Driver Safety at Roadworks

August 2020 | 1

Driver Safety at Roadworks

Road construction, either for the purposes of building new roads or maintaining existing roads is essential for Australia’s transport infrastructure. However, roadworks create risks for both the road workers as well as the public. Road workers are at risk of physical injury. While current data relating specifically to construction industry road workers is not available historical information suggests that each year around 100 traffic controllers are injured and require medical treatment or time off work, and tragically at least one is killed1. Road workers are at risk of physical injuries, but their roles also pose a psychological risk. A large number of workers have reported driver aggression and being subjected to verbal abuse, objects being thrown at them and being threatened by drivers2.

There are extensive traffic management regulations, policies and procedures aimed at ensuring the safety of road users, traffic control and road work personnel in construction zones. While there is a lack of detailed and accurate records of all incidents, studies have shown that crash rates increase in locations when roadworks are occurring3.

Subject to verbal abuse, threats and objects thrown

roadworkers are injured every year

Incur physical and psychological injuries

1001 killed each year

Anna Read & Dr Darren WishartGriffith University, Work and Organisational Resilience Centre

Introduction

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The Impact On Our Road Workers

“As I was picking up my signs, I had a bottle thrown at me smashing at my feet.”

“Two employees were standing behind a machine and a person in a car egged both of them.”

“...a truck decided he was going to go through the cones... Abused the Traffic Controller... went through the work lane dragging a cone with him.”

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Driver Safety at Roadworks

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Why do incidents occur?

Desensitisation to Signage Inattention Blindness

Perceptions of Safety

These factors can cause drivers to...

Conforming With Other Drivers

The presence of construction workers and roadworks means that road conditions are altered. Changes in road conditions can result in drivers being required to merge lanes, reduce speed, queue or change direction.

• Have you ever driven home and not remembered the journey?

• Repeated exposure to a particular route can lead to drivers experiencing “driving without awareness” 4

• Desensitised drivers can be less likely to recognise when a sign changes 5

• Drivers can fail to see speed changes and instead determine speed based on what they expect it to be 6

• Drivers who are giving their attention to another task can fail to notice things right in front of them 7

• Using a mobile phone while driving (even hands free) can lead to poorer driving than being legally drunk 8

• Experienced drivers are less likely to see signs if they are in unusual locations as this does not fit with their expectations 9,10

• Drivers have reported making their own assessment of safety at roadworks

• Drivers assume that speed reductions and safety precautions do not apply when construction crews and machinery are not visible 11

• Studies suggests around 30% of drivers ignore speed limits and determine their own safe speed 12,13

• People are influenced by the behaviours of others and conform by changing their behaviours to “fit in” or “go along” with the people around them 14

• Drivers who perceive other drivers are speeding are more likely to also drive faster 15

• Drivers who have a vehicle on their tail can feel as though the other driver is telling them to “hurry up” 16

• Younger drivers can be influenced by their peers to engage in unsafe behaviours such as texting and speeding 17,18

A number of factors can lead to unsafe driver behaviours.Understanding what influences driver behaviours can support interventions that reduce dangerous driver behaviours.

...drive the wrong way. ...fail to stop. ...block late mergers. ...disobey speed limits.

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Driver Safety at Roadworks

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Measures to Improve Safety

Organisations in the traffic management industry have the power to influence government and other agencies to implement safety initiatives that will protect their employees on the road. Accurate and detailed reporting of all safety incidents at roadworks will provide the foundation for developing effective safety initiatives.

Education

Perceptual Countermeasures

Reporting

Traffic Management

Peer & Parental Influence

Enforcement

• Continuing to educate road users on roadworks signage meaning

• Education on road conditions and why road users must change their speed and other behaviours at roadworks 19

• Encouraging peers to speak up and call each other out about unsafe driving 20

• Promoting of parental involvement in learning to drive and their powerful influence through modelling positive driving behaviours 21, 16

• Perceptual lane-width reductions influence drivers’ perception or feeling of speed

• Changing conditions, such as through cones that require drivers to move through a narrowed passage can reduce speeds 22

Organisations play an important role by:

• building a culture of safe driver behaviours with their employees

• designing roadworks to support safe driver behaviours

• providing information to decision makers to support the prevention of unsafe behaviours

• Enforcement, including speed cameras and police presence remains effective 23

• Even the presence of a police vehicle, with a police officer or onsite enforcement can have a notable effect 24

Preventing Unsafe Behaviours

While enforcement is effective, measures that encourage drivers to intentionally perform safe behaviours are more likely to have a long-term preventative impact.

