 The man had been through the area 30 minutes prior to that, come down the road, was daydreaming, went through our cones, struck our pickup, sideswiped the pickup. I cannot emphasize how important flagging is. Be alert at all times. When I'm working this close to traffic, my life is really on the line. And I can't really see what's going on as far as the traffic is concerned. So those flaggers better be really watching out. The flag person on the job is the most important person we have out there. They're responsible for all the traffic coming through the work site. They're responsible for the employees that are working on the job. Most importantly of all, they're responsible for themselves and their own safety. They are professionals at this. My name is Maggie. For the past eight years, I've trained flaggers just as yourself to do a safe job and to be good at their job. Those two go hand in hand in the work site. I've trained over 300 flaggers in the past eight years. And I'm very proud to say that not one, not one of them has ever been involved in a fender bender, fatality, an accident of any kind in the work zone. The reason for this is they know their jobs. They know what to do on those highways, how to protect themselves, the crew, and also those motorists that are out there. Now we have with us today two experienced flaggers, Marty and Bobby. Bobby here knows quite a bit about flagging in the city. And Marty here, he's pretty smart about flagging out here in the country. Both of them know what they're talking about and they're both professionals, and that's why they're here just to help you. You need as much help out there as you can get. You have no one to depend on but yourself. And that goes with the weather and the traffic control. But if you listen to what Bobby, Marty, and myself have to tell you, you'll have one step up on a ladder that no one else has had. You'll have a little bit of help out there. When you're in the area of traffic control and you make a mistake and a worker in that work zone is killed, think about it. Do you want to go and knock on their door and say, your father's not coming home anymore? Because I blew it on the job. I wasn't watching what I was supposed to be doing. And you're never going to see him again. I don't think you want that responsibility. And we don't want the responsibility for you. We don't want to have to go tell your people that you're never coming home again. So what do you say? Let's get at it. Anybody can be a flagger, right? Wrong. That's an old cliche. That's an old way. The traffic has changed now. You have to be a professional at what you do. You've got to be quick. You've got to be agile. You've got to be smart. And you've got to have an awful lot of common sense out there. You don't have an armor plate around you. You have yourself. You have to be professional at what you do. And to be professional, you have to give that attitude across to everyone that you are the professional flagger. If you don't look like a professional out there and you don't act like a professional out there, you're going to be ignored. No one's going to pay attention to you. And that's what you want. You want them to pay attention to you. The traffic of 20 years ago was very small, very slight. Now you've got an abundance of cars out there. And every one of them are doing 55, 65 mile an hour. And you have to give the attitude of professional persons and let that come across that you have control of that work center. For your safety and the safety of the workers in the group. And if you do your job properly and you become the professional that you must become, you can protect all of those people, including yourself. The first thing you do when you get out to the work site and your supervisor drops you off and positions you is that you look around for an escape route. If he's positioned you with a car that's right behind you, there's nowhere to run. Somebody's coming at you at 55 mile an hour. You can't climb that car. Look down the road and see if there's maybe five or 10 feet down the road where you could jump into an open field or up towards the work area. Whatever it takes, the visibility has got to be there for the driver, but you have to have the escape route if he's daydreaming and he's going to run you and he's going to run over you. You'll have an orange vest on and you'll have a hard hat on. That's for visibility for the motorist. And now you have an attitude, your attitude. Don't go out there with a pair of torn blue jeans, a tank top. Go out there in a respectable clean pair of pants and a respectable clean shirt. Give the attitude of the professional you are. If you stand by the stop and slow and you're leaning and I know it's two o'clock in the afternoon and it's 90 degrees and you're tired, but if you come across this way, people are not going to pay attention to you. This is where the professionalism comes in. The car is coming at you at 55 miles an hour. You give the stance, put your left hand out. Give an intimidating move towards that vehicle. Look directly into the windshield. See if they're seeing you. If they're not, tend to back off a little bit. If they don't see you, you've got to head for that escape route. But this intimidation and eye-to-eye contact will nine times out of ten get that car to stop for you. Let's talk about equipment now. Basically, there are only a few different kinds of equipment that you use. The first is a stop-slow paddle. It's a 24-inch wide pole-type sign that reads stop on one side and slow on the other. The sign should be lightweight, but strong enough not to flap around in the wind. And it should be mounted on a straight pole or handle that holds the sign at least six feet off the ground so it can be seen over most cars. We're beginning to see slow, slow paddles