Traffic Enforcement Strategies for Work Zones

The safety of motorists and workers in construction and maintenance work zones is a key concern of state transportation agencies. Traffic law enforcement by uniformed officers or other means can be effective in reducing undesirable driver behavior that contributes to crashes, but little objective guidance exists on selecting projects where enforcement would be most beneficial or on developing a traffic enforcement strategy for a work zone. Public awareness techniques are sometimes used to improve compliance with traffic laws (e.g., variable message signs showing the number of tickets issued, "Get the Picture. Listen to the Signs."), and guidance, based on existing information, is needed on the effectiveness of these techniques. Although improved compliance with traffic laws would be beneficial in all work zones, traffic enforcement tends to be used more in work zones on high-speed roads because the risks are greater. This project will focus on high-speed work zones, including intersections, interchanges, and ramps that are affected by the work. In addition to enforcing traffic laws, enforcement officers often carry out other duties in work zones (e.g., handling traffic and investigating crashes). This project does not include those types of activity. The objective of this project is to develop guidelines for safe and effective deployment of traffic enforcement strategies in work zones on high-speed highways (those with speed limits of 45 mph or greater).

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=836

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $500000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 3-80

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 225
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Derr, B

• Performing Organizations:

  Texas A&M Research Foundation, College Station

  Texas A&M University
  College Station, TX  United States  77843
• Principal Investigators:

  Ullman, Gerald

• Start Date: 20050714
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20100728
• Source Data: RiP Project 10156

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Guidelines; High speed vehicles; Highway safety; Interchanges; Intersections; Speed limits; Traffic law enforcement; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control; Work zones
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01548863
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
• Contract Numbers: Project 3-80
• Files: RIP
• Created Date: Dec 28 2014 1:00AM