Device could boost safety for road crews
To improve safety on Saskatchewan highways, the province is expanding the use of the Automated Flagger Assistance Device (AFAD).
How effective it will be remains to be seen, says Allan Barilla, who has 35 years of highway construction under his belt.
As a supervisor with Morsky Construction Ltd., he was on the highway Monday, setting up signs to alert motorists of a construction zone. Although his yellow beacon lights were flashing, traffic could be heard speeding by as he talked about the realities of life on the highway.
“I think it’s something worth trying,” Barilla said of the automated flagger. “If someone runs into it, it’s just a piece of equipment, right?”
An AFAD sits on a trailer and includes an arm (like a train-crossing arm) and a stop light to tell drivers when they can and cannot proceed. It is operated remotely by a flag person outside of the travel lane.
The ministry piloted the AFAD with a construction company last year and decided to expand the program. As result of the pilot project, three AFADs were built in-house and are being used in construction zones across the province.
Motorists travelling through the Humboldt and Maidstone areas will see an AFAD in use.
Doug Wakabayashi, spokesman for the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, said the goal is to improve highway safety for both highway workers and motorists.
“Being a flag person is a very hazardous job because the way they do it now with the paddles, they have to stand right out in the stream of traffic,” he said. “Using the AFAD, they will be able to stand off to the side or even in the ditch and control traffic.”
Wakabayashi said AFADs are still a work in progress.
“In recent years, we have done things like introduced photo enforcement in work zones, the fines have increased, we have done a lot work to try and simplify our sign plans so it’s easier for motorists to understand what is expected of them,” he said. “We also do a lot of ongoing public education work as well, so this new technology is continuing that process.”
The plan is to monitor how effective the AFADs are and to develop guidelines around their use.
On Monday, Barilla’s crew was on the road doing micro surfacing, which involves filling in the ruts caused by highway traffic over time. The grooves are filled so that when it rains the water doesn’t pool and cause vehicles to hydroplane. Barilla said it’s necessary road maintenance done for the safety of motorists.
He said motorists continue to speed through highway construction zones, and it’s frustrating.
“I think most people’s mentality is that we’re slowing them down and that we are in the way, so anytime they are delayed or have to slow down they feel like they have been inconvenienced,” he said. “My slogan is. ‘Everyone wants the road to be fixed, but no one wants to see them being fixed.’ ”
Barilla said efforts to improve safety are welcome, but says there has yet to be a single solution that solves the issue of speeding motorists. He thinks the effectiveness is dependent on the motorists’ willingness to learn about the devices.
“Really the only thing protecting us are plastic and paint — the yellow paint lines and plastic cones,” he said.
Barilla wonders what costs will be passed on to the businesses. His company uses rumble strips, which cost $30,000, but wear down and have to be replaced after a few years. It also uses a pilot vehicle to slow down traffic, but it is costly to run a truck and driver for 12 hours a day. Barilla is not sure how much the new technology will ultimately cost.