now on the four-lane roads because the four lanes, you very seldom stop the traffic. So the slow, slow paddle eliminates the possibility that a flagger might accidentally turn the stop-side of their regular paddle towards the oncoming traffic. The other type of daylight gear that you may use is a red flag. A high-quality red material that's weighted on one side so that it'll hang straight down and not blow around in the wind. This allows for greater visibility to oncoming traffic. The flag is generally used in an emergency situation. Sometimes you'll be using two-way radios or walkie-talkies. There are so many different kinds of models that I really can't tell you much about them. Except that you should be sure you're checked out on whatever one you use. Okay, we'll do. Thank you. We've given you your basic equipment and basic knowledge of visibility. Now we're going to get a little more technical. We're going to talk about the sun, the dusk, the dawn, the shade, whether you should stand in the shade or in the sun. We're going to give you all the protection that we can to save your life out there. For example, you can't be seen very well around dusk or dawn. When the driver is looking directly into that sun, he's not seeing you. He's concentrating on that road. Another example is the shade. When the sun is bright and hot and you might want to stand in the shade where it's cool, don't do it. You can see the loss of visibility as soon as this flag walks from the sun into the shade. It's a lot easier for a driver to see you if you're in the sun. Would you rather be hot or would you rather be dead? As a general rule though, you should stand about two or three hundred feet ahead of the work site. You may have to make some adjustments to that if there's a hill involved. Here you need to be positioned on the upgrade or on the top of the hill if the work area is on the other side of that hill. Or if there's construction work around a curve, you need to be positioned before the curve so the approaching drivers can see clearly before they get to the work area. Never stand in the curve or coming out of that curve. Visibility also is determined by how well you stand out from your background. The driver must be able to see you. That means don't stand in front of equipment or some other cluttered area that just might camouflage. And you know, that includes people too. Don't stand with a group. You have two strikes against you if you do this. First, you won't be visible to the driver. You'll just be one of the crowd. The second strike against you is simple. You're going to be distracted from your job which is watching out for that traffic. Now that brings up another point. You must always, always stay alert on that road. If you daydream for five seconds, a minute, that can be the end of your life. Your loss of concentration can kill you. You have to control your mind better than anyone. No one can help you with that. It's easy when it's a hot day of 95 degrees and they're laying asphalt and that asphalt's coming up in your face and it's now 120 degrees. But you have to keep your mind on that oncoming traffic and what's happening. Do not daydream out there. Stay alert. Stay alive. I know that it gets boring out there. And one of the ways that you can take care of this is you can position your body in the flag or stance. You don't stand straight looking exactly at the traffic coming at you. You've got to stand sideways so that you have created an element of looking at everything. This also keeps you from daydreaming and losing that concentration. You can move your body up and down the pole to loosen those knees so that you don't get stiff and sore. And it also gets you ready that when the traffic is coming at you that you can give them the intimidating push forward towards stopping that vehicle. Use your body in motions to get the traffic in the lane that you want them in. Move your body. Move it over to the side. This helps your lower back stress and it also keeps you aware and it keeps you moving. This will really help keep you alert, awake and not stiff and sore. You know people, you have two of your best friends out there with you all the time. Your eyes and your ears. Your eyes are going to be able to look at that traffic and see it coming at you. Your ears are going to be able to tell you if they're gearing down. You can hear that, you can listen and you hear the gears either coming down or if they're not starting to gear down you better be looking for that escape route and figuring how you're going to warn that crew that's behind you. Keep the boombox at home. Keep the walkman at home. Listen to it on the way home. Don't take it on the work zone. It's got no place there and it's distracting. You need your eyes, you need your ears. Those songs are not going to help you in the work zone. Remember, this is your life. When you're flagging, you should never socialize with either the work crew as I said before or the people in their cars and trucks that you stopped. You might know every driver on that road but that doesn't mean you have to have long talks with them. There are distractions from your job. Now that doesn't mean you have to be rude but just keep the discussion short and very professional and never ever get distracted from the oncoming traffic. One of the worst parts of your job is that you're out there all alone and you can't ever leave that position until you're relieved by someone else or your supervisor tells you you can go. Now I realize that's tough because sometimes the heat gets to you and sometimes you have to head for that Porta John in the worst way. In a situation like that you need to get word to your supervisor so that someone can replace you but don't ever, ever leave your post until your replacement gets there. And speaking of a