Orange pavement markings in construction zones

Work zone fatalities in the United States have decreased steadily since 2002. Despite this progress, 576 people were killed and 37,476 were injured in work zone crashes in the United States in 2010. During the same year, approximately 1.6% of all reportable traffic collisions in the Unites States occurred in work zones (U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, 2013).

In order to provide motorists with additional visual indicators when approaching or driving through road construction zones, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) (2009) adopted the use of temporary fluorescent orange pavement markings on divided multilane roadways to provide colour correlation with the existing orange construction signs and barrels in Ontario construction zones. It also sought to minimize the probability of driver confusion while approaching, driving through, or exiting a construction zone. MTO is attempting to make the use of temporary fluorescent orange pavement markings in construction zones a standard practice in Ontario. It is worth noting that MTO has not yet published the results of any road safety improvement initiatives implemented in construction zones (e.g. reduced vehicle speeds or lower crash rates) where orange pavement markings have been used.

A number of European countries (e.g. Netherlands, Germany, France, and Belgium) regularly mark roads under construction with temporary yellow line markings to enhance road safety and to minimize driver inconvenience in work zones. Permanent pavement markings in those countries are white, so the yellow markings inform motorists that something is different and that they should be extra cautious. France and the Netherlands remove the existing white markings in work zones, so that only the yellow markings are visible, while Germany and Belgium add the temporary yellow lines beside the white lines. Public awareness campaigns in those countries inform drivers that yellow pavement markings take precedence over white lines. (Steinke et al., 2000).

Scope of the Problem

• U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (2013). Facts and Statistics – Work Zone Injuries and Fatalities. Retrieved from http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/facts_stats/injuries_fatalities.htm

Evidence

• Ontario Ministry of Transportation (2009). Turning Orange: Construction Zones in Ontario. Ontario's Transportation Technology Transfer Digest — Summer 2009 — Vol. 15, Issue 3. Retrieved from http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/transtek/roadtalk/rt15-3/#a5
• Steinke, D.P., Sanderson, L., Byrnes, Jr. J.F., Conrad, J., Forrestel, R., Harrington-Hughes, K., Kobetsky, K.K., Lanford, S., Snyder-Petty, K., Testa, D., & Wilkerson. J.D. (2000). Methods and Procedures to Reduce Motorist Delays in European Work Zones. Prepared for Office of International Programs, Office of Policy Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation & The National Cooperative Highway Research Program of the Transportation Research Board. Report No. FHWA-PL-00-001. Retrieved from http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/Pdfs/workzonebook.pdf