Box 210071, 741 Baldwin Hall
  Cincinnati, OH  United States  45221-0071
• Principal Investigators:

  Ma, Jiaqi

• Start Date: 20190826
• Expected Completion Date: 20220226
• Actual Completion Date: 20220226

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Dump trucks; Headlamps; Occupational safety; Protective clothing; Reflectorized materials; Road construction workers; Road crews; Safety equipment; State departments of transportation; Work zone safety
• Geographic Terms: Ohio
• Subject Areas: Construction; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01713217
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Ohio Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 33810, 135973, 109464
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 2 2019 7:25AM