break it might be a good time to do just that. So stop the tape player now and I'll see you in a bit. Okay people, it's time to get down to the nitty gritty of real flagging procedures. You've been told about your vest, your hard hat, where to position yourself on the road. So what do you say? Let's get at it. Let's assume that when you start out the traffic in your lane is moving freely. Your position is on the side of the road out of the traffic lane. Looking at the traffic and holding the slow sign in your right hand. Now let's say that you have to stop traffic. Turn your sign to stop so that it faces the oncoming traffic. Don't wave it, it might confuse the driver. Raise your left hand in a stop position and at the same time try to establish some eye contact with the driver. Make sure the driver sees you. When the vehicle has stopped and it is a large truck or school bus you'll need to move to the center line. You must be seen by the vehicles approaching from behind. Take your stop slow paddle to stop the remaining vehicles in the same way you stopped the first one. Stay in this position with the stop sign facing traffic until you can release them through the work zone. The first thing you do is move back to your original position on the shoulder. Then turn the paddle so the slow sign faces traffic. A motion with your left arm for the drivers to move ahead. Now let's repeat the procedure with a different type of traffic. The first vehicle is a car and at this point there's no need for you to go to the center line. This is the purpose of that six foot staff of your stop and slow paddle. It permits the sign to be seen over a stopped car. With two cars stopped you have protection from oncoming traffic. Then you can move to the center line. You'll know when to release your traffic either from watching the situation or receiving some kind of verbal signal from another flagger. If you're using your red flag remember it cannot be used alone except in an emergency situation. You can use it along with the stop and slow paddle. To move to the center line position hold the flag in your right hand in a horizontal position. Then you'll know again when to release your traffic either from watching the situation or receiving some kind of verbal signal from the other flagger. Continue holding the red flag out as you return to your stop and slow paddle. Drop the flag. Then as before turn the paddle so the slow sign of traffic and motion with your left arm for the drivers to move ahead. Okay, now we've shown you how to do a typical two lane highway of stopping your traffic and releasing your traffic. What if you just want to slow them down on an interstate or just a typical four lane highway? If you're on a freeway and one lane is closed but the other lane can move through slowly you don't stand on the shoulder but you position yourself at the edge of the closed lane adjacent to the moving traffic. This holds true regardless of which lane is closed. You always want to be on the same side of the traffic as the work is on. Most often you'll be working with another flagger. Each of you at different positions around the work site. It's important that you keep in communication with these people. You're not working entirely alone out there. And you have to work together There will be times though when you won't be able to see the other flagger at the end of the work zone. In cases like this you either have to use two-way radios or a pilot car system to be in contact with the other flagger. With a two-way radio describe the last vehicle that you let through to the flagger at the other end. That means the make if you know it the color and the license number is possible. And at least enough of the license number that the other flagger won't have any doubt about which is the last vehicle. FAS 970 There may be times especially when traffic is pretty light when you just lose track of which direction has the right way when this happens don't panic and don't guess. First make sure that your stop slow paddle is in the stop position even if there isn't anything coming then just get on your radio call the other end and get it worked out but never let traffic through hoping that it's your turn. You may never have to do any night time flagging out there but if you do don't panic you're going to use the same procedures in night time flagging as you do in daytime. There are only a few differences the major one is that the motorist is not going to expect you out there he'd like to have all the construction done at two o'clock in the morning but when you're actually out there at two o'clock in the morning they're not expecting you at all so be aware and be more cautious the second thing is you're going to be hearing the word reflectorized that's just an explanation of piece of your equipment that's used for night time you'll have a reflectorized vest a reflectorized helmet a reflectorized stop and slow put it in simple terms it's just to make you more visible for that motorist most importantly you want to be in an area that's as well lighted as possible that means stand under a street light or have a floodlight of your own kind directed at you you have got to be seen by those motorists your equipment needs to be bright orange and reflectorized so that you really stand out when they're hit by the headlights I'm talking about your helmet jacket, vest or shirt here the same holds true with your regular clothing stay with light colored clothes the more you stand out in the darkness the safer you are out there also be aware that your warning signs and paddles also need to be reflectorized and in good condition so that they can be easily seen at night it is necessary that you are equipped with a flashlight or a lantern that displays a red warning light the actual flagging procedure is very