Notification Systems to Enhance Construction Vehicle Safety at Work Zone Access Points

Commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are consistently overrepresented in fatal work zone crashes. Improving CMV safety in work zones is a priority at federal and state levels. One aspect of particular interest is the interaction between slow-moving construction vehicles, delivering and removing materials from work zones, and traffic in the travel lanes. A sizable portion of rear-end collisions and sideswipe crashes involves construction vehicles exiting or entering travel lanes from the workspace, with speed differentials between through traffic and construction vehicles being a significant factor. Advanced work zone technologies have the potential to reduce vehicle conflicts between slow-moving construction vehicles entering or exiting work zones and traffic in travel lanes. NCHRP Research Report 1142: Innovative Approaches to Enhancing Safety and Efficiency in Work Zones: A Guide,” documented use of entering/exiting vehicle notification as a work-zone safety application in Minnesota and Pennsylvania, with signs warning drivers of slow-moving construction or emergency vehicles entering or exiting the roadway to reduce crash risk. Several states have reported plans to use smart work zone truck ingress-egress warning systems but noted inadequate information available regarding effectiveness, as well as issues with equipment availability and frequent malfunctions. In addition, pilot studies have been plagued with system performance issues. The objective of this research is to conduct a scoping study to: (1) Document the state of knowledge regarding the design, operation, and effectiveness of smart work zone truck ingress-egress warning systems. (2) Identify research needs to fill knowledge gaps. (3) Propose a study design for use in potential future National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) research to address knowledge gaps, with emphasis on safety performance metrics for the traveling public and construction vehicles.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=6057
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $150,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 17-152

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Retting, Richard

• Start Date: 20260608
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commercial vehicles; Slow moving vehicles; Traffic safety; Warning systems; Work zone safety
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01992138
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 17-152
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 9 2026 12:49PM