EFFECTIVE COUNTERMEASURES TO REDUCE ACCIDENTS IN WORK ZONES

Nationally, work zone fatalities peaked at over 800 per year during the 1990s. Arizona tallied 82 fatal and 5,009 injury accidents in work zones during a five year period. In response to this problem, the objectives of this project included: Characterizing the nature of work zone accidents in Arizona; Reviewing countermeasures used throughout the country, and the effectiveness of those countermeasures; and Recommending countermeasures for use in Arizona to improve work zone safety and reduce accidents. Work zone accidents account for about 3% of all reported accidents in Arizona, or about 3,000 work zone accidents per year. These accidents produce about 18 fatalities and 1,600 injuries per year. Compared to all accidents statewide: work zone accidents tend to be less severe; larger vehicles tend to be over-represented in work zone accidents; a greater proportion of work zone accidents occur in rural areas; and work zone accidents are over-represented on the State Highway System. A detailed analysis of fatal accident reports did not clearly identify any common or widespread factors that contribute to fatal accidents occurring in work zones. A national review of work zone countermeasures was conducted, focussing on the documented effectiveness of various work zone countermeasures. To identify which countermeasures are most appropriate for use in Arizona, a panel of 21 experts was convened. The panel included representatives with a variety of perspectives on the work zone accident problem. Arizona Department of Transportation personnel dealing with construction operations, maintenance, traffic operations, safety, and research were represented. Department of Public Safety officers, construction industry representatives, a traffic control contractor, a Federal Highway Administration representative, and university researchers also attended. The panel selected six principal countermeasures for implementation in Arizona: 1) Work Zone Speed Limits; 2) Police Presence; 3) Speed Limit Enforcement; 4) Public Education; 5) Sign Credibility; and 6) Temporary Pavement Markings in Work Zones.

• Corporate Authors:

  Arizona State University, Tempe

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, P.O. Box 875306
  Tempe, AZ  United States  85287-5306

  Arizona Department of Transportation

  206 South 17th Avenue
  Phoenix, AZ  United States  85007

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Walker, V
  • Upchurch, J
• Publication Date: 1999-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 78 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Countermeasures; Crash characteristics; Education; Fatalities; Injuries; Panel studies; Police; Recommendations; Road markings; Speed limits; Traffic law enforcement; Traffic signs; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control
• Geographic Terms: Arizona
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I73: Traffic Control; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00798950
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-AZ99-467,, Final Report
• Contract Numbers: SPR-PL-1(53)467
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 18 2000 12:00AM