Page:UK Traffic Signs Manual - Chapter 8 - Part 2- Traffic Safety Measures and Signs for Road Works and Temporary Situations) - Operations 2009.pdf/15

GENERAL regulation orders cannot be made on demand. Highway authorities will need certain minimum times for processing. Speed control and temporary speed limits are dealt with in Part 1: Design, Section D3.7.


 * Direct risks to the safety of the workforce from passing traffic should be eliminated if possible by changes in working method (e.g. closures) or otherwise controlled by the use of temporary vehicle restraint barriers. Temporary speed limits should not be imposed at road works sites solely for the direct purpose of protecting the workforce. The presence of vulnerable work operations on foot should always be minimised.
 * When a length of road is closed, the opportunity should be taken to carry out as much other maintenance as is practicable on that length of road.
 * An objective of traffic management shall be to satisfy safely the expected traffic demand on the affected road or roads while work is in progress. Whenever possible, any work involving a reduction in the number of traffic lanes, particularly on heavily-trafficked commuter routes, should be avoided at peak periods, e.g. between the hours of 07.30 and 09.30 and between 16.30 and 18.30. The National Street Gazetteer (NSG) provides details of all the traffic-sensitive situations on the network. Details of the NSG may be found on the following website: www.nsg.org.uk. Local circumstances may permit or require variation of these times. If demand exceeds available capacity, queues will develop and road users could be put at risk. This should be avoided if possible. See Part 1: Design, Section 3.4.
 * Provided that there is adequate storage space, plant and machinery should be kept on site for the duration of the works in order to avoid unnecessary movements into and out of the site. Where practicable, materials should be transported to the site in bulk and partial loads combined into full loads for the same reason. Refer to Section O3.8 for guidance on the storage of materials, and Section O4.11 for advice on the use of barriers to protect plant and materials.
 * There shall always be liaison with the Highway Authority concerned to avoid concurrent works in close proximity. See Part 1: Design, Section D3.5 for details on the maximum recommended distance between sites on different types of road.
 * The needs of pedestrians, particularly those who are disabled, should be considered when planning road work schemes. Guidance is given in Part 1: Design, Section D3.32.

Measures for enforcement of temporary speed limits should be agreed with the police at the planning stage. These could include speed cameras, use of fixed and/or mobile VMS or increased police patrols. Speed control and temporary speed limits are dealt with in Part 1: Design, Section D3.7. Guidance is also included in a Highways Agency document entitled "Ensuring Road Works Speed Limit Compliance and Safety: Guide to Best Practice".

Sufficient resources should be made available, where practicable, to keep sites occupied and operating during normal working hours since long stretches of coning with no sign of activity annoy road users and bring legitimate coning into disrepute, e.g. breaks such as those for meals should be staggered. Where workers may be out of sight of road users, e.g. when working underneath a bridge, an information sign to diagram 7004, varied to omit the warning triangle and distance plate, should be erected. Further guidance on driver information signs is given in Part 1: Design, Section D4.11.

Traffic flows at all sites should be monitored regularly so that, if problems develop, the regional control centre, police or traffic officers can be asked to take appropriate action. On motorways this might include activating the VMS. Care needs to be taken to ensure that any signals activated correctly describe the lanes open and the lanes closed for traffic. 13