page_title: Road traffic control
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Road traffic control / International perspectives / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: A traffic controller at Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Français&#160;: Un agent de circulation dans la Michigan Avenue, à Chicago (Illinois, États-Unis).
context_page_description: Road traffic control involves directing vehicular and pedestrian traffic around a construction zone, accident or other road disruption, thus ensuring the safety of emergency response teams, construction workers and the general public.
  Traffic control also includes the use of CCTV and other means of monitoring traffic by local or state roadways authorities to manage traffic flows and providing advice concerning traffic congestion.
  Traffic Control Technicians or Traffic Control Supervisors are often known as "lollipop men" from the appearance of their Stop/Slow signs, known as "Stop bats".
context_section_description: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols and guidelines which are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States. Despite its name, the association represents not only highways but air, rail, water, and public transportation as well
  Although the Federal Highway Administration specifies standards and guidelines through the MUTCD which apply to the usage of traffic control equipment, individual state and local agencies often provide additions or slight variations to these standards.
  The transportation system in the United States is complex and extensive. Traffic volumes, types of vehicles, driving styles, population density, speed limits, and many other factors vary dramatically from one region to the next. As a result, highway traffic control measures (including type of equipment and implementation), are not strictly consistent. Federal Guidelines do not address certification methods for traffic controllers, flaggers, or other personnel responsible for traffic control. This responsibility is managed on a state or local agency level, and therefore certification requirements are not consistent and are administered locally. Safety standards (irrespective of traffic control) are mandated by OSHA as well as state-level occupational safety departments.
  A construction traffic control company operates in the same basic way as any other construction company. Companies submit a bid for a job, the lowest bid is accepted (except in the case of disadvantaged companies), and the labor is provided to the contractor or agency in charge. Typically speaking, flaggers work in groups of 5 to 10 under a TCS, or Traffic Control Supervisor. The TCS is responsible for placing the flaggers correctly, ensuring that they receive the proper breaks and supervision, and placing the advance warning signs (such as Road Work Ahead, One Lane Road Ahead, and Uneven Lanes). Flaggers are the second line of attention (after the warning signs) for drivers. They are the first people in the work zone to deal with opposing traffic.
  While construction traffic control in the U.S. used to be a widely unionized profession, it is now dominated by private business and wages are not controlled by the union. 
  While MUTCD and other standard practices have been instilled in traffic control workers for many years, workers still need to keep up to date on all the new regulations. 
  Some road traffic control systems have started to optimize multiple traffic modes, including vehicles and pedestrians.
caption: Traffic controller on Michigan Avenue, Chicago
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