Foley, James L., Jr.

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HOW'S YOUR SAFETY CONSCIOUSNESS?James L. Foley, J r.Director, Office of Highway Safety Federal Highway Administration Washington, D. C.FH W A  SAFETY DRIVE SINCE ’64The theme of the general session is “Making Better Use of Existing Facilities." Improving highway safety is certainly one of the ways of so doing and is an area of primary concern of the Federal Highway Administration (F H W A ).F H W A  has accelerated significantly these efforts in the recent past. As an example, of the almost $4 billion FH W A  has obligated for specific safety improvements since 1964, almost 80% were obligated within the last five years. This $4 billion represents about 24,000 safety improvement projects undertaken by the states since 1964. W e feel certain that these improvements have made a significant contribution to highway safety.States such as California, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have reported that for every dollar spent on safety improvement projects, the public receives a $5 benefit in reduction of accidents alone. W e have recently evaluated the highway safety construction program and the preliminary results are very encouraging. In Table 1, fatal accident reductions under three of these programs have been between 48-68%. These are not the only examples of the effectiveness of highway improvements in reducing accidents. The fatal accident rate on our interstate highway system is less than one-half the rate on the nation’s other roadways.4950TABLE 1—COST AND BENEFITS SUMMARY5152Perhaps you didn’t know that freeways opened after 1966 have an even lower rate than the original interstate system. Figure 1 shows this improvement. This is the result of improved safety design con­cepts. W e in the highway profession can be proud of our contribution to highway safety. However, we are not without shortcomings.FH W A  SPECIAL SAFETY A T T E N T IO N  T O  C O N ST R U C T IO N  SITES IN  77In our zeal to produce improved roads in a hurry, we have often created temporary and needless hazards during the construction period. For some reason, engineers seem to accept substandard design and operating practices during highway construction which they would never tolerate in new highway design.FH W A  is giving special attention this year to construction site safety. This is a serious national problem. Recent national reports have estimated that somewhere between 500 and 1,000 highway fatali­ties each year are related to construction and maintenance zones. This, of course, includes motorists, pedestrians, and workmen in these loca­tions. Studies conducted in individual states indicate that accident rates at construction sites may jump between 20-100% over the pre­construction experience. Even more dramatic is the fact that fatality rates at these same sites increase between 100-300% during construc­tion. Yet, experience in California indicates that with proper con­sideration and careful design, accident rates at construction sites need not be higher than preconstruction rates.PO O R  PRA CTICES A T  C O N ST R U C T IO N  SITESPoor practice in construction zones is not an isolated problem. The following is a listing of common construction problems found in a survey of 18 states last year.• Confusing pavement markings—see Figure 2.• Confusing signs—see Figure 3.• Inadequate barricade protection—see Figures 4 and 5.• Hazards caused by construction materials, equipment—see Figure6.• Nonuniform signs.• No advance warning.• Unnecessarily low speed limits, therefore ignored.53TRAFFIC FATALITY (DEATHS PER 100 MILLION VEHICLE-MILE)Figure 1. Freeways opened after 1966 have a lower fatality rate than the original interstate highways.Generally, construction sites in all states surveyed needed improve­ment in the interest of safety. Without exception, major projects withwarn m54Figure 2. Problem obvious—also shows need for continuous inspectionand maintenance.Figure 3. Too many signs at one location can be confusing.F ig u r e  4. S a fe ty  im p ro v e m e n t— n o t q u ite  ad e q u a te .55Figure 5. Attempt to protect heavy pedestrian movement—at potential hazard to vehicles—better end treatment possible.Figure 6. Obvious hazard—should be placed further from shoulder.good traffic control were those where the traffic control devices were maintained 24 hours a day.These deficiencies could have been corrected at a minimum of cost with a little thought and care. In fact, if you consider the lawsuits that might have resulted from these poor practices, the improvements have56a potential to save both the contractor and the public substantial sums of money.EXAM PLES OF CO ST O F T O R T  L IA B IL IT IE SThe following will give some idea of the cost of tort liability. The city of Wolverine Lake, Michigan, entered into a consent judg­ment of half a million dollars; $100,000 in lump sum paid by the village’s insurer, and the city will pay the claimant $20,000 a year for the next 20 years. Another case in which the plaintiff struck a utility pole was settled for $1,350,000 because the county had not posted the curve warning signs. A California case in 1975 resulted in a $950,000 settlement because of defective markings. I could go on but these are indicative of the costs of inadequate construction or highway defects.M U T C D  REVISIONS T O  IM PR O V E SAFETY A T  C O N S T R U C T IO N  SITESIt is obvious that there are many areas of construction operations that can stand improvement. W e in FH W A  are taking a hard look at construction site practices to determine what can be done to improve safety. W e know that the M U T C D  needs revision. When revised, it probably will require such items as: (1) removal of obsolete pave­ment markings, (2) better design of traffic barriers and barricades and better direction on where they are to be used, and (3) more explicit requirements for the specific placement of traffic control devices.W e also believe that the states should develop statewide policies for the safe handling of traffic