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Traffic Management Legislation – What You Need To Know

The maintenance and upkeep of traffic routes, both pedestrian and vehicular is a legal requirement under The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (Regulation 12).  They should be suitable for purpose and when repairs or maintenance are carried out suitable steps should be taken to warn or prevent access to pedestrians and drivers.  This could include the use of cones, temporary barriers or, when the work, obstruction or hazard is longer-term, more permanent systems such as bollards.

When using barrier systems, cones or delineators to control pedestrian and vehicular traffic for management purposes, street works or road maintenance reference should be made to:

  • The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions.  These set requirements for the size, shape and reflective capabilities of cones and delineators as well as recommended usage – when to use them and when not to use them, required spacing and maintenance (they should be kept clean and not used when damaged etc.)
  • The Safety at Streetworks Code of Practice. This details design requirements for barriers (dimensional and strength) that are used at streetworks to divert and control pedestrian traffic.  It also sets out detailed requirements for diverted pedestrian routes in terms of accessibility, usage and protection (barriers should be continuous; diverted route must be accessible by all pedestrians including the old, young and disabled; minimum route width requirements – generally 1m though 1.5m is recommended )
  • The Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 8. This sets out requirements on the use of both pedestrian and vehicular barrier systems and their required design and capabilities. The use of each type of barrier (there are 4 identified: pedestrian barriers; traffic barriers; lightweight barriers; vehicle restraint safety barriers) will depend on a risk assessment to be carried out before the work starts (time length of works, whether there is a danger of impact, relative busyness etc).  There are a range of Chapter 8 compliant barrier systems to choose from in this section.