WorldWide Drilling Resource

Safety Spotlight: All about the MUTCD by Scott Cosby This article is a good companion to last month ( WWDR September 2015 - Safety Spotlight: Visibility on the Road ). We will examine the MUTCD - the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices - which is written by the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation to specify the standards by which traffic signs, road surface markings, and signals are designed, installed, and used. This manual is important for those performing drilling operations on or along a road. In the U.S., all traffic control devices (TCDs) must legally conform to these stan- dards. The manual is used by state and local agencies, as well as private firms, to en- sure the traffic control devices they use conform to the national standard. Some state agencies have developed their own MUTCD, but these must substantially conform to the federal MUTCD. Traffic control devices are very critical for safe and efficient transportation. The use of uniform TCDs (messages, location, size, shapes, and colors) helps reduce crashes and congestion, and improves road efficiency. The MUTCD is arranged in this manner: General Questions about the MUTCD • Part 1 - General • Part 2 - Signs • Part 3 - Markings • Part 4 - Highway Traffic Signals • Part 5 - Traffic Control Devices for Low-Volume Roads • Part 6 - Temporary Traffic Control • Part 7 - Traffic Control for School Areas • Part 8 - Traffic Control for Railroad and Light Rail Transit Grade Crossings • Part 9 - Traffic Control for Bicycle Facilities • Appendices A1 and A2 - Congressional Legislation and Metric Conversions The MUTCD audience includes but is not limited to: state and local highway agen- cies, public officials, owners of private r oads open to public travel, the insurance industry, law enforcement agencies, incident management personnel, maintenance p ersonnel, academic institutions, private industry, and planning, construction, and engi- neering firms. Consult search engines for more information on this topic. The latest edition (2009) of the MUTCD is available at mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/kno_2009r1r2.ht m . Provide in-house training on this subject to all drill operators and crew members to keep everyone safe. Scott Scott Cosby may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 46 OCTOBER 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®