similar to flagging in the daytime you start by standing in a safe position on the shoulder of the road when the condition permits you move to the center line make sure that you take with you your flashlight or lantern and just remember that at night time it's important that you ask that first vehicle to activate their flashers so that the following traffic will have an additional warning that something is going on other than that the same procedures you use in the daytime would apply here when it's time to release your traffic move back to the shoulder turn your paddle to slow and use your light to guide your traffic into the proper lane and what about those unplanned situations such as your pavement blow ups or your flooding or a tree across the road don't panic there's no difference you'll be using the same flagging procedures that you've used all along the only difference is is in the equipment you'll not be able to get to a stop and slow so you're going to be using a red flag only you stop traffic by holding the red flag out towards the traffic lane make sure that you stay on the shoulder until that buffer has been established keep in mind with just a red flag you're in a more dangerous situation taking of unplanned situations emergency vehicles are just that the first thing is don't panic then stop all traffic flow from entering the work zone get that emergency vehicle through the work site as smoothly and as quickly as possible use your common sense people now let's talk a little bit about your public relations out there you are the first person that any motorist is going to see and you reflect that entire crew if you treat them with respect and they treat you with respect then they'll treat the work zone people with respect if you're surly and you're unhappy then that's going to come across to the motorist and that motorist can do an awful lot of damage in that work zone they can run over asphalt that they're not supposed to they can throw gravel at the crew they can swear and cuss at that crew if you go out with an attitude that you're the first person and you're the professional plagged person that you should be then give them a smile it's pretty hard to get angry with somebody when they have a big smile on their face act like they matter look directly at them wave at them smile at them make sure that they know they're important keep that rapport going so that when they get into the work zone they respect they deserve there are times out there when being polite is just pretty hard to do hey sweetheart come here in a minute give me a break here I've been sitting in this line for 10 minutes just a little while longer sir look I've been sitting in this line some drivers will want to argue with you or really get nasty sir as soon as it's safe for you to pass we'll turn the paddles and let you on your way just try to be a little bit patient with us alright alright thank you sir just remember it takes too to argue if a driver just pulls out a line and drives into the work zone then do everything you can to warn that work crew and the other flaggers get their attention as soon as you can report this situation to your supervisor you know people just do the best you can to avoid these situations you don't need them just smile be courteous be factual be polite and be professional out there first of all be neat and professional in your appearance and wear the necessary safety gear given to you remember you're the most important part of that work site and be alert you be alert at all times know what's going on around you as far as the traffic and the work situations are concerned also make sure that you stand in a safe position where you can be seen easily by oncoming vehicles and never never leave your position until relieved by your supervisor or another flagger make sure that you follow the correct procedures for controlling the traffic through the work area give priority to emergency vehicles but don't create an unsafe situation don't let them through to assure that it's clear be polite but command respect when you talk to that motoring public and don't forget to warn your work crew and the other flaggers immediately if there's violators entering your work zone in short look professional act professional and be professional out there and you'll be treated that way so good luck to you now that's not enough you be safe out there Marty and this is Bobby we're here to talk to you about some of the ways you can apply your basic knowledge of flagging to some typical situations you might find yourself in out here in the field we're also going to tell you about some special situations like flagging at night or flagging for a slow-moving operation flagging is a dangerous job it's dangerous because sometimes it gets pretty boring boring for you because there's really not much going on most of the time you're all alone and there's not much traffic and it's boring for that driver too who's likely to fall asleep and not see you standing out there what makes it even more dangerous are the high speeds when you've got a 3,000-pound car coming at you at 55 or 60 or more and that driver's sleeping you can be in real trouble in a hurry well that driver might wind up in the ditch and live but for you it's a no-win situation so how do you protect yourself well it's obvious isn't it you stay alert you use your eyes, your ears and everything in between for example when you first get to your location imagine what you'd do if that driver doesn't see you where will you go when you're right next to you you've got no place to run like Marty said it's a no-win situation so keep your vehicle and other vehicles away from where you're working make sure you have a plan to escape route using what you know about your situation is your best defense so where are you going to get