@jitterboogie Hah?ÿ I know right... are they gonna come back and complain about buzzing you so closely that you were able to stand still and paint their car?
When I worked for a DOT about 15 years ago we had to constantly mess with signs.?ÿ I remember one time setting them up and having a guy speed by us like we weren't even there.?ÿ A couple minutes later he came speeding past us the opposite way with a highway patrol behind him and the lights spinning.?ÿ The party chief at the time was like YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
The inmate weedeater crew has better traffic warning and control devices than almost every survey crew.
My comment is very few people even know what a Survey Crew or Survey Party is.?ÿ They are probably thinking, oh hey they are going to ask me about my highway experience today then whiz by because they don't want to be bothered.
I think ROAD WORK AHEAD or SHOULDER WORK AHEAD signs make more sense. Those are the ones everyone else uses.
Maybe we should have PUT DOWN THE PHONE AND DRIVE THOUGHTFULLY signs, or POOR OLD SURVEYOR WONDERING AROUND IN TRAFFIC AHEAD?ÿ
I agree that WORKER AHEAD is better and if taking a lane I feel strongly that a L/R lane closed ahead sign is appropriate. I shut down a lane without one and had a motorist get irate about it and really felt that I had no defense.?ÿ
Back on the mind games theme, I always wear a hard hat when working in the street. It makes them think that there may be more of us and hits them with the positive connotations of construction workers.?ÿ?ÿ
Thanks for the comments guys. I was in a survey vehicle today with a crew chief for a while and we talked about the effectiveness of the signs. What we came up with is just having. Sign that says ??slow the f- - - down? is a better idea as it would catch more attention. It is unprofessional of course, but the intent is to get the attention of disrespectful people who have total disregard for our lives and safety in an attempt to make them think for just a minute. The problem is if the signs actually said that people would definitely be stealing them.
The letterboard with "Slow Surveyors Ahead".
i had a job recently for an encroacher into our ROW( we love going out on those gigs) and set up my "Survey crew ahead" signs on opposite ends of the set up area( think two blind S-curves with 8 ft tall rock walls bounding and an integral centerline curb) and even dragged out extra cones to further push people away from my position, and what a riot it was hear the honking horns and screeching tires and revving engines...and that was before i set up the signs and cones etc.....?ÿ got about a 50% response of slower traffic, several near rear endings, and got the shots we needed to show the evidence for the gang.?ÿ I don't think i would have been this successful on a straight shot unprotected road however......
Way way back, I was bumped by a car while working in a construction zone.?ÿ Nothing serious but enough to piss me off.?ÿ I screamed something at the guy (and possibly hit the side of his car with my other fist, I was way young and stupid) and he decided to stop.?ÿ Told that this was going to end one of three ways. 1, he shuts up, gets back in his car and drives away.?ÿ 2, he takes a beating, shuts up and gets back in his car.?ÿ 3, we take it up with the local sheriff.?ÿ He got back in the car and left.?ÿ I think he realized he did not want to get in it with an angry, 6'2", 200 lbs, 23 year old, with a big hammer let alone my chief and the rest of the construction crew on site.
The paint thing does work wonders.?ÿ In the summer they would have a hard time figuring out which jobsite the got tagged on.
Signage/safety plan was required for any work within State/Federal R/W for contract bidding, which was a line item in the bid.?ÿ Yes, we were compensated for it but for fast moving alignment resurveys it meant an extra guy with a truck moving the signs and cones forward all day long.?ÿ Also a permit was required for any incidental intrusions into the R/W, even though we were 100's of feet away from the travelled lanes above the cut slope(?).?ÿ The rules were clearly delineated in their standard specifications.?ÿ On big jobs signage/safety was subbed whose bill could run to a million dollars, signage, flag persons, concrete barriers, restriping, Highway Patrol presence, etc.?ÿ Made it not our problem.
Surveying on rural 2 lane roads we were on our own and normally set up Survey Party signs, vests, hardhats, truck blocking the instrument, etc., at the beginning and the end of a day's work with cones placed by the instrument man if need be.?ÿ Most locals slowed way down and even chatted with me as we knew each other.?ÿ
I've been hit by a rear view mirror once in the middle chest area by a speeding errant driver which knocked me down and blew the wind out of me (hit and run).?ÿ I thought I had broken ribs but the doc did an X-ray and it was only black and blue for a few weeks.?ÿ OTOH I have two (RIP) surveyor friends who were run over & killed by errant drivers so be careful out there.?ÿ Any signage is a plus despite the cost/hassle.
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What is scary is when you can see the driver looking at you and still driving directly at you.
Considering the number of times drivers have run over my traffic cones, and in one case the pedestrian who tripped over the cone (she was busy texting).
Jesus Mike,?ÿ
That's horrible.?ÿ I'm sorry about your friends and glad you survived.
I hate working around traffic always.
I'll never get used to feeling like I'm in danger every time I work along roads.
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Stay safe out there.
Traffic is the number one killer of surveyors.
And second is jealous wives.?ÿ?ÿ
Old ladies, slowly driving over tripod foot, and breaking it off..... They don't stop. They drive off, still peering over the steering wheel.... Blue hair, been to foo foo hair Shoppe!
(Or are in a hurry to get there)
Dangerous things. They never knew.
N
I only use them when traffic conditions are unusually hazardous, or when working in a fixed location all day, or when required by law or contract.?ÿ The setup/teardown time -- and the additional traffic exposure they entail -- otherwise doesn't justify their use.
