Every year hundreds of accidents take place in Europe taking a huge toll in human life and causing millions of EUROs in property damage. A big number of these accidents take place in work zone areas and are due to the lack or misplacement of the appropriate elements that (a) make work zones visible well in advance so that drivers may perceive the situation and react accordingly and (b) provide guidance as to what drivers should do to safely weave through the work zone. Change in roadway geometry and decrease in capacity due to lane closures and temporary controls increase the risk for accidents at work zone locations. It seems rather well substantiated that work zones are unsafe, accident-prone sections of the highways. There are specific factors that influence the accident risk in these areas. These factors describe the work zone design, temporary traffic control and drivers’ behavior. The main factors can be summarized as follows: - Design and position of the elements used to control traffic around the roadwork zone (signs, lights, control and closure devices, etc.) - Groups of people involved in road works (construction, signage, traffic and safety personnel) and their various and sometimes conflicting roles. - Appropriate but sometimes contradicting goals in traffic management. - Environmental factors and weather conditions affecting visibility, roadway condition and vehicle behaviour. - Drivers’ behaviour in terms of perception-reaction time, speed, lateral position, braking and acceleration, etc. Accident statistics indicate that safety and efficiency of vehicle movement through work zones is a weak link in the overall traffic safety programs both at European and national level. Although it is obvious that special consideration should be given to temporary traffic control planning and operation, there are no standards on work zone safety that have been widely adopted at a European level. The project PREVENT “DEVELOP A TRAINING PROGRAMME TO IMPROVE WORK ZONE SAFETY” addresses the LEONARDO DA VINCI, Community Vocational Training Action Programme and in particular the Priority 2 of the program (New forms of learning and teaching and basic skills in vocational and educational training (VET)). The project is designed to deal with the safety issue in road work zones. The objective is to improve safety conditions in these areas through the provision of appropriate training to the individuals involved in the execution of work zone operations or the individuals that face the accident risk while driving through these areas. In order to achieve this objective, PREVENT will develop dedicated and life-long vocational training schemes for highway repair and maintenance worker training personnel, and driving instructors. The ultimate goal of PREVENT is to increase safety around work zones and reduce the number or work zone related accidents. (Author/publisher)
Abstract