AAA Mid-Atlantic reported research indicating that flashing direction signs on the back of roadside assistance vehicles is an effective way to reduce worker deaths and injuries.
On average, two emergency responders, including tow truck workers, are struck and killed every month by a driver who fails to obey the law by moving over to an adjacent lane and allowing the roadside rescuers the space to operate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Government data shows that tow operators are killed at a rate of almost 43 deaths per 100,000 workers, compared to just three for all other industries.
“We examined this safety challenge because these crashes are avoidable if drivers slow down and move over to allow roadside workers the space to carry out their duties safely,” said Dr. David Yang, president and executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “We must help motorists see and react appropriately whenever an emergency responder is on the side of the road.”
– The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted two field studies on busy roads to determine the effectiveness of various countermeasures to protect roadside workers. The foundation also surveyed tow workers, emergency responders, and road maintenance workers on their experiences with roadside jobs. Of those surveyed, 60% had experienced a near miss while working at the roadside, while 15% had survived being hit by a passing vehicle.
The foundation studied several countermeasures, and an electronic vehicle-mounted variable message sign (VMS) was very effective. With VMS activated, drivers changed lanes and slowed down more than when the VMS was not operating. The odds of a vehicle moving over were 95% higher when the VMS was used.
Passenger vehicles were more responsive to the VMS than trucks or buses, although both were more likely to move over when VMS was active than when not. The foundation examined cones, flares, and emergency flashing light patterns. The researchers found these led to significant lane shifts by drivers but were less effective at reducing speeds or increasing the distance to the passing vehicles that did not change lanes.
AAA strongly recommends service vehicles or fleets utilize these features, to protect roadside workers.
Variable message signs are widely used in Delaware by DelDOT and contractors.
