I travel through the state of Texas almost every week. Generally, traffic density is not high as Texas is a big state however the speed limits are as high as 80 mph in some areas which creates challenges of its own in regards to construction zone safety.
Texas leads the country in work zone injuries and fatalities as written in Roads and Bridges magazine. In order to make their work zones safer, Texas DOT recently announced safety measures for their highways. They have put in place a system called RoadQuake 2 temporary Portable Rumble Strips. The rumble strips will alert drivers well in advance of upcoming construction or work zones. The strips are
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| While stopped due to a flag person I was able to snap a quick picture of the Road Quake 2 portable rumble strip. |
installed perpendicular to the travel lane. Drivers and passengers will feel a vibration and hear a loud “da dump” as they cross over the strips. Drivers actually receive three alerts from the rumble strips. The strips are mainly to get the attention of drivers and passengers prior to a work zone so that they have plenty of time to slow down to the proper speed. Texas work zones offer signs but if people are on their cell phones or distracted then often times they don’t see the caution/warning sign of an upcoming work zone ahead.
One summer, when I was young, I worked for a friend’s dad who owned a garbage truck business. I rode on the back of the truck and collected the trash cans to dump into the compactor. While doing this, I was surrounded by motorists who didn’t want to be inconvenienced to slow down or even wait to safely pass our truck. I always had to be on guard as to not get hit. It will get your attention and make the hair stand up on the back of your neck when a car grazes your legs and just misses running you over. Not to mention the fact that you feel the wind and air blowing across your body as the motorists travel just inches from you as your trying to do your work.
When I began my trucking company back in 1996, some of the first loads I transported were the support beams for sound barriers along the southeast corner of the Washington beltway on I-495. It was my responsibility to unstrap the shipment on top of my flatbed trailer along the highway. This was my first experience of being along the side of a highway during a road construction project. Again, motorists were just feet away from my body as they sped past well in excess of the normal speed limit of 55 mph. Most of the motorists ignored the caution signs regarding the construction zone speed limit of 45 mph. Many of them just continued to go at the 55 mph or exceeded that limit as well.
I’m glad to see Texas taking measures to improve the safety inside of their construction zones. I have witnessed the effects on drivers since the new portable rumble strips have been put into place. They are working and it definitely is getting the attention of drivers. I feel that if every highway user had the opportunity to work along a highway in a construction zone, they would surely change their mindset when it comes to the safety of those roadside workers.