"get a uniform approach, get the data together and start to understand the problem"

– Russell McAdam, Altus Traffic

“short-term pain for the long-term gain”

– Anthony Simmons, Trafficca Road Services Pty Ltd

• Working with other road maintenance organisations to do a range of improvements at once and get more bang for your buck

• Avoiding global minimum requirements that result in unnecessary speed reductions

• Not applying blanket speed reductions at work sites where variable speeds will allow traffic to slow and reduce driver frustration

• Designing roadworks to control speeds through the positioning of cones

• Using speed notification devices to draw driver’s attention to their speed

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Driver Safety at Roadworks

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Safety Initiatives

There are several different strategies that can be used to improve driver safety at road works.

• Toolbox talks on safe driving at non-operational roadworks

• Factsheets on how parents can educate and model safe driver behaviours

• Posters displaying roadwork signage and explaining when they are used, why they are used and what they mean

• Videos on driver distraction and speeding available at Queensland Government – StreetSmarts

• Scheduling work to allow enough time for the driver’s journey, including rest breaks

• Utilising apps, website or phonelines to obtain road conditions reports to plan journeys that avoid roadworks. Most state departments offer these services

• Allowing additional time for journeys when roadworks are unavoidable

• Technology that provides accurate speed information and alerts

• Tracking systems that can monitor speed and make drivers aware of the monitoring system

• Installing phone cradles or Bluetooth to ensure that if phones are used it is as safe as possible

• Include driver safety in regular safety talks. Openly discussing situations when unsafe behaviours have occurred, what were or could have been the consequences, and what the driver could have done differently

• Rewarding responsible drivers

• Factsheets on how parents can protect other parents by modelling safe driver behaviours to their children

• Humanising the role of roadworkers and the danger drivers can pose to them – physically and psychologically

• What would be an accepted number of deaths on the road? ‘Towards Zero’

• Develop a Road Safety Policy adapted to suit your organisation

• Encourage drivers not to use their phone at all while driving

• Persuade all workers not to call someone when they know the person is driving – and to end the call if they become aware the person is driving

Initiatives can be effective, however behavioural change is a process, not an event.

Prevention is better than intervention.

Education

Fleet Vehicle Safety Features

Build a Safety Culture

Journey Planning

Humanising Roadworkers

Policies

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Driver Safety at Roadworks

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1. Work Cover Queensland. (2019, November 28). Time to act on holiday traffic risks for workers. https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/forms-and-resources/newsletter/esafe-newsletters/esafe-editions/esafe-construction/november-2019/time-to-act-on-holiday-traffic-risks-for-workers

2. Debnath, A., Blackman, R., & Haworth, N. (2015). Worker views on safety at roadworks. In Cameron, I., Haworth, N., & McIntosh, L. (Ed.), 2015 Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC2015) (pp. 1-6). Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS).

3. Debnath, A. K., Blackman, R. A., & Haworth, N. L. (2014). Towards making informed decisions on selecting promising work zone safety treatments. Road and Transport Research, 23(4), 41-53.

4. Briest, S., Karrer, K., & Schleicher, R. (2006). Driving without awareness: Examination of the phenomenon. Vision in Vehicles XI, 89-141.

