In charge of town’s traffic for a day
Reporter spent some time working as a stop-go traffic controller in Cambridge, as part of our series.
There is a school of thought about giving an older man a white coat or in this case a vest and putting him in charge of traffic.
I told no one my age and was armed with a hi-vis vest, radio and a stop-go sign. I was in charge.
But I was soon to learn that for those who work in traffic management, every day they run the risk of being verbally abused, physically assaulted or even worse, running for safety. That’s just part of the job. I spent time working alongside Evolution Road Services branch manager Don O’Sullivan and Cambridge roundabout construction site traffic manager, Sargent Puaha.
Starting as a paddle operator 10 years ago, O’Sullivan remains passionate about traffic management.
‘‘We manage traffic through the carnage created in order for contractors to end up with a positive result,’’ he said.
The intense workplace focus on safety now has prompted many changes since O’Sullivan started in the job, wearing T-shirt, stubbies and jandals working as a stop-go man.
Today, operators must wear ‘long-longs’, hi-vis long sleeved vests, long pants, steel cap boots and helmets all to protect workers as they are part of a construction site.
The day I worked on site, I received a comprehensive induction on how stop-go should work and was told to stop playing with the radio.
Something I had not thought about was body position, always facing oncoming traffic, ensuring I had an escape route to safety, just in case.
Learning about orange cone placement was interesting as I had no idea there was a right or a wrong way.
Now I understand why cone corridors get narrower, it’s to slow traffic to a safe speed for con- tractors.
On site I met my supervisor Sargent Puaha, and as site manager, he put me through the safety briefing explaining all the hazards on site for the day.
I was relieved when I didn’t hear that I was one of those hazards.
Now armed with my paddle and radio, I had a sense of what O’Sullivan meant when he said ‘‘you get to play with traffic’’.
But seriously it was all about clearing traffic as fast as my coworker could around the site.
There was only one incident I faced where I was disciplined.
I had always thought looking at your cell phone was standard practice, apparently not.
Thankfully I never experienced the wrath of motorists like O’Sullivan recalled when he was a traffic controller.
‘‘Abuse being hurled at me was normal, abnormal was where I copped a dirty nappy full of shit, but generally it’s half-eaten pies or bottles.’’
While I had special clearance to be stop-go man, under supervision, normal requirement is Traffic Management Level One Certified.
O’Sullivan is the first to tell you it’s a great career path.
Having worked on the road with the team, I now have a greater understanding and respect for the job they do.