What Truck and Van Drivers Need to Know to be Safe at the Roadside

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Section 1

What you need to know to be safe

This document is intended to help protect truck, delivery, and moving van drivers involved in:

  • emergent work (e.g. vehicle breakdowns or stops for load adjustment/securement)
  • brief-duration work (e.g. a construction site or other delivery taking less than 15 minutes)
  • long-duration work on municipal roadways (e.g. regular or scheduled pick-ups or deliveries, household or commercial moves)

All roadside stops or work require a risk evaluation:

  • If the work is planned (e.g. scheduled move or scheduled pick-up/delivery in a known location), the risk evaluation is to be conducted in advance. This allows for the vehicle to be equipped with appropriate traffic control devices (e.g. cones and signs such as C-004 CREW WORKING AHEAD – see below) or, if necessary, for the creation of a formal traffic control plan by a qualified person and approved by the appropriate authority (i.e. municipality or Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure).
  • If the work is unplanned (e.g. a vehicle breakdown or stop to make a load adjustment), the risk evaluation is to be carried out by the driver before exiting the vehicle, with the level of risk determining the need to create a safe work zone around the vehicle.

Guidance for conducting a risk evaluation for Emergent and Brief-Duration Work is included in the Traffic Management Manual for Work on Roadways 2020 (TMM 2020), Section 6.10:

TABLE C — RISK EVALUATION FOR EMERGENT OR BRIEF-DURATION WORK
Risk Evaluation Category Risk Criteria Criteria Met?
1. Work Duration Can the work be completed in 5 minutes or less? Yes / No

2. Sight Distance

Distance from parked location to furthest point that can be seen on the road.

 For the posted speed limit, is the minimum sight distance met?

Speed Limit (km/hr) 50 – 70 80 – 90 100 – 110 120
Min. Sight Distance (m) 100 170 250 300
Yes / No
3. Traffic Volume Is the traffic volume in lanes that will be entered by workers estimated to be less than 5 vehicles per lane per minute? Yes / No
4. Environmental Conditions Is visibility unrestricted (no fog, blowing snow, etc.) and are road conditions not slippery? Yes / No

RISK EVALUATION REVIEW
The Risk Evaluation has three possible outcomes:

  1. Answers to all risk criteria questions are Yes: Traffic control devices may be installed in accordance with the appropriate Emergent Work traffic control layout.
  2. Answers to one or two risk criteria questions are No: Traffic control devices may be installed in accordance with the appropriate Brief-Duration Work traffic control layout.
  3. Answers to three or more risk criteria questions are No: Additional traffic control measures are required beyond those described and illustrated for Emergent and Brief-Duration Work. The standard layout(s) for the appropriate short-duration, long-duration, or mobile work should be applied.

Use C-004 “Crew Working Ahead” sign for planned brief or long duration work at the roadside, for example:

Delivery of construction materials, supplies, food or other goods or services
Household or commercial move

C-004 CREW WORKING AHEAD
C-004

Sign sizes (mm)

C-004 (750 x 750)

C-004-xx (1200 x 1200)

 The CREW WORKING AHEAD C-004 sign is the primary warning sign for shortduration work.
It provides advance warning of crews and equipment carrying out a variety of tasks on or adjacent to a travelled roadway.

In the case of vehicle breakdowns, or pick ups/deliveries or moves lasting 15 minutes or longer (in low risk scenarios) – a basic lay-out shown in the diagram to the right may be sufficient on municipal roadways:

  • Pull vehicle as far over as safely possible.
  • Activate emergency flashers. Wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE), such as a high visibility vest, only exit the vehicle when safe to do so.
  • Create a safe zone in front of the vehicle. Place a cone or triangle approx. 30 metres (100 feet) in front of the vehicle, in line with the driver’s side.
  • Using cones or reflective triangles, create a safe zone at the rear of vehicle. Starting at the curb approximately 30 metres (100 feet) behind the vehicle, angle cones toward the rear corner of the vehicle.
For planned brief or long duration work – position C-004 “Crew Working Ahead” sign 40 metres (130 feet) in front of the first cone or triangle (distance should be adjusted if the speed limit > 50 km/h or to accommodate site constraints – such as parking or other signage – or where high numbers of access points exist).

If the risk evaluation determines that a formal Traffic Management Plan is required, consult the TMM 2020 for guidance. A formal traffic control plan must be developed by a qualified person and approved by the appropriate authority (municipality or Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure).

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