I've met a lot of surveyors along the way who are very flippant towards the hazards of traffic. Personally I'm terrified working in the road with drivers zooming by, probably the lasting result of watching a childhood friend get hit by a car on his bike and nearly losing both his legs and his life. I do it when I have to, but I don't like it, not one bit.
imaudigger, post: 356600, member: 7286 wrote: Be very careful out there working in the middle of the road. Anymore, people are blind to signs and cones. There is road work everywhere these days.
I recently helped a guy that was run over. He had traffic cones and was wearing a high vis. vest. A driver of a jacked up truck didn't see him and pinned him under the pumpkin of the axle and drug him 20 feet before backing off the top of him.
I felt the short cones that surveyor's typically carry are not sufficient and there should have been a look out watching his back.
In my mind there was enough blame to share between the two of them.
By the way, this was a gas station attendant not a surveyor.
An additional safety precaution that a surveyor could employ would be to set a bipod up near the work area and mount a flashing LED to the rod at a height that a driver could easily see.
I recently saw a white LED strobe light on a school bus recently and it really grabbed my attention quickly.
I think my post indicated that I'm a bit more cavalier with my field survey practices than I really am. We use a lot of appropriate safety precautions. I've done full lane closures and such for larger projects. And when we are on rural roads where the traffic is going much faster, we have advance signs and such.
There are places in town, however, where we need to be in the dead center of a regulated intersection to tie in a section corner. And in those cases, a lot of the time, our total time in the intersection is about 2 minutes. We wait for the lights to change in our favor, possibly block traffic from a conflicting lane temporarily, then, out to the center, open the well, rod on the monument, robot gun takes the shots, close the well, and we're out. If we are using GPS, it may be more like 3 minutes so we get a long enough observation on the point. And I often will have a 3 person crew out there. One strictly on traffic control, one on the rod, and the third as a watcher who stands next to anyone that has to kneel down in the road.
I've used our survey rigs for traffic control with the beacon lights. A 3/4 ton Ford does wonders to block a lane of traffic.
That flashing LED beacon is a good idea. I might see if we can get one for our crews.
I hope you reference that thing in such a way that no one has to do it again. I do not know what you guys do there, but make sure someone else can find it or its references again.
joe
I have worked in the middle of a road bailing out a monument well with cones and survey party signs.
I have also been run over by a car while riding a bike.
Also watched an old lady run my tripod over and not even miss a beat.
Seeing this guy get smeared on the pavement reminded me how dangerous it is to be bent over in the road working.
WA-ID Surveyor, post: 356586, member: 6294 wrote: I guess things are different in your State. Try to do that in WA and your asking for not only the potential of a $25,000 fine but an infraction with the OSHA?WISHA folks and a hefty insurance hike, if not flat our dismal by your insurance.
How do you access centerline monuments?
skwyd, post: 356444, member: 6874 wrote: Yeah our road system was pretty much built on the section lines. And as the urban areas sprawled out into the rural areas, the roads were improved and built up. And, if all was done properly, the existing section corners and 1/4 corners (which are now all on centerline) were perpetuated with a nice chain of maps showing how it was done. In a lot of places, a monument well has been installed to provide relatively easy access to the monument. Of course, that doesn't stop traffic. That takes a red sign and an orange vest and someone with the bravery (stupidity?) to hold that sign up right in front of a commuter with their cup of coffee in hand and getting them to stop their Toyota Camry right there and not run over the person kneeling down in the road opening up the monument well.
Personally, I like that job. I LOVE seeing the drivers get all tense during their commute because "some surveyor" is holding up traffic!
I have worked with more than one person that has thrown the stop paddle at the back window of a reckless car. Amazingly they just keep driving.
imaudigger, post: 356600, member: 7286 wrote: Be very careful out there working in the middle of the road. Anymore, people are blind to signs and cones. There is road work everywhere these days.
I recently helped a guy that was run over. He had traffic cones and was wearing a high vis. vest. A driver of a jacked up truck didn't see him and pinned him under the pumpkin of the axle and drug him 20 feet before backing off the top of him.
I felt the short cones that surveyor's typically carry are not sufficient and there should have been a look out watching his back.
In my mind there was enough blame to share between the two of them.
By the way, this was a gas station attendant not a surveyor.
An additional safety precaution that a surveyor could employ would be to set a bipod up near the work area and mount a flashing LED to the rod at a height that a driver could easily see.
I recently saw a white LED strobe light on a school bus recently and it really grabbed my attention quickly.
I am going to Amazon right now. Maybe put one on top of my rod for when I am solo taking shots along the stripes in the middle of a busy highway, like the stupid idiot that I am. Wendell, is name calling okay when it is self inflicted?
Brad Ott, post: 356637, member: 197 wrote: I am going to Amazon right now. Maybe put one on top of my rod for when I am solo taking shots along the stripes in the middle of a busy highway, like the stupid idiot that I am. Wendell, is name calling okay when it is self inflicted?
There are a lot of options out there. However finding one that could be easily mounted on a rod, runs off batteries, and is visible 360å¡ might take some time.
I could see something like that being useful for finding the rod behind heavy brush/foliage.
imaudigger, post: 356638, member: 7286 wrote: There are a lot of options out there. However finding one that could be easily mounted on a rod, runs off batteries, and is visible 360å¡ might take some time.
