Highways Agency

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

In 1994, the third edition of "Notes for Guidance on Safety at Road Works" was published by the Department of Transport and the County Surveyors Society (CSS). The working group responsible for this document comprised personnel from the Department of Transport, County Surveyors Society, and Health and Safety Executive, with contributions from the Transport Research Laboratory.

That document pre dates the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 (CDM). The concept of risk assessment was introduced but not developed. The regulations requiring risk assessment together with the advent of the CDM Regulations has provoked fundamental re-appraisal of responsibility for safety within the highway industry.

In recent years, roads and highways have experienced both technical and operational developments, in addition to the continuing growth of traffic levels. There has been greater use of mobile lane closure operations, more extensive use of night-time only working, the development of narrow lane and tidal flow traffic management techniques, and more four and five lane carriageways. All such developments require ever increasing flexibility, sophistication, and specialist knowledge and skill from those given responsibility for managing and maintaining highways, both at the planning stage and in the implementation of temporary traffic management arrangements at road works. It is against this background that the highway industry has responded by creating a series of Quality Assurance Highway Sector Schemes for Traffic Management Contractors.

In view of all these developments the Highways Agency and the CSS resolved to review their document, "Notes for Guidance on Safety at Road Works". A Review Group comprising representatives from all elements of the highway industry was assembled to produce a revised edition of that publication and this document is the result.

1.2 Terms of Reference

The terms of reference for the Review Group were:-

• To produce guidance to facilitate the safe planning and implementation of temporary traffic management activities.
• The guidance should comprise a framework of principles and general good practice rather than a set of prescriptive procedures.
• The guidance shall be concise, accessible, and user friendly.
• The guidance shall be published by a commercial publisher with the necessary facilities to enable good nationwide availability.
• Such guidance must be acceptable to the Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, for use as advice to its Agents for its roads, in accordance with the Department's obligations (under Section 4 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) as owners of premises) to road users, having regard to keeping interference to traffic flow to a minimum.
• Such guidance should be acceptable to the following organisations or the associations representing them: Highway Authorities, Traffic Management Contractors, the police, and the Health and Safety Executive.
• To recommend that such guidance be referenced within the Quality Plans, method statements, contract documents and Health and Safety Plans of all organisations involved in the planning or implementation of temporary traffic management arrangements on high speed roads.

The revised edition of "Notes for Guidance on Safety at Road Works 1994" shall be known as "Guidance for Safer Temporary Traffic Management".

1.3 Use of Document

The document includes information on various inter-related topics, and aspects of particular issues may be covered in different places, therefore sections should not be read in isolation.

1.4 Associated Documents

Section 9 gives a list of all publications referenced in this document. These documents are continuously being updated and care should be taken to refer to the latest version.

There are several documents that provide guidance about traffic management at road works and associated matters. These documents are listed in Appendix A, which also provides information about their role and application and indicates how they relate to each other and to this document.