NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Roadside crashes are notably deadly for tow workers. Government data shows that tow operators are killed at a rate of almost 43 deaths per 100,000 workers, compared to just three for all other industries. With that in mind, AAA has checked to see what will help save those lives.
"Our AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety did some research recently," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "They studied several countermeasures. What we saw is that an electronic vehicle mounted variable message sign was very effective, the most effective of the things we tested."
The odds of a vehicle moving over were 95% higher when the VMS was used. Passenger vehicles were more responsive to the VMS than trucks or buses, although both were more likely to move over when VMS was active than when not.
"You see these on the Highway Patrol and some KDOT vehicles," Steward said. "It's basically electronic message boards that are fold up and are displayed on top of those vehicles. They'll have like an arrow telling you to move over or have some sort of a warning message about an incident that's coming up on the roadway."
Other countermeasures also have their merits. The Foundation examined cones, flares, and emergency flashing light patterns. The researchers found these led to significant lane shifts by drivers but were less effective at reducing speeds or increasing the distance to the passing vehicles that did not change lanes.
"Every state has some level of a move over law," Steward said. "Now, we're starting to look at ways to enhance those laws to include all disabled or stopped vehicles on the side of the road, including consumer passenger vehicles."
Established in 1947 by AAA, the Foundation for Traffic Safety is a nonprofit, publicly funded 501(c)(3) charitable research and educational organization.
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