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Bulletin
March - April 2007, Vol. 73, No. 2
In this issue:
Home | Work Zone Awareness | Commissioner's Column | Tech-Bytes | Humor | News Briefs
Career Moves | All in the Family | Best Practices | Answer File | VDOTer in Profile
Work Zone Awareness Week
Automated ‘Flagger’ Tested
Flaggers in work zones have a new friend -- an automated one. It’s called the “AutoFlagger.”
The AutoFlagger, which can be operated by wireless remote control, has a rotating paddle with “Stop” and “Slow” on opposite sides. It also has supplemental signs and lights mounted on a trailer. The device not only removes flaggers from the roadway, it can be operated by just one employee in some cases, relieving a customary second flagger for other duties.
Two supplemental signs are mounted below the stop-slow sign; they read “Wait on Stop” and “Go on Slow.” A 12-inch red signal light with a strobe is positioned above the “stop” sign and two yellow lights with strobes are placed on each side of the “slow” sign. Other signs, such as “Stop Here on Red,” may also be used. An emergency horn can be used to warn workers when a motorist fails to heed a stop sign.
In recent tests, the AutoFlagger was used successfully in Wytheville Area Headquarters in Wytheville Residency and Beach Area Headquarters in Chesterfield Residency, although a few motorists did not immediately understand “Wait on Stop” and drove on slowly without waiting for the paddle to change to “Go on Slow.”
Other state DOTs also have tested Autoflagger with good results, and Minnesota’s DOT has used it since 1996. Workers there said it was “easy to set up and use,” “clearly understandable” and “safe.” The Federal Highway Administration has given the device interim approval.
Auto Flagger on the job.
The AutoFlagger is best used for short-term lane closures on two-lane roads or highways. In addition, shoulders must be wide enough to accommodate the equipment, which is seated on a trailer 8 feet by nearly 14 feet.
VDOT plans to continue using the AutoFlagger and to monitor it in other areas of the state, as well as to investigate the use of other similar flagging devices.
Read the Virginia Transportation Research Council report: http://vtrc.virginiadot.org/PubDetails.aspx?PubNo=07-R12
Work Zone Awareness Week : More planning for work zone mobility >
