According to information cited on the Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse (http://wzsafety.tamu.edu), the Laborer’s Health and Safety Fund officials indicate that 120 to 130 highway workers are killed each year in work zones. In another Clearinghouse citation, a recent ARTBA review of Bureau of Labor statistics indicates the fatality rate for roadway construction workers is 32 people for every 100,000 workers. By comparison, the rate for all construction is about 13 people per 100,000 workers and the general industry rate is about 4 people per 100,000 workers. These statistics, coupled with the absence of highly mobile protective devices, indicates the need for such devices. It is recognized that all injuries and deaths cannot be prevented but any mitigation (including a highly-mobile barrier system) is likely a worthwhile pursuit. While it is desirable to have a protective device that covers a wide possibility of work zone conditions, this preliminary study shows there are some practical limits to activities that can be accommodated by a highly mobile work zone protective device. The system must be highly mobile, highly maneuverable, easily deployed, should be adjustable for various lane widths, and capable of redirecting ¾ ton pickups at angles and speeds up to 25 degrees and 60 mph if TL-3 is the selected performance level. A large number of highly mobile work zone operations were reviewed and categorized for functional requirements of the respective operations. Based on the analyses performed, a properly-designed barrier system could accommodate more than twothirds of the identified mobile construction and maintenance activities. Furthermore, it is possible that some of those activities assessed as not being accommodated by a mobile barrier with these functional requirements might become accommodated with slight modifications in how work crews currently perform those activities. Preliminary functional requirements, crash performance analysis, and physical size limitations indicate a maximum trailer length of 48-50 feet. Maximum overall width of the system in transport mode will be limited to 102 inches. Full-scale crash testing to NCHRP Report 350 or its subsequent equivalent standard should be required of any developed system. While testing to TL-3 conditions is desirable, structural member size, overall system mass, and likely impact conditions my dictate a lesser test level. A TL-2 device need only manage approximately half the impact energy of a similar vehicle under TL-3 test conditions. (Author/publisher) Appendix B can be found at: http://wzsafety.tamu.edu/training/worker_protection_systems_workshop/dr…
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