I could see something like that being useful for finding the rod behind heavy brush/foliage.
LED Safety Lights + FREE Bonuses | Clip on Flashing Strobe Light High Visibility for Running Jogging Walking Cycling Best reflective gear for Kids Dogs Bicycle Helmet and Bike Tail light (Red, 3 Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194H5IFG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_TE-Swb9HWE2EX
imaudigger, post: 356638, member: 7286 wrote: There are a lot of options out there. However finding one that could be easily mounted on a rod, runs off batteries, and is visible 360å¡ might take some time.
I could see something like that being useful for finding the rod behind heavy brush/foliage.
Maybe something like this? I use it mounted to the top of a multitrack 360 prism with some Velcro. Has several modes from strobe to steady burn. The steady burn works good for finding myself through windows in heavy brush using the video link on our S6. Thinking about mounting it to the top of a hardhat and telling the new guy he's required to wear it when we're working near a road. 😀
Monuments on the road center line or very close to it is the norm everywhere around here. You learn how to get it done without getting hurt. Several hundred times per year.
Holy Cow, post: 356653, member: 50 wrote: Monuments on the road center line or very close to it is the norm everywhere around here. You learn how to get it done without getting hurt. Several hundred times per year.
I feel that monuments in the center line make us appreciate the ones in the middle of nowhere that much more. Makes the rock mounds all that more intriguing to me.
Brad Ott, post: 356637, member: 197 wrote: I am going to Amazon right now. Maybe put one on top of my rod for when I am solo taking shots along the stripes in the middle of a busy highway...
This might work. I have one, but I've never tried to mount it on a pole.
Gromaticus, post: 356666, member: 597 wrote: This might work. I have one, but I've never tried to mount it on a pole.
Cool, I just ordered some of these too:
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C8YXH9C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
dmyhill, post: 356633, member: 1137 wrote: How do you access centerline monuments?
If it is a low volume residential type road we'll just get it done. However, on a busy road we'll just sub out appropriate traffic control for 1/2 day and drive around to the pertinent mons and tie them. This puts the burden of safety on the approved traffic control consultant and alows the crew to safely and efficiently tie the monuments.
A firm I worked for in the Renton area was fined $25,000 by OSHA in the 1990s for dipping a catch basin that was in the flow line of city street because we didn't have appropriate safety measuures in place. True Story.
WA-ID Surveyor, post: 356771, member: 6294 wrote: If it is a low volume residential type road we'll just get it done. However, on a busy road we'll just sub out appropriate traffic control for 1/2 day and drive around to the pertinent mons and tie them. This puts the burden of safety on the approved traffic control consultant and alows the crew to safely and efficiently tie the monuments.
A firm I worked for in the Renton area was fined $25,000 by OSHA in the 1990s for dipping a catch basin that was in the flow line of city street because we didn't have appropriate safety measuures in place. True Story.
How much $ for 1/2 day traffic control? What do they do for you? Do they shut down a lane of traffic?
WA-ID Surveyor, post: 356771, member: 6294 wrote: If it is a low volume residential type road we'll just get it done. However, on a busy road we'll just sub out appropriate traffic control for 1/2 day and drive around to the pertinent mons and tie them. This puts the burden of safety on the approved traffic control consultant and alows the crew to safely and efficiently tie the monuments.
A firm I worked for in the Renton area was fined $25,000 by OSHA in the 1990s for dipping a catch basin that was in the flow line of city street because we didn't have appropriate safety measuures in place. True Story.
I've used traffic control services before. Typically only on the freeways (and Caltrans requires that), but they've been used for large scale topographic and boundary surveys on large streets with heavy traffic.
Brad Ott, post: 356775, member: 197 wrote: How much $ for 1/2 day traffic control? What do they do for you? Do they shut down a lane of traffic?
It depends on a number of factors such a # of lanes, is it at interserction, etc..... 1/2 day runs between 300-600. Budget accordingly and things go quite smoothly.
Sure, they shut down lanes, or just park the big shiny flashy truck in the appropriate location, or sometimes they even have to provide the local municipality with a traffic control plan if its a really busy intersection.
McCracker, post: 355668, member: 9299 wrote: Found the irrefutable evidence today.
Not much left of it after the years of being chipped up and paved over and chipped up and paved over but there is the N 1/2 section 21 that proves the guys house is off. These typically have a brass triangle in concrete with the sections divided stamped into it, such as 16/21. Matched calcs to a couple hundredths each way.... should have just chipped it up in the first place.
What you gonna do with the chunks? Make him eat 'em?
Williwaw, post: 356604, member: 7066 wrote: I've met a lot of surveyors along the way who are very flippant towards the hazards of traffic. Personally I'm terrified working in the road with drivers zooming by, probably the lasting result of watching a childhood friend get hit by a car on his bike and nearly losing both his legs and his life. I do it when I have to, but I don't like it, not one bit.
I was digging section corners through frozen asphalt on a busy bypass road last night, and according to my informal "survey", 95% of the drivers were on their cell phones.
If you get a warm feeling inside thinking about that, it's probably internal bleeding.
