Each year in the US, large numbers of road construction workers are struck and fatally injured. Speeding traffic near roadside construction sites remains a problem that state DOTs spend enormous periods of time and money trying to solve.
When struck by a vehicle traveling at 40 miles per hour, only 1 out of 10 pedestrians will survive. Unfortunately, at 30 mph, 5 out of 10 pedestrians will survive collisions. The need for effective speed enforcement at work areas is apparent.
There’s a solution, though. Variable speed limit (VSL) signs have been proven to be effective at encouraging speed limit compliance and speed awareness more effectively and for longer than most other methods. Affordable and easy to programme, a TraffiCalm variable speed sign will help to reduce traffic speeds near roadside work sections.
Many Ways in Which the Speed Limit Sign Can Help
Radar speed signs are flexible. They may be employed to warn drivers of dangerous road conditions, to optimise traffic flow during high-congestion hours, to improve work area safety, and to conduct traffic information collection.
More than that, though, VSL signs have been proved effective at inspiring speed limit compliance in work zones, which dramatically increases work zone safety for drivers and staff alike. Utah’s Department of Transportation conducted a study to test the efficacy of VSL signs at slowing traffic near highway construction zones.
Protect Roadside Employees with These Signs
The Utah DOT placed a few traffic counters along a stretch of highway undergoing construction for several months. The UDOT revealed that one of the best advantages of the programmable VSL sign was the power to turn it on only in occassions when construction was actively going down. Standard highway traffic speeds were permitted to continue unhindered when construction crews weren’t present. When the work zone was active, the VSL sign caused drivers to slow down better than a static sign.
TraffiCalm’s VSL signs that display speed based on programming and an individual area’s traffic problems are the way ahead for road safety products.
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