New guidelines designed to make roadworks safer will be issued next month, with the publication of the revamped Chapter 8 of the Traffic signs manual. The first of a series of regional conferences to promote the revised guidance was held in Leeds this week.
The changes have been widely anticipated across the roads maintenance industry, which saw five road workers killed and 12 seriously injured on England’s trunk roads during 2005 – the worst toll since 1999.
Safety-assured mobile carriageway closures ‘will enable road workers to carry out planned operations, with zero vehicle intrusion,’ according to the Highways Agency. It trialled the use of specialised trucks with illuminated signs to escort traffic slowly through roadworks on the A40 and M5 (Surveyor, 13 October 2005). Continental-style sequential flashing lamps are endorsed as a way of guiding approaching drivers safely into coned lanes
Improvements to incident-management techniques are also proposed to ensure consistency of approach.
Apart from its advice on new techniques and materials, the guidance has been split into two parts to distinguish between design and operations. Their contents are now categorised by type of road rather than works.
Work sites are divided into five distinct zones to accommodate non-standard designs more easily. Taper lengths and cone spacings have also been rationalised.
Roads minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman, said the guidelines would help reduce risks to road workers carrying out vital maintenance work. ‘They will also help make driving through roadworks safer and less stressful,’ he added.
The other conferences, hosted by the Institution of Highways & Transportation, are planned for Birmingham (14 June), London (20 June) and North Wales (4 July). Traffic safety measures and traffic signs manual Chapter 8 www.tsoshop.co.uk