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Roadworks take place frequently on existing roads in New Zealand. The adverse effects of poor road conditions and reduced road width due to the presence of a work zone on the safety of road users and workers at the work zone have been a matter of concern. Several studies have been conducted to examine the risk factors contributing to the occurrence of road crashes in work zones in different countries. Slow-moving and stopped vehicles near work zones have been found to be the primary cause of crashes and casualties in the work zones. Excessive speed of passing traffic has also been recognized as a crucial factor contributing to work zone related crashes in New Zealand. This study examined the effect of possible risk factors contributing to severe injury and fatality in work zone related crashes in New Zealand. A multinomial logistic regression model was established to determine the association between crash severity and factors such as road environment, vehicle attributes, driver behavior, and crash circumstances, based on the information available on 453 road crashes during the period from 2008 to 2013. The results indicated that the time period, vehicle involvement, and presence of vulnerable road users were the factors that determined the crash severity in work zones. This implies that improvements are required in traffic control and management measures in work zones to enhance road safety in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Excessive speed is currently one of the primary contributory factors in traffic accidents within roadwork sites around the world. The present study evaluated two novel interventions designed to control traffic speed within an open road, roadwork site in New Zealand where drivers were required to decrease their speed from 100 to 50km/h. Two different interventions were placed at the entrance to the work site and required drivers to pass between a 3.5m wide passage of either evenly or decreasingly spaced cones. A multi-element baseline design was utilised. Both interventions were highly effective at reducing vehicle speed, with the greatest initial decrease in speed to 9.47km/h below baseline for the uneven arrangement. Additionally, both arrangements more than halved the proportion of ‘dangerous’ speeders travelling faster than 20km/h over the speed limit. The findings indicate that both arrangements of cones are effective, convenient, cost-effective strategies. It is concluded that, although both arrangements are highly effective, the use of unevenly-spaced cones is likely to most markedly reduce the number of speed-related accidents within open road roadwork zones. The findings are discussed in relation to the perceptual mechanisms by which transverse and peripheral stimuli influence speed perception and driver behaviour. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]