5. Martens, M. H., & Fox, M. R. J. (2007). Do familiarity and expectations change perception? Drivers’ glances and response to changes. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 10(6), 476-492. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2007.05.003

6. Harms, I. M., & Brookhuis, K. A. (2016). Dynamic traffic management on a familiar road: Failing to detect changes in variable speed limits. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 38, 37-46. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2016.01.005

7. Mack, A., & Rock, I. (1998). Inattentional blindness. The MIT Press.

8. Borowsky, A., Shinar, D., & Oron-Gilad, T. (2010). Age, skill, and hazard perception in driving. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42(4), 1240-1249. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.02.001

9. Borowsky, A., Shinar, D., & Parmet, Y. (2008). The relation between driving experience and recognition of road signs relative to their locations. Human Factors, 50(2), 173-182. https://doi.org/10.1518/001872008X288330

10. Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., & Crouch, D. J. (2006). A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver. Human Factors, 48(2), 381-391. https://doi.org/10.1518/001872006777724471

11. Blackman, R., Debnath, A., & Haworth, N. (2014). Influence of visible work activity on drivers' speed choice at roadworks. In Proceedings of the 2nd Occupational Safety in Transport Conference (pp. 1-10). CARRS-Q, Queensland University of Technology. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/76277/

12. TMR. (2009). 2009 Queensland Road Safety Awards Nomination. Roadwork safety: Making safety around roadworks everyone's responsibility. Department of Transport and Main Roads.

13. VicRoads. (1990). Influencing road user behaviour through roadworks. VicRoads.

14. Vaughan, G. M., & Hogg, M. A. (2008). Introduction to Social Psychology. Pearson Education Australia.

15. Haglund, M., & Åberg, L. (2000). Speed choice in relation to speed limit and influences from other drivers. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 3(1), 39-51. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8478(00)00014-0

16. Fleiter, J. J., Lennon, A., & Watson, B. (2010). How do other people influence your driving speed? Exploring the ‘who’ and the ‘how’ of social influences on speeding from a qualitative perspective. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 13(1), 49-62. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2009.10.002

17. Nemme, H. E., & White, K. M. (2010). Texting while driving: Psychosocial influences on young people's texting intentions and behaviour. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42(4), 1257-1265. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.01.019

18. Horvath, C., Lewis, I., & Watson, B. (2012). Peer passenger identity and passenger pressure on young drivers’ speeding intentions. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 15(1), 52-64. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2011.11.008

19. Debnath, A., Blackman, R., & Haworth, N. (2012). A review of the effectiveness of speed control measures in roadwork zones. In Proceedings of the 2012 Occupational Safety in Transport (OSIT) Conference (pp. 1-10). CARRS-Q, Queensland University of Technology. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/54233/

20. Elvik, R. (2000). Evaluating the effectiveness of Norway’s “Speak Out!” road safety campaign: The logic of causal inference in road safety evaluation studies. Transportation Research Record, 1717(1), 66-75. https://doi.org/10.3141/1717-09

21. Leadbeater, B. J., Foran, K., & Grove-White, A. (2008). How much can you drink before driving? The influence of riding with impaired adults and peers on the driving behaviors of urban and rural youth. Addiction, 103(4), 629-637. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02139.x

22. Allpress, J. A., & Leland, L. S. (2010). Reducing traffic speed within roadwork sites using obtrusive perceptual countermeasures. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42(2), 377-383. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.08.014

23. Soole, D. W., Watson, B. C., & Fleiter, J. J. (2013). Effects of average speed enforcement on speed compliance and crashes: A review of the literature. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 54, 46-56. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2013.01.018

24. Debnath, A. K., Blackman, R., & Haworth, N. (2015). Common hazards and their mitigating measures in work zones: A qualitative study of worker perceptions. Safety Science, 72, 293-301. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2014.09.022

25. National Road Safety Partnership Program. (2020). School Zone vs Work Zone... What’s the difference?. youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=4Yn9nRcTw50

References

Other Road Safety Resources

Safe and Unsafe Drivers – Winny Yip, Dr Darren Wishart, Daniell Barrett, Griffith University, Work & Organisational Resilience Centre

Incentives – Lily Sheppard, Dr Darren Wishart, Daniell Barrett, Griffith University, Work & Organisational Resilience Centre

Complacency – Monique Bock, Dr Darren Wishart, Daniell Barrett, Griffith University, Work & Organisational Resilience Centre

Industry Support

Louise van Ristell, Traffic Management Association of Australia