all this knowledge it's right here in your flagger's handbook this is your bible read it know it there are rules and procedures you're going to be a lot safer because you'll be doing your job right and in a professional manner the information in this booklet might save your life someday so let's take a look at that information and see how you can use it in some real life situations to review what you should already know you start by taking a safe position on the shoulder where you can be seen by the oncoming traffic and in a spot where you can make a quick getaway if it looks like someone's going to run you down you face the road with the stop side of your stop slow paddle facing the oncoming traffic you hold the paddle in your right hand standing in the flagger's stance so you can look to your left and see the traffic coming in your lane and you can look to your right to see the work zone and the traffic coming from the opposite direction when a vehicle approaches in your lane you hold up your left hand to stop it make eye contact with the driver make sure they see you and make sure they stop you want a buffer of two cars or one truck completely stop before you move to the center line you move there so you can be seen by additional oncoming vehicles stop them the same way you did from the shoulder when you're on the center line you're in a more dangerous spot you've also got traffic from the other direction that you watch out for so never turn your paddle out here or you'll be caught between both directions of moving traffic when it's clear for your traffic to pass then move back to the shoulder making sure the stop side of your paddle is still facing your lane only when you're back on the shoulder do you turn the paddle to slow and motion your traffic to move ahead another method of stopping traffic is to use a red flag to stop slow paddle raise the flag in your right hand to a horizontal position and hold it there don't wave it that's confusing again use your left hand to show you mean for them to stop when you've established your buffer you leave the paddle on the shoulder and carry the flag to the center line from here you use the flag to stop the following vehicles be aware that when you do this you're also showing it to the traffic coming from the opposite direction make sure they don't misunderstand who your red flag is for don't extend it over the center line the trick with the flag is that you have to hold it out there as long as you stand on the highway you don't want to drop it even for a second or that first driver might think you're letting everyone go now let's take a look at some typical one of the more common situations is where you have just one flagger this would be at a work site of less than 100 feet like for a spot pavement repair or guardrail installation here you have to watch the traffic coming from both directions but you actually have control over only the traffic in the closed lane the traffic in the open lane always has the right away it's your job to let your traffic through only when you think it's clear enough for them to make it to the other side your judgment of speed distance and driver's abilities may be critical here obviously this technique should only be used on a lightly traveled road you'd never have a single flagger on a busy highway or where a site distance is restricted another type of single lane closure situation uses stop signs along with please alternate signs facing each lane these signs pretty much control the traffic flow you don't use a stop slow paddle because you're there only as an observer to protect the work crew in case anything gets out of hand that's why you stand in the work zone next to the open lane with a red flag once again this technique can only be used on low volume roads in most other situations where the work zone is longer than 100 feet or where there's more traffic you'll need a second flagger a lot of maintenance work involves just a short stretch of say a quarter mile or less here you need a flagger at each end of the work zone to control each direction of traffic this is the standard two flagger situation where you have to watch not only your traffic but also the other flagger communication is a must here in fact if you can't see the other flagger from your proper flagging position then you must have two way radios in any situation where the length of the work zone is more than a quarter mile you have to have two way radios once again communication with the other flagger is very important for one thing with the radio you're not alone out there anymore it's not so boring but don't let the talking get out of hand keep your conversations related to your job that's the most important part of having radios you can keep track of vehicles in the work zone and warn each other of any problems or emergencies that the other doesn't see the basic rule is the more you know about what's going on the better you'll be able to control your traffic and the safer you'll be there's only one long work zone situation where you don't have to use radios and that's when you're working with a pilot car using a pilot car is a decision the project engineer or foreman will make but you'll have to work it and here's how you do it you stop your vehicles in the same way we've been showing you only you hold them there until the pilot car returns from the other end the pilot car leads its traffic through the work zone in the open lane and then turns around to take its position at the head of your line be careful you don't release your vehicles until all the oncoming traffic has passed through the work zone you never know there might be a straggler if you don't have a radio to find out what the last vehicle is then use your common sense about when to release your traffic move back to the shoulder turn