637 Identification of safety deficiencies and reasons for non-compliance of safety protocols at road construction sites in India

Background In recent years, several road development projects are being taken up by Government of India, where new roads as well as upgradation and widening of existing roads are taking place throughout the country. The construction activities are thus common features now on Indian highways, which in most cases are carried out without stopping the traffic movement. The close proximity of road construction sites (RCS) and the existing traffic lanes makes both road users and site personnel susceptible to road crashes. Also due to the usage of construction vehicles and heavy machineries, the rate of fatal crashes are higher. Objective The objective of the present work is to investigate the safety of RCS for Indian highways. It is intended to investigate the problems in implementing the safety practices and their reasons, identify the related issues, and suggest necessary recommendation for improving the overall safety of RCS. Methods A four-stage methodology is formulated. In Stage-I, four safety protocols related to RCS are defined. In Stage-II, the implementation deficiencies of the safety protocols are identified through road safety audit reports. The reasons for non-compliance of the safety protocols are identified in Stage-III. This is done through a questionnaire survey and prioritizing the reasons through MCDM techniques. Stage-IV includes the necessary interventions and recommendation for enhancing safety at RCS. Results Four safety protocols for RCS are identified, namely, Barricading Protocol, Traffic Diversion Protocol, Traffic Control and Speed Management Protocol, and Workers' Safety Protocol. Several implementation deficiencies are observed, such as, inadequate barricading, diversion without tapering, insufficient traffic control measures, workers without PPE etc. The analysis revealed that lack of knowledge of various codal provisions is one of the major reasons for non-compliance of safety protocols. Various physical constraints and monetary considerations also contribute significantly towards the non-compliances of the protocols. Conclusions Recommendations are made for arranging in-depth training programs to understand the codal provisions, carrying out road safety audit and enforcement for enhancing safety at RCS. The findings are expected to be of interest to road development authorities in order to develop suitable counter measures so that safety protocols are implemented at RCS.