through construction zones. However, the real problem in construction site safety is not the M U T C D  re­quirements or state procedures, but the attitude of the people re­sponsible for construction and maintenance operations.INCREASE SAFETY AW ARENESS A T  ALL LEVELSConstruction zones are by their nature hazardous, thus we must take special care to make them as safe as possible. W e must make everyone connected with construction, from the designer to the flag­man, contractor, and inspector, all realize the importance of safe operations. There is an urgent need for better safety awareness at all levels, but particularly at the operating level.57FH W A  C O N ST R U C T IO N  SITE SAFETY PROGRAM  PLANSThe F H W A  has made a commitment to vastly improve construc­tion site safety within a year. To accomplish this, we have launched a three-prong attack on the problem. First, we will be tightening the criteria contained in the M U T C D  on operating practices and use of traffic control barriers and barricades. Second, we are developing a nationwide training program to increase the skills and safety awareness of all individuals from the site foreman to the project engineer. We are presently negotiating with the Transportation Safety Institute to develop a continuing course on construction site safety. Third, we realize that we do not have all the answers to the construction site safety problem. Therefore, we have undertaken about a $2.5 million research effort to resolve many of the issues still facing us, such as:(1) W hat are the best barricades to use at construction sites under various conditions?(2) How can we efficiently and effectively obliterate unneeded pavement markings?(3) W hat minimum criteria are necessary to insure safe design and operating speeds through construction zones?(4) W hat types of guidelines should be established for flood­lighting?(5) W hat are the proper practices for the use of trailer-mounted warning sign devices in construction zones?All of the above activities will be helpful in improving construction site safety, but the increased safety awareness of you, the road officials, combined with your ingenuity to upgrade the quality and supervision of traffic operations at construction sites, will be the key to our success. I hope you realize the importance of construction site safety and com­mit your resources to its improvement. W e need your cooperation and assistance in spreading the gospel of the importance of safe traffic operations through construction areas.SAFETY CONCERN HELPS IM AG E OF H IG H W A Y  BUILDERSNot only will better construction site practices enhance safety, it could also have tangible benefits to the roadbuilding profession. The average driver seldom sees highway officials in action, but when he does, it’s usually during construction and maintenance activities. Poor accommodation of traffic can and does cause the motorist to lose58respect for us. He doesn’t know, or really care, how thick the roadway base is. He can’t recognize drainage problems, or judge your concrete mixes, but he can, and does, base his opinion of your ability on the ease of his travel through construction zones.If you are concerned for the driver’s safety, it shows and he knowsit. If you are unconcerned, he is also acutely aware of it. Safe andefficient accommodation of traffic through construction zones can do more to improve our public image than a million dollar public rela­tions program.LOOK FO R  A C C ID E N T  PRO BLEM  IN D IC A TO R SAnother important application of safety consciousness is to pay attention to accident problem indicators. W e often have so many things on our mind that we overlook obvious hazards in our day-to-day travels. O r perhaps we have seen it so often we don’t recognize it as a hazard. Overcoming this is not easy. It takes effort, so let’s look at some of these indicators of an accident problem. The followinglist shows some of the things to look fo r:• Nicked trees.• Ruts in the shoulder—see Figures 7 and 8.• Skid marks—see Figure 9.F ig u r e  7. P r o b le m  in d ic a to r— w h e e l  t ra c k s  in  sh o u ld e r .59Figure 8. Problem indicator-wheel tracks between roadway and ramp.F ig u r e  9. P r o b le m  in d ic a to r— s k id  m a rk s .60MAKE M A IN T E N A N C E  FORCES SAFETY CONSCIOUSIn addition to being observant yourselves, a major contribution to safety can be the development of the same consciousness on the part of your employees. This is especially true of your maintenance forces. They spend a great amount of their working day on your highway system and have the unique capability, in minor problem areas, of fixing it on the spot. On the other hand, if the size of the effort is such that it exceeds their capability, they should report it for appro­priate action. While on the subject of maintenance, we have noted a bad national habit, namely, to replace in kind, hazardous roadway appurtenances that have been involved in accidents.I t should be the policy of each of us to do it right. In this case, “right” means to replace it in accordance with the latest and best practices. Sometimes in our efforts to improve the safety of the en­vironment we fall short of our intended objective.CO N CLU SIO NOur present system of highways has made an outstanding con­tribution to the reduction of the nation’s accident toll. However, there are still many areas that need improvement and construction site safety should be one of the top priorities.W ith the proper attitude toward safety, we can substantially re­duce the number of construction site accidents within the next 12 months and identify other potential problems. You are the key to a successful safety program. In addition to the benefits for your con­stituents, you can derive tremendous satisfaction from the good results of a job well done. It all depends on how sensitive your safety consciousness is.

How\u27s Your Safety Consciousness?

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How\u27s Your Safety Consciousness?

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