the paddle to slow and motion your traffic to follow the pilot car and remember the straggler from the other end don't you let any stragglers through if you don't think they can catch up with the end of the line on a long stretch of work with a pilot car the work zone will probably cross some intersections and you'll have to flag these as well one flagger to control each direction of cross traffic most intersections of rural roads aren't very busy and have a stop sign already there to stop your traffic so all you'll need is a red flag you stand near the stop sign to keep vehicles from entering against the flow of the mainline traffic all you do is find out which direction your cross traffic wants to go and then wait until it matches with the same direction of travel on the main highway then let your traffic go at the tail end of the line let's look now at some flagging situations on four lane highways the most typical four lane situation is when a single lane is closed for a short time but the other lane isn't affected here all you need to do is make sure the traffic slows down while it's in the open lane you do this with a paddle with slow on both sides so you can't accidentally turn a stop sign toward the oncoming traffic you stand in the work zone right next to the open lane you hold the slow paddle out where all the drivers can see it and you motion with your free arm your main responsibility after protecting yourself is to protect that work crew behind you and that driver in front of you there aren't too many situations where both lanes in one direction would be closed on a four lane highway but one example might be when a bridge beam is being replaced here barricades are used to guide the traffic down into a long single lane a patrol car is normally there to make sure the approaching drivers know there's something going on working with the law enforcement officer you just bring the traffic to a complete stop as you normally would do when you get the signal release them in the usual way let's look at some special situations now one special situation is where you've got a haul road where trucks are moving on to or across the highway the flagging procedures are the same as before there are only differences the number of flaggers you might need if the trucks are turning right disrupting only one lane you need only one flagger to control that one lane if the trucks are turning left or crossing the highway or otherwise disrupting both lanes then you need two flaggers one for each direction you have to stop flagging at night is especially dangerous obviously because of the dark also because drivers aren't expecting you to be out there that's why you've got to make sure you're easily seen in addition to a reflecturized vest and helmet wear light colored clothing and if you can stand in the light from a portable generator your cones and barricades should be reflecturized too if your cones aren't reflecturized you can get this special material to slip over their tops the more reflecturized you are the safer you'll be you might have another special situation where traffic is temporarily routed off a freeway and then back on again using the on off ramps bridge painting or repair at interchanges are good examples where this might happen here the signs and the cones direct the traffic off the highway where the flagger is needed is at the intersection of the ramps road in fact you need three flaggers well you might say why do you need flaggers why not let the stop sign handle the traffic the reason is that when you start routing all that freeway traffic through you want to keep them moving that means stopping the traffic on the lower volume crossroad that's why your supervisor will get permission to cover the stop signs then you'll need three flaggers to control each direction of travel the procedures you use are exactly the same as before only you have to work more closely with the other flaggers the last special situation we want to cover is when you have a slow moving operation such as strip sealing or edge rut repair it's just like a single flagger situation only it's moving the procedures are exactly the same only as the work crew moves along you simply follow along with them now this sounds easy enough but it can be extra dangerous because in addition to watching the traffic from both directions you've got to watch the work going on and keep up with it the more distractions you've got from watching that traffic the more dangerous it is and the more alert you have to be there's one other thing and that's the matter of credibility when you've been on the road and seen a sign that read flagger ahead and there wasn't any flagger when that happens and drivers see that sign again they probably won't take it seriously and that's when you can get yourself in big trouble so whether it's your responsibility or not when there's no flagger working make sure your signs are turned down don't ever warn the public that there's a flagger ahead when there really isn't one it won't hurt you now but it'll get you later there are a whole lot of variations of the situations you've just seen what is important is that whatever the situation you can handle it if you use your flagger's handbook as a guide and for your own protection you've got to be visible from any direction the traffic might be coming from because you're dealing with drivers coming directly at you sometimes at a high rate of speed and finally you've got to be alert you can't assume that any of those drivers out there are paying attention or that they're sober or that they're even awake so you have to stay alert and don't get into a no-win situation keep your mind on your job that's the mark of a professional flagger so be careful out there and if you are we will see you out there you must be a professional