Road workers on highways and streets in Maryland are testing new technology to alert them of approaching cars and other hazards.
The project, a partnership among Morgan State University, the city of Baltimore and the Maryland Department of Transportation is testing technology developed by the Safety and Mobility Advancements Regional Transportation and Economics Research (SMARTER) Center at Morgan State for a work zone warning system for workers in highway construction projects.
The system uses light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors, edge computing and a “predictive time-to-collision” algorithm to deliver alerts to workers, who receive the warnings three ways: via a flashing beacon, a haptic buzz issued from a wearable device, and a siren, Joseph Niehaus, editor and communications manager at the National Transportation Center (NTC), said. The NTC houses the SMARTER Center.
“The logic is that a multi-sensory warning system can create redundancies that ensure all workers at the work zone are notified of the potential hazard regardless of the activity they’re doing,” Niehaus said in an email. “Most available safety systems don’t have this kind of dynamic response to the environment; they’re predominantly focused on incentivizing drivers to slow down and creating barriers between workers and automobiles.”
The pilot study includes five highway construction workers on a road project near the Morgan State campus, in a 35-mile-per-hour speed zone. The project began around April 10 and will run through early May.
During a recent six-day test period, more than 50,800 vehicles moved through the area — with 288 vehicles traveling 45 mph or faster, 83 autos traveling 55 mph or faster, and 16 vehicles going 65 mph or faster, according to the project’s findings. Workers reported feeling the haptic buzz from the wearable device and hearing the siren. The flashing warning light, however, was not as effective in direct sunlight, according to researchers.
The project was funded by the Maryland Highway Safety Office (MHSO) via a federal grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. As a next step, the SMARTER Center has partnered with the Baltimore City Department of Transportation and MHSO, along with private-sector engineering and technology firms, for more testing of the system in real-world settings.
This week marks National Work Zone Awareness Week, a time public safety leaders and others use to bring awareness to the persistent issue of work zone safety. This year’s theme for the national campaign, April 20-24, is “Safe actions save lives.”
In Maryland, nine highway workers lost their lives last year, down from 12 in each of the previous three years, according to state statistics. However, 449 workers were injured last year.
In 2023, following an incident where six workers were struck and killed in a work zone on Interstate 695 in Baltimore County, Gov. Wes Moore convened the Work Zone Safety Work Group of people with transportation expertise, including law enforcement officers, labor leaders, traffic engineers, highway safety experts and workers with direct experience in work zones.
In 2024, Moore signed the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act, which established new tiered fines for speed enforcement in work zones, signage that clearly designates the start and end of work zones, and flashing lights when workers are present.
Other states also marked the week with notices and messages around remaining alert to work zones.
In neighboring Virginia last year, there were some 4,000 work zone crashes resulting in 2,300 injuries, and 17 fatalities, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation, an increase from more than 3,700 crashes, more than 1,500 injuries and 15 fatalities in work zones in 2024.
“With more than 600 projects planned this construction season and over 7,000 miles of pavement to be resurfaced or replaced, it’s critical that drivers safely share the limited space in a work zone,” Virginia Transportation Secretary Nick Donohue said, in a statement.
On the West Coast, Oregon marked a five-year high for work zone crashes in 2024, logging 621 crashes, according to data from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
The state uses technology tools like automated flaggers, which are operated by a crew member from “a safe location,” said Matt Noble, a public affairs specialist at ODOT.
“We usually use them on two-lane roads when we have to close one lane,” he said via email. “It’s safer that way.”
Oregon also uses intelligent transportation system tech such as portable message signs and dynamic late merge systems — which encourage merging at the best time — in its work zones.
