Road traffic control

Road traffic control involves directing vehicular and pedestrian traffic around a construction zone, accident or other road disruption, thus ensuring the safety of emergency response teams, construction workers and the general public.

Traffic control also includes the use of CCTV and other means of monitoring traffic by local or state roadways authorities to manage traffic flows and providing advice concerning traffic congestion. This is not dealt with in this article.

Traffic controllers (TC's) are often known as "lollipop men" (usually this name only applies to TC's working near schools to aid pupils in road crossing) from the appearance of their Stop/Slow signs, known as "Stop bats".

Road Traffic control is an outdoors occupation, night or day for long hours in all weathers, and is considered a dangerous occupation due to the high risk of being struck by passing vehicles. Safety equipment is vitally important. Fatigue is a big issue, as tired TC's may forget to watch their traffic, or may inadvertently turn their "Stop bats" to the "Slow" position. Many drivers are annoyed by the disruption to their route, and some are sufficiently antisocial as to aim at traffic controllers. Other drivers simply don't pay enough attention to the road, often from using their mobile (cell-) phones, or because they are tired from a night shift at work. Not a few are exceeding the posted speed limit.

Typically, a worksite will be set up with warning signage well in advance of the actual work area. This may involve (in Australia) "Roadworks Ahead", temporary speed restrictions, "Worker Symbolic" (a stylized workman with a pile of rubble, black silhouette on a retroflective orange background), "Reduce Speed", "Lane Status" boards (indicating that some lanes on a multilane roadway will be closed), "Prepare to Stop" and advisory signs telling what is happening (e.g. Water Over Road, Trucks Entering, and Power Line Works Ahead). If lanes have been closed, large flashing arrows (Arrow Boards) on trailers may be utilized to give motorists hundreds of meters warning to move over. Motorists will be advised they are leaving a worksite by speed reinstatement or "End Roadworks" signs.

The worksite will usually involve closing a part of the road for the work area. How this is done depends on the type of road: on a multi-lane road, one or more lanes will be closed off and traffic merged into the remaining lane(s), using cones and "Chevron" signs and Arrow Boards to guide motorists. On a wide road (more than 3 meters per lane in Australia), traffic could be "diverted" around the work area by using cones to define a new road centerline and another line of cones around the work area. Sometimes, it is necessary to close a road